A Journey from Prince of Wales's Fort in Hudson's Bay to the Northern Ocean in the Years 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772 / New Edition with Introduction, Notes, and Illustrations

by Samuel Hearne

{11} CHAP. II.

Transactions from our arrival at the Factory, to my leaving it again, and during the first part of my second journey, till I had the misfortune to break the quadrant.

Transactions at the Factory—Proceed on my second journey—Arrive at Seal River—Deer plentiful for some time—Method of angling fish under the ice—Set our fishing nets—Methods of setting nets under the ice—My guide proposes to stay till the geese began to fly; his reasons accepted—Pitch our tent in the best manner—Method of pitching a tent in winter—Fish plentiful for some time; grow very scarce; in great want of provisions—Manner of employing my time—My guide killed two deer—Move to the place they were lying at; there kill several more deer, and three beavers—Soon in want of provisions again—Many Indians join us from the Westward—We begin to move towards the barren ground—Arrive at She-than-nee, and there suffer great distress for want of provisions—Indians kill two swans and three geese—Geese and other birds of passage plentiful—Leave She-than-nee, and arrive at Beralzone—One of my companions guns bursts, and shatters his left hand—Leave Beralzone, and get on the barren ground, clear of all woods—Throw away our sledges and snow shoes—Each person takes a load on his back; my part of the luggage—Exposed to many hardships—Several days without victuals—Indians kill three musk oxen, but for want of fire are obliged to eat the meat raw—Fine weather returns; make a fire; effects of long fasting; stay a day or two to dry some meat in the sun—Proceed to the Northward, and arrive at Cathawhachaga; there find some tents of Indians—A Northern leader called Keelshies meets us; send a letter by him to the Governor—Transactions at Cathawhachaga; leave it, and proceed to the Northward—Meet several Indians—My guide not willing to proceed; his {12} reasons for it—Many more Indians join us—Arrive at Doobaunt Whoie River—Manner of ferrying over rivers in the Northern Indian canoes—No rivers in those parts in a useful direction for the natives—Had nearly lost the quadrant and all the powder—Some reflections on our situation, and the conduct of the Indians—Find the quadrant and part of the powder—Observe for the latitude—Quadrant broke—Resolve to return again to the Factory.

1770. February.

During my absence from Prince of Wales's Fort on my former journey, several Northern Indians arrived in great distress at the Factory, and were employed in shooting partridges for the use of our people at the Fort. One of those Indians called Conne-e-quese, said he had been very near to the famous river I was engaged to go in quest of. Accordingly Mr. Norton engaged him and two other Northern Indians to accompany me on this second attempt; but to avoid all incumbrances as much as possible, it was thought advisable not to take any women,[R] that the Indians might have fewer to provide for. I would not permit any European to go with me, but two of the home-guard (Southern) Indian men were to accompany me as before. Indeed the Indians, both Northern and Southern, paid so little attention to Isbester and Merriman on my former journey, particularly in times of scarcity, that I was determined not to take them with me in future; though the former was very desirous to accompany me again, and was well calculated to encounter the hardships of {13} such an undertaking. Merriman was quite sick of such excursions, and so far from offering his service a second time, seemed to be very thankful that he was once more arrived in safety among his friends; for before he got to the Factory he had contracted a most violent cold.

Having come to the above resolutions, and finally determined on the number of Indians that were to accompany us, we were again fitted out with a large supply of ammunition, and as many other useful articles as we could conveniently take with us, together with a small sample of light trading goods, for presents to the Indians, as before.

1770. February.

My instructions on this occasion amounted to no more than an order to proceed as fast as possible; and for my conduct during the journey, I was referred to my former instructions of November 6th, 1769.

23rd.

Every thing being in readiness for our departure, on the twenty-third of February I began my second journey, accompanied by three Northern Indians and two of the home-guard (Southern) Indians. I took particular care, however, that Mackachy, though an excellent hunter, should not be of our party; as he had proved himself, during my former journey, to be a sly artful villain.

The snow at this time was so deep on the top of the ramparts, that few of the cannon were to be seen, {14} otherwise the Governor would have saluted me at my departure, as before; but as those honours could not possibly be of any service to my expedition, I readily relinquished everything of the kind; and in lieu of it, the Governor, officers, and people, insisted on giving me three cheers.

After leaving the Factory, we continued our course in much the same direction as in my former journey, till we arrived at Seal River; when, instead of crossing it, and walking on the barren grounds as before, we followed the course of the river, except in two particular places, where the bends tended so much to the South, that by crossing two necks of land not more than five or six miles wide, we saved the walking of near twenty miles each time, and still came to the main river again.

1770. March. 8th.

The weather had been so remarkably boisterous and changeable, that we were frequently obliged to continue two or three nights in the same place. To make up for this inconveniency, deer were so plentiful for the first eight or ten days, that the Indians killed as many as was necessary; but we were all so heavy laden that we could not possibly take much of the meat with us. This I soon perceived to be a great evil, which exposed us to such frequent inconveniences, that in case of not killing any thing for three or four days together, we were in great want of provisions; we seldom, however, went to bed entirely supperless {15} till the eighth of March; when though we had only walked about eight miles that morning, and expended all the remainder of the day in hunting, we could not produce a single thing at night, not even a partridge! nor had we discerned the track of any thing that day, which was likely to afford us hopes of better success in the morning. This being the case, we prepared some hooks and lines ready to angle for fish, as our tent was then by the side of a lake belonging to Seal River, which seemed by its situation to afford some prospect of success.

9th.

Early in the morning we took down our tent, and moved about five miles to the West by South, to a part of the lake that seemed more commodious for fishing than that where we had been the night before. As soon as we arrived at this place, some were immediately employed cutting holes in the ice, while others pitched the tent, got fire-wood, &c.; after which, for it was early in the morning, those who pitched the tent went a hunting, and at night one of them returned with a porcupine,[28] while those who were angling caught several fine trout, which afforded us a plentiful supper, and we had some trifle left for breakfast.

Angling for fish under the ice in winter requires no other process, than cutting round holes in the ice from one to two feet diameter, and letting down a baited hook, which is always kept in motion, not only to {16} prevent the water from freezing so soon as it would do if suffered to remain quite still, but because it is found at the same time to be a great means of alluring the fish to the hole; for it is always observed that the fish in those parts will take a bait which is in motion, much sooner than one that is at rest.

19th.

1770. March.

20th.

Early in the morning we again pursued our angling, and all the forenoon being expended without any success, we took down our tent and pitched it again about eight miles farther to the Westward, on the same lake, where we cut more holes in the ice for angling, and that night caught several fine pike.[29] The next day we moved about five miles to the South West, down a small river, where we pitched our tent; and having set four fishing nets, in the course of the day we caught many fine fish, particularly pike, trout,[30] tittymeg, and a coarse kind of fish known in Hudson's Bay by the name of Methy.[31][S]

To set a net under the ice, it is first necessary to ascertain its exact length, by stretching it out upon the ice near the part proposed for setting it. This being done, a number of round holes are cut in the ice, at ten or twelve feet distance from each other, and as many in number as will be sufficient to stretch the net at its full length. A line is then passed under the ice, by means {17} of a long light pole, which is first introduced at one of the end holes, and, by means of two forked sticks, this pole is easily conducted, or passed from one hole to another, under the ice, till it arrives at the last. The pole is then taken out, and both ends of the line being properly secured, is always ready for use. The net is made fast to one end of the line by one person, and hauled under the ice by a second; a large stone is tied to each of the lower corners, which serves to keep the net expanded, and prevents it rising from the bottom with every waft of the current. The Europeans settled in Hudson's Bay proceed much in the same manner, though they in general take much more pains; but the above method is found quite sufficient by the Indians.

In order to search a net thus set, the two end holes only are opened; the line is veered away by one person, and the net hauled from under the ice by another; after all the fish are taken out, the net is easily hauled back to its former station, and there secured as before.

1770. March. 21st.

As this place seemed likely to afford us a constant supply of fish, my guide proposed to stay here till the geese began to fly, which in those Northern parts is seldom before the middle of May. His reasons for so doing seemed well founded: "The weather," he said, "is at this time too cold to walk on the barren grounds, and the woods from this part lead so much {18} to the Westward, that were we to continue travelling in any tolerable shelter, our course would not be better than West South West, which would only be going out of our way; whereas, if we should remain here till the weather permit us to walk due North, over the barren grounds, we shall then in one month get farther advanced on our journey, than if we were to continue travelling all the remainder of the winter in the sweep of the woods."

These reasons appeared to me very judicious, and as the plan seemed likely to be attended with little trouble, it met with my entire approbation. That being the case, we took additional pains in building our tent, and made it as commodious as the materials and situation would admit.

1770. March.

To pitch an Indian's tent in winter, it is first necessary to search for a level piece of dry ground; which cannot be ascertained but by thrusting a stick through the snow down to the ground, all over the proposed part. When a convenient spot is found, the snow is then cleared away in a circular form to the very moss; and when it is proposed to remain more than a night or two in one place, the moss is also cut up and removed, as it is very liable when dry to take fire, and occasion much trouble to the inhabitants. A quantity of poles are then procured, which are generally proportioned both in number and length to the {19} size of the tent cloth, and the number of persons it is intended to contain. If one of the poles should not happen to be forked, two of them are tied together near the top, then raised erect, and their buts or lower ends extended as wide as the proposed diameter of the tent; the other poles are then set round at equal distances from each other, and in such order, that their lower ends form a complete circle, which gives boundaries to the tent on all sides: the tent cloth is then fastened to a light pole, which is always raised up and put round the poles from the weather side, so that the two edges that lap over and form the door are always to the leeward. It must be understood that this method is only in use when the Indians are moving from place to place every day; for when they intend to continue any time in one place, they always make the door of their tent to face the south.

The tent cloth is usually of thin Moose leather, dressed and made by the Indians, and in shape it nearly resembles a fan-mount inverted; so that when the largest curve incloses the bottom of the poles, the smaller one is always sufficient to cover the top; except a hole, which is designedly left open to serve the double purpose of chimney and window.

The fire is always made on the ground in the center, and the remainder of the floor, or bottom of the tent, is covered all over with small branches of the pine tree, {20} which serve both for seats and beds. A quantity of pine tops and branches are laid round the bottom of the poles on the outside, over which the eaves of the tent is staked down; a quantity of snow is then packed over all, which excludes great part of the external air, and contributes greatly to the warmth within. The tent here described is such as is made use of by the Southern Indians, and the same with which I was furnished at the Factory; for that made use of by the Northern Indians is made of different materials, and is of a quite different shape, as shall be described hereafter.

1770. March.

The situation of our tent at this time was truly pleasant,[32] particularly for a spring residence; being on a small elevated point, which commanded an extensive prospect over a large lake, the shores of which abounded with wood of different kinds, such as pine, larch, birch, and poplar; and in many places was beautifully contrasted with a variety of high hills, that shewed their snowy summits above the tallest woods. About two hundred yards from the tent was a fall, or rapid, which the swiftness of the current prevents from freezing in the coldest winters. At the bottom of this fall, which empties itself into the above lake, was a fine sheet of open water near a mile in length, and at least half a mile in breadth; by the margin of which we had our fishing nets set, all in open view from the tent.

{21} The remaining part of this month passed on without any interruption, or material occurrence, to disturb our repose, worth relating: our fishing nets provided us with daily food, and the Indians had too much philosophy about them to give themselves much additional trouble; for during the whole time not one of them offered to look for a partridge, or anything else which could yield a change of diet.

As the time may now be supposed to have lain heavy on my hands, it may not be improper to inform the reader how I employed it. In the first place, I embraced every favourable opportunity of observing the latitude of the place, the mean of which was 58° 46' 30" North; and the longitude by account was 5° 57' West, from Prince of Wales's Fort. I then corrected my reckoning from my last observation; brought up my journal, and filled up my chart, to the place of our residence. I built also some traps, and caught a few martins; and by way of saving my ammunition, set some snares for partridges. The former is performed by means of a few logs, so arranged that when the martin attempts to take away the bait laid for him, he with very little struggle pulls down a small post that supports the whole weight of the trap; when, if the animal be not killed by the weight of the logs, he is confined till he be frozen to death, or killed by the hunter going his rounds.

1770. April.

{22} To snare partridges requires no other process than making a few little hedges across a creek, or a few short hedges projecting at right angles from the side of an island of willows, which those birds are found to frequent. Several openings must be left in each hedge, to admit the birds to pass through, and in each of them a snare must be set; so that when the partridges are hopping along the edge of the willows to feed, which is their usual custom, some of them soon get into the snares, where they are confined till they are taken out. I have caught from three to ten partridges in a day by this simple contrivance; which requires no further attendance than going round them night and morning.

1st.

I have already observed that nothing material happened to disturb our repose till the first of April, when to our great surprise the fishing nets did not afford us a single fish. Though some of the preceding days had been pretty successful, yet my companions, like true Indians, seldom went to sleep till they had cleared the tent of every article of provision. As nothing was to be caught in the nets, we all went out to angle; but in this we were equally unsuccessful, as we could not procure one fish the whole day. This sudden change of circumstances alarmed one of my companions so much, that he began to think of resuming the use of his gun, after having laid it by for near a month.

{23} Early in the morning we arose; when my guide Conne-e-quese went a hunting, and the rest attended the nets and hooks near home; but all with such bad success, that we could not procure enough in one day to serve two men for a supper. This, instead of awakening the rest of my companions, sent them to sleep; and scarcely any of them had the prudence to look at the fishing nets, though they were not more than two or three hundred yards from the tent door.

1770. April.

My guide, who was a steady man, and an excellent hunter, having for many years been accustomed to provide for a large family, seemed by far the most industrious of all my crew; he closely pursued his hunting for several days, and seldom returned to the tent till after dark, while those at the tent passed most of their time in smoking and sleeping.

10th.

Several days passed without any signs of relief, till the 10th, when my guide continued out longer than ordinary, which made us conjecture that he had met with strangers, or seen some deer, or other game, which occasioned his delay. We all therefore lay down to sleep, having had but little refreshment for the three preceding days, except a pipe of tobacco and a draught of water; even partridges had become so scarce that not one was to be got; the heavy thaws had driven them all out towards the barren grounds. About midnight, to our {24} great joy, our hunter arrived, and brought with him the blood and fragments of two deer that he had killed. This unexpected success soon roused the sleepers, who, in an instant, were busily employed in cooking a large kettle of broth, made with the blood, and some fat and scraps of meat shred small, boiled in it. This might be reckoned a dainty dish at any time, but was more particularly so in our present almost famished condition.

11th.

After partaking of this refreshment, we resumed our rest, and early in the morning set out in a body for the place where the deer were lying. As we intended to make our stay but short, we left our tent standing, containing all our baggage. On our arrival at the place of destination, some were immediately employed in making a hut or barrocado with young pine trees; while one man skinned the deer, the remainder went a hunting, and in the afternoon returned to the hut, after having killed two deer.

Several days were now spent in feasting and gluttony; during which the Indians killed five more deer and three fine beavers; finding at last, however, that there was little prospect of procuring either more deer or beavers, we determined to return to our tent, with the remains of what we had already obtained.

1770. April. 22d.

The flesh of these deer, though none of the largest, might with frugality have served our small number, (being {25} only six) for some time; but my companions, like other Indians, feasted day and night while it lasted; and were so indolent and unthinking, as not to attend properly to the fishing nets; so that many fine fish, which had been entangled in the nets, were entirely spoiled, and in about twelve or fourteen days we were nearly in as great distress for provisions as ever.

During the course of our long inactivity, Saw-sop-o-kishac, commonly called Sossop, my principal Southern Indian, as he was cutting some birch for spoons, dishes, and other necessary household furniture, had the misfortune to cut his leg in such a manner as to be incapable of walking; and the other Southern Indian, though a much younger man, was so indolent as not to be of any service to me, except hauling part of our luggage, and eating up part of the provisions which had been provided by the more industrious part of my companions.

24th.

On the twenty-fourth, early in the day, a great body of Indians was seen in the South West, on the large lake by the side of which our tent stood. On their arrival at our tent we discovered them to be the wives and families of the Northern Indian goose-hunters, who were gone to Prince of Wales's Fort to attend the season. They were bound toward the barren ground, there to wait the return of their husbands and relations from the Fort, after the termination of the goose-season.

27th.

{26} My guide having for some days past determined to move toward the barren ground, this morning we took down our tent, packed up our luggage, and proceeded to the Eastward in the same track we came; but Sossop being so lame as to be obliged to be hauled on a sledge, I easily prevailed on two of the Indians who had joined us on the 24th, and who were pursuing the same road, to perform this service for him.

1770. April. 29th.

May. 13th.

After two days good walking in our old track, we arrived at a part of Seal River called She-than-nee,[33] where we pitched our tent and set both our fishing-nets, intending to stay there till the geese began to fly. Though we had seen several swans and some geese flying to the Northward, it was the thirteenth of May before we could procure any. On that day the Indians killed two swans and three geese. This in some measure alleviated our distress, which at that time was very great; having had no other subsistence for five or six days, than a few cranberries, that we gathered from the dry ridges where the snow was thawed away in spots; for though we set our fishing-nets in the best judged places, and angled at every part that was likely to afford success, we only caught three small fish during the whole time. Many of the Northern Indians, who had joined us on the 24th of April, remained in our company for some time; and though I well knew they had had a plentiful winter, and had then good stocks of dried meat by them, and {27} were also acquainted with our distress, they never gave me or my Southern companions the least supply, although they had in secret amply provided for our Northern guides.

19th.

23d.

1770. May.

By the nineteenth, the geese, swans, ducks, gulls, and other birds of passage, were so plentiful, that we killed every day as many as were sufficient for our support; and having stopped a few days to recruit our spirits after so long a fast, on the twenty-third we began once more to proceed toward the barren ground. Sossop having now perfectly recovered from his late misfortune, everything seemed to have a favourable appearance; especially as my crew had been augmented to twelve persons, by the addition of one of my guide's wives, and five others, whom I had engaged to assist in carrying our luggage; and I well knew, from the season of the year, that hauling would soon be at an end for the summer.

The thaws having been by this time so great as to render travelling in the woods almost impracticable, we continued our course to the East on Seal River, about sixteen miles farther, when we came to a small river, and a string of lakes connected with it, that tended to the North.

June. 1st.

The weather for some time was remarkably fine and pleasant. Game of all kinds was exceedingly plentiful, {28} and we continued our course to the Northward on the above river and lakes till the first of June, when we arrived at a place called Beralzone.[34] In our way thither, beside killing more geese than was necessary, we shot two deer. One of my companions had now the misfortune to shatter his hand very much by the bursting of a gun; but as no bones were broken, I bound up the wound, and with the assistance of some of Turlington's drops, yellow basilicon, &c., which I had with me, soon restored the use of his hand; so that in a very short time he seemed to be out of all danger.

4th.

After stopping a few days at Beralzone, to dry a little venison and a few geese, we again proceeded to the Northward on the barren ground; for on our leaving this place we soon got clear of all the woods.

5th.

6th.

10th.

1770. June.

The snow was by this time so soft as to render walking in snow-shoes very laborious; and though the ground was bare in many places, yet at times, and in particular places, the snow-drifts were so deep, that we could not possibly do without them. By the sixth, however, the thaws were so general, and the snows so much melted, that as our snow-shoes were attended with more trouble than service, we all consented to throw them away. Till the tenth, our sledges proved serviceable, particularly in crossing lakes and ponds on the ice; but that mode of travelling now growing dangerous on account of the great thaws, we {29} determined to throw away our sledges, and every one to take a load on his back.

This I found to be much harder work than the winter carriage, as my part of the luggage consisted of the following articles, viz. the quadrant and its stand, a trunk containing books, papers, &c., a land-compass, and a large bag containing all my wearing apparel; also a hatchet, knives, files, &c., beside several small articles, intended for presents to the natives. The awkwardness of my load, added to its great weight, which was upward of sixty pounds, and the excessive heat of the weather, rendered walking the most laborious task I had ever encountered; and what considerably increased the hardship, was the badness of the road, and the coarseness of our lodging, being, on account of the want of proper tents, exposed to the utmost severity of the weather. The tent we had with us was not only too large, and unfit for barren ground service, where no poles were to be got, but we had been obliged to cut it up for shoes, and each person carried his own share. Indeed my guide behaved both negligently and ungenerously on this occasion; as he never made me, or my Southern Indians, acquainted with the nature of pitching tents on the barren ground; which had he done, we could easily have procured a set of poles before we left the woods. He took care, however, to procure a set for himself and his wife; and when the tent was divided, though he made shift to get a piece large enough to serve him for {30} a complete little tent, he never asked me or my Southern Indians to put our heads into it.

Beside the inconvenience of being exposed to the open air, night and day, in all weathers, we experienced real distress from the want of victuals. When provisions were procured, it often happened that we could not make a fire, so that we were obliged to eat the meat quite raw; which at first, in the article of fish particularly, was as little relished by my Southern companions as myself.

1770. June.

Notwithstanding these accumulated and complicated hardships, we continued in perfect health and good spirits; and my guide, though a perfect niggard of his provisions, especially in times of scarcity, gave us the strongest assurance of soon arriving at a plentiful country, which would not only afford us a certain supply of provisions, but where we should meet with other Indians, who probably would be willing to carry part of our luggage. This news naturally gave us great consolation; for at that time the weight of our constant loads was so great, that when Providence threw any thing in our way, we could not carry above two days provisions with us, which indeed was the chief reason of our being so frequently in want.

23d.

From the twentieth to the twenty-third we walked every day near twenty miles, without any other subsistence {31} than a pipe of tobacco, and a drink of water when we pleased: even partridges and gulls, which some time before were in great plenty, and easily procured, were now so scarce and shy, that we could rarely get one; and as to geese, ducks, &c., they had all flown to the Northward to breed and molt.

1770. June.

Early in the morning of the twenty-third, we set out as usual, but had not walked above seven or eight miles before we saw three musk-oxen grazing by the side of a small lake. The Indians immediately went in pursuit of them; and as some of them were expert hunters, they soon killed the whole of them. This was no doubt very fortunate; but, to our great mortification, before we could get one of them skinned, such a fall of rain came on, as to put it quite out of our power to make a fire; which, even in the finest weather, could only be made of moss, as we were near an hundred miles from any woods. This was poor comfort for people who had not broke their fast for four or five days. Necessity, however, has no law; and having been before initiated into the method of eating raw meat, we were the better prepared for this repast: but this was by no means so well relished, either by me or the Southern Indians, as either raw venison or raw fish had been: for the flesh of the musk-ox is not only coarse and tough, but smells and tastes so strong of musk as to make it very disagreeable when raw, though it is tolerable eating when properly cooked. The weather continued so {32} remarkably bad, accompanied with constant heavy rain, snow, and sleet, and our necessities were so great by the time the weather permitted us to make a fire, that we had nearly eat to the amount of one buffalo quite raw.

Notwithstanding I mustered up all my philosophy on this occasion, yet I must confess that my spirits began to fail me. Indeed our other misfortunes were greatly aggravated by the inclemency of the weather, which was not only cold, but so very wet that for near three days and nights, I had not one dry thread about me. When the fine weather returned, we made a fire, though it was only of moss, as I have already observed; and having got my cloaths dry, all things seemed likely to go on in the old channel, though that was indifferent enough; but I endeavoured, like a sailor after a storm, to forget past misfortunes.

1770. June.

None of our natural wants, if we except thirst, are so distressing, or hard to endure, as hunger; and in wandering situations, like that which I now experienced, the hardship is greatly aggravated by the uncertainty with respect to its duration, and the means most proper to be used to remove it, as well as by the labour and fatigue we must necessarily undergo for that purpose, and the disappointments which too frequently frustrate our best concerted plans and most strenuous exertions: it not only enfeebles the body, but depresses the spirits, in spite of {33} every effort to prevent it. Besides, for want of action, the stomach so far loses its digestive powers, that after long fasting it resumes its office with pain and reluctance. During this journey I have too frequently experienced the dreadful effects of this calamity, and more than once been reduced to so low a state by hunger and fatigue, that when Providence threw any thing in my way, my stomach has scarcely been able to retain more than two or three ounces, without producing the most oppressive pain. Another disagreeable circumstance of long fasting is, the extreme difficulty and pain attending the natural evacuations for the first time; and which is so dreadful, that of it none but those who have experienced can have an adequate idea.

To record in detail each day's fare since the commencement of this journey, would be little more than a dull repetition of the same occurrences. A sufficient idea of it may be given in a few words, by observing that it may justly be said to have been either all feasting, or all famine; sometimes we had too much, seldom just enough, frequently too little, and often none at all. It will be only necessary to say that we have fasted many times two whole days and nights; twice upwards of three days; and once, while at She-than-nee, near seven days, during which we tasted not a mouthful of anything, except a few cranberries, water, scraps of old leather, and burnt bones. On those pressing occasions I have frequently seen the Indians examine their wardrobe, {34} which consisted chiefly of skin-clothing, and consider what part could best be spared; sometimes a piece of an old, half-rotten deer skin, and at others a pair of old shoes, were sacrificed to alleviate extreme hunger. The relation of such uncommon hardships may perhaps gain little credit in Europe; while those who are conversant with the history of Hudson's Bay, and who are thoroughly acquainted with the distress which the natives of the country about it frequently endure, may consider them as no more than the common occurrences of an Indian life, in which they are frequently driven to the necessity of eating one another.[T]

1770. June.

26th.

30th.

1770. July.

{35} Knowing that our constant loads would not permit us to carry much provisions with us, we agreed to continue a day or two to refresh ourselves, and to dry a little meat in the sun, as it thereby not only becomes more portable, but is always ready for use. On the twenty-sixth, all that remained of the musk-ox flesh being properly dried and fit for carriage, we began to proceed on our journey Northward, and on the thirtieth of June arrived at a small river, called Cathawhachaga,[35] which empties itself into a large lake called Yath-kyed-whoie,[36] or White Snow Lake. Here we found several tents of Northern Indians, who had been some time employed spearing deer in their canoes, as they crossed the above mentioned little river. Here also we met a Northern Indian Leader, or Captain, called Keelshies, and a small party of his crew, who were bound to Prince of Wales's Fort, with furs {36} and other commodities for trade. When Keelshies was made acquainted with the intent of my journey, he readily offered his service to bring me anything from the Factory that we were likely to stand in need of; and though we were then in latitude 63° 4' North, and longitude 7° 12' West from Churchill, yet he promised to join us again, at a place appointed by my guide, by the setting in of the Winter. In consequence of this offer, I looked over our ammunition and other articles; and finding that a little powder, shot, tobacco, and a few knives were likely to be of service before the journey could be completed, I determined to send a letter to the governor of Prince of Wales's Fort, to advise him of my situation, and to desire him to send by the bearer a certain quantity of the above articles; on which Keelshies and his crew proceeded on their journey for the Factory the same day.

1770. July.

Cathawhachaga was the only river we had seen since the breaking up of the ice that we could not ford; and as we had not any canoes with us, we were obliged to get ferried across by the strange Indians. When we arrived on the North side of this river, where the Indians resided, my guide proposed to stop some time, to dry and pound some meat to take with us; to which I readily consented. We also set our fishing-nets, and caught a considerable quantity of very fine fish; such as tittemeg, barble,[37] &c.

6th.

{37} The number of deer which crossed Cathawhachaga, during our stay there, was by no means equal to our expectations, and no more than just sufficient to supply our present wants; so that after waiting several days in fruitless expectation, we began to prepare for moving; and accordingly, on the sixth of July, we set out, though we had not at that time as much victuals belonging to our company as would furnish us a supper. During our stay here, we had each day got as much fish or flesh as was sufficient for present expenditure; but, being in hopes of better times, saved none.

Before we left Cathawhachaga, I made several observations for the latitude, and found it to be 63° 4' North.[38] I also brought up my journal, and filled up my chart to that time. Everything being now ready for our departure, my guide informed me that in a few days a canoe would be absolutely necessary, to enable us to cross some unfordable rivers which we should meet, and could not avoid. This induced me to purchase one at the easy rate of a single knife, the full value of which did not exceed one penny. It must be observed, that the man who sold the canoe had no farther occasion for it, and was glad to take what he could get; but had he been thoroughly acquainted with our necessities, he most assuredly would have had the conscience to have asked goods to the amount of ten beaver skins at least.

1770. July.

9th.

{38} This additional piece of luggage obliged me to engage another Indian; and we were lucky enough at that time to meet with a poor forlorn fellow, who was fond of the office, having never been in a much better state than that of a beast of burthen. Thus, provided with a canoe, and a man to carry it, we left Cathawhachaga, as has been observed, on the sixth of July, and continued our course to the North by West, and North North West; and that night put up by the side of a small bay of White Snow Lake,[39] where we angled, and caught several fine trout, some of which weighed not less than fourteen or sixteen pounds. In the night heavy rain came on, which continued three days; but the ninth proving fine weather, and the sun displaying his beams very powerfully, we dried our clothes, and proceeded to the Northward. Toward the evening, however, it began again to rain so excessively, that it was with much difficulty we kept our powder and books dry.

17th.

On the seventeenth, we saw many musk-oxen, several of which the Indians killed; when we agreed to stay here a day or two, to dry and pound[U] some of the carcases to take with us. The flesh of any animal, when it is thus prepared, is not only hearty food, but is always ready for {39} use, and at the same time very portable. In most parts of Hudson's Bay it is known by the name of Thew-hagon,[40] but amongst the Northern Indians it is called Achees.

1770. July. 22d.

Having prepared as much dried flesh as we could transport, we proceeded to the Northward; and at our departure left a great quantity of meat behind us, which we could neither eat nor carry away. This was not the first time we had so done; and however wasteful it may appear, it is a practice so common among all the Indian tribes, as to be thought nothing of. On the twenty-second, we met several strangers, whom we joined in pursuit of the deer, &c. which were at this time so plentiful, that we got every day a sufficient number for our support, and indeed too frequently killed several merely for the tongues, marrow, and fat.

30th.

1770. August.

After we had been some time in company with those Indians, I found that my guide seemed to hesitate about proceeding any farther; and that he kept pitching his tent backward and forward, from place to place, after the deer, and the rest of the Indians. On my asking him his reason for so doing; he answered, that as the year was too far advanced to admit of our arrival at the Coppermine River that Summer, he thought it more advisable to pass the Winter with some of the Indians then in company, and alleged that there could be no fear of our arriving at that river early in the Summer of one thousand seven hundred and seventy-one. As I could not {40} pretend to contradict him, I was entirely reconciled to his proposal; and accordingly we kept moving to the Westward with the other Indians. In a few days, many others joined us from different quarters; so that by the thirtieth of July we had in all above seventy tents, which did not contain less than six hundred persons. Indeed our encampment at night had the appearance of a small town; and in the morning, when we began to move, the whole ground (at least for a large space all round) seemed to be alive, with men, women, children, and dogs. Though the land was entirely barren, and destitute of every kind of herbage, except wish-a-capucca[V] and moss, yet the deer were so numerous that the Indians not only killed as many as were sufficient for our large number, but often several merely for the skins, marrow, &c. and left the carcases to rot, or to be devoured by the wolves, foxes, and other beasts of prey.

In our way to the Westward we came to several rivers, which, though small and of no note, were so deep as not to be fordable, particularly Doobaunt River.[W] On those occasions only, we had recourse to our canoe, which, though of the common size, was too small to carry more {41} than two persons; one of whom always lies down at full length for fear of making the canoe top-heavy, and the other sits on his heels and paddles. This method of ferrying over rivers, though tedious, is the most expeditious way these poor people can contrive; for they are sometimes obliged to carry their canoes one hundred and fifty, or two hundred miles, without having occasion to make use of them; yet at times they cannot do without them; and were they not very small and portable, it would be impossible for one man to carry them, which they are often obliged to do, not only the distance above mentioned, but even the whole Summer.

1770. August. 6th.

8th.

1770. August.

The person I engaged at Cathawhachaga to carry my canoe proving too weak for the task, another of my crew was obliged to exchange loads with him, which seemed perfectly agreeable to all parties; and as we walked but short days' journies, and deer were very plentiful, all things went on very smoothly. Nothing material happened till the eighth, when we were near losing the quadrant and all our powder from the following circumstance: the fellow who had been released from carrying the canoe proving too weak, as hath been already observed, had, after the exchange, nothing to carry but my powder and his own trifles; the latter were indeed very inconsiderable, not equal in size and weight to a soldier's knapsack. As I intended to have a little sport with the deer, and knowing his load to be much lighter than mine, I gave him the quadrant {42} and stand to carry, which he took without the least hesitation, or seeming ill-will. Having thus eased myself for the present of a heavy and cumbersome part of my load, I set out early in the morning with some of the Indian men; and after walking about eight or nine miles, saw, from the top of a high hill, a great number of deer feeding in a neighbouring valley; on which we laid down our loads and erected a flag, as a signal for the others to pitch their tents there for the night. We then pursued our hunting, which proved very successful. At night, however, when we came to the hill where we had left our baggage, I found that only part of the Indians had arrived, and that the man who had been entrusted with my powder and quadrant, had set off another way, with a small party of Indians that had been in our company that morning. The evening being far advanced, we were obliged to defer going in search of him till the morning, and as his track could not be easily discovered in the Summer, the Southern Indians, as well as myself, were very uneasy, fearing we had lost the powder, which was to provide us with food and raiment the remainder of our journey. The very uncourteous behaviour of the Northern Indians then in company, gave me little hopes of receiving assistance from them, any longer than I had wherewithal to reward them for their trouble and expense; for during the whole time I had been with them, not one of them had offered to give me the least morsel of victuals, without asking something in exchange, which, in general, was three times the value of {43} what they could have got for the same articles, had they carried them to the Factory, though several hundred miles distant.

So inconsiderate were those people, that wherever they met me, they always expected that I had a great assortment of goods to relieve their necessities; as if I had brought the Company's warehouse with me. Some of them wanted guns; all wanted ammunition, iron-work, and tobacco; many were solicitous for medicine; and others pressed me for different articles of clothing; but when they found I had nothing to spare, except a few nick-nacks and gewgaws, they made no scruple of pronouncing me a "poor servant, noways like the Governor at the Factory, who, they said, they never saw, but he gave them something useful." It is scarcely possible to conceive any people so void of common understanding, as to think that the sole intent of my undertaking this fatiguing journey, was to carry a large assortment of useful and heavy implements, to give to all that stood in need of them; but many of them would ask me for what they wanted with the same freedom, and apparently with the same hopes of success, as if they had been at one of the Company's Factories. Others, with an air of more generosity, offered me furs to trade with at the same standard as at the Factory; without considering how unlikely it was that I should increase the enormous weight of my load with articles which could be of no more use to me in my present situation than they were to themselves.

1770. August.

{44} This unaccountable behaviour of the Indians occasioned much serious reflection on my part; as it showed plainly how little I had to expect if I should, by any accident, be reduced to the necessity of depending upon them for support; so that, though I laid me down to rest, sleep was a stranger to me that night. The following beautiful lines of Dr. Young I repeated above an hundred times:

"Tired Nature's sweet restorer, balmy Sleep;
He, like the world, his ready visit pays
Where fortune smiles; the wretched he forsakes:
Swift on his downy pinions flies from woe,
And lights on lids unsully'd with a tear."
—Night Thoughts.

9th.

1770. August.

After passing the night in this melancholy manner, I got up at daybreak, and, with the two Southern Indians, set out in quest of our deserter. Many hours elapsed in fruitless search after him, as we could not discover a single track in the direction which we were informed he had taken. The day being almost spent without the least appearance of success, I proposed repairing to the place where I had delivered the quadrant to him, in hopes of seeing some track in the moss that might lead to the way the Indians were gone whom our deserter had accompanied. On our arrival at that place, we found they had struck down toward a little river which they had crossed the morning before; and there, to our great joy, we found the quadrant and the bag of powder lying on the top of a high stone, but not a human being was to be seen. On {45} examining the powder, we found that the bag had been opened, and part of it taken out; but, notwithstanding our loss was very considerable, we returned with light hearts to the place at which we had been the night before, where we found our baggage safe, but all the Indians gone; they had, however, been so considerate as to set up marks to direct us what course to steer. By the time we had adjusted our bundles, the day was quite spent; seeing, however, a smoke, or rather a fire, in the direction we were ordered to steer, we bent our way towards it; and a little after ten o'clock at night came up with the main body of the Indians; when, after refreshing ourselves with a plentiful supper, the first morsel we had tasted that day, we retired to rest, which I at least enjoyed with better success than the preceding night.

11th.

In the morning of the eleventh we proceeded on to the West, and West by South; but on the twelfth did not move. This gave us an opportunity of endeavouring to ascertain the latitude by a meridian altitude, when we found the place to be in 63° 10' North nearly. It proving rather cloudy about noon, though exceeding fine weather, I let the quadrant stand, in order to obtain the latitude more exactly by two altitudes; but, to my great mortification, while I was eating my dinner, a sudden gust of wind blew it down; and as the ground where it stood was {46} very stoney, the bubble, the sight-vane, and vernier, were entirely broke to pieces, which rendered the instrument useless. In consequence of this misfortune I resolved to return again to the Fort, though we were then in the latitude of 63° 10' North, and about 10° 40' West longitude from Churchill River.[43]

FOOTNOTES:

[R] This was a proposal of the Governor's, though he well knew we could not do without their assistance, both for hauling our baggage, as well as dressing skins for clothing, pitching our tent, getting firing, &c.

[28] Erethizon dorsatum (Linn.). Near the extreme northern limit in this quarter.—E. A. P.

[29] Esox lucius Linn.—E. A. P.

[30] Cristivomer namaycush Walbaum.—E. A. P.

[31] Lota maculosa (Le Sueur).—E. A. P.

[S] The Methy are generally caught with a hook; and the best time for that sport is in the night; and if the night be dark, the better.

[32] He appears to have been camped at the rapid at the head or western end of Shethnanei Lake, which, according to the best information at present available, is about latitude 58° 37' and longitude 4° west from Prince of Wales Fort.

[33] She-than-nee is clearly the same word as Shethnanei, a Chipewyan word meaning "high hill," and applied to a point on the north shore of Shethnanei Lake. In February 1891, the Rev. J. (Bishop) Lofthouse visited some Indians living at this place, accomplishing the journey out from Churchill in seven days, and the return journey in six days.

[34] Beralzoa means Shoal Lake.

[T] It is the general opinion of the Southern Indians, that when any of their tribe has been driven to the necessity of eating human flesh, they become so fond of it, that no person is safe in their company. And though it is well known they are never guilty of making this horrid repast but when driven to it by necessity, yet those who have made it are not only shunned, but so universally detested by all who know them, that no Indians will tent with them, and they are frequently murdered slyly. I have seen several of those poor wretches who, unfortunately for them, have come under the above description, and though they were persons much esteemed before hunger had driven them to this act, were afterward so universally despised and neglected, that a smile never graced their countenances: deep melancholy has been seated on their brows, while the eye most expressively spoke the dictates of the heart, and seemed to say, "Why do you despise me for my misfortunes? the period is probably not far distant, when you may be driven to the like necessity!"

In the Spring of the year 1775, when I was building Cumberland House, an Indian, whose name was Wapoos, came to the settlement, at a time when fifteen tents of Indians were on the plantations: they examined him very minutely, and found he had come a considerable way by himself, without a gun, or ammunition. This made many of them conjecture he had met with, and killed, some person by the way; and this was the more easily credited, from the care he took to conceal a bag of provisions, which he had brought with him, in a lofty pine-tree near the house.

Being a stranger, I invited him in, though I saw he had nothing for trade; and during that interview, some of the Indian women examined his bag, and gave it as their opinion that the meat it contained was human flesh: in consequence, it was not without the interference of some principal Indians, whose liberality of sentiment was more extensive than that in the others, the poor creature saved his life. Many of the men cleaned and loaded their guns; others had their bows and arrows ready; and even the women took possession of the hatchets, to kill this poor inoffensive wretch, for no crime but that of travelling about two hundred miles by himself, unassisted by fire-arms for support in his journey.

[35] After leaving Lake Beralzoa, and before reaching Cathawhachaga River, he had crossed Thlewiaza or Little Fish River, Magnus Lake, and several other lakes and streams which are probably tributaries of the Tha-anne or Rocky-Bank River. Cathawhachaga is evidently the Kazan River which I descended in 1894, and it is interesting to note that while, in Hearne's time, it was within the hunting grounds of the Chipewyan Indians, at the time of my visit, one hundred and twenty-four years later, these Indians had left it, and its banks were inhabited entirely by Eskimos. Hearne doubtless crossed the river four miles above its discharge into Yath-kyed Lake, at a place called by the Eskimos Paleluah, where the stream is deep and narrow, and has but a moderate current. This is a well-known crossing place for the caribou on their annual migrations from the forest to the Arctic Coast and back again, and the Eskimos wait to spear them while they are swimming across the stream, just as the Indians doubtless waited when they occupied this country. Its position is in latitude 62° 36' north, 28' south of the position assigned to it by Hearne in the text, and the longitude 4° 6' west of Fort Prince of Wales. His map does not here agree with his description, but places this crossing of the Kazan River in latitude 62° 40' north, very nearly in its true position. Cathawhachaga is a Chipewyan word meaning "where fish are plentiful in the river."

[36] Yath-kyed or White Snow Lake, at present known to the Eskimos as Haecoliguah.

[37] Whitefish, suckers, &c.

[38] See note on p. 87.

[39] The bay of Yath-kyed Lake, at which they seem to have stopped, is about eight miles north of Paleluah, where the river was crossed.

[U] To prepare meat in this manner, it requires no farther operation than cutting the lean parts of the animal into thin slices, and drying it in the sun, or by a slow fire, till, after beating it between two stones, it is reduced to a coarse powder.

[40] Théwhagon or Yéwuhikun is the Cree name for meat dried and beaten as above, and it is generally known throughout the fur countries as "pounded meat." When fat is plentiful this shredded dry meat is often packed into a sack made of hide, and boiling fat is poured over and into it. This mixture of dried meat and grease is called pemican.

[V] Wish-a-capucca is the name given by the natives to a plant which is found all over the country bordering on Hudson's Bay; and an infusion of it is used as tea by all the Europeans settled in that country.[41]

[41] This plant, Ledum palustre, commonly known as Labrador Tea, is common everywhere in the swamps throughout the forests of the north.

[W] This river, as well as all others deserving that appellation which I crossed during this part of my journey, ran to the East and North-East; and both them and the lakes were perfectly fresh, and inhabited by fish that are well known never to frequent salt water.[42]

[42] The brief description of this portion of his journey here given leaves his course quite indefinite, but his map shows that he travelled northward to the west of Yath-kyed Lake, across Nutarawit River, and thence around the north side of Napashish (Nutarawit) Lake, and westward to within a short distance of the south shore of Aberdeen Lake. Thence he turned south-westward until he reached Dubawnt River, where it flows from Dubawnt Lake. It is there a beautiful stream of clear water flowing between gently sloping grassy banks. The latitude of this place is 63° 33' north, while on his map it is shown as 63° 38' north. As the latitudes of the crossing places of Kazan and Dubawnt Rivers, shown on his map, though differing greatly from his text, are very nearly correct, we may fairly assume that his intermediate positions are also reasonably accurate, and that his northern point of this journey, which he places in latitude 64° 20', is not far from correct.

Dubawnt (properly To' bon') is a Chipewyan word meaning "water-along-the-shore." It is so called because the main body of the lake is at all seasons of the year covered with ice, though for a few days, or possibly weeks, in summer this ice is loosened from the shore, and there is a lane of water between the ice and the land.

[43] The position of the place where he broke his quadrant on the 12th of August is difficult to determine either from the text or from his map. A point in latitude 63° 10' north and longitude 10° 40' west from Churchill, which is the position given in the text, is shown on his map almost in the centre of Dubawnt Lake, and the map shows that after crossing the outlet of the lake his course was at a considerable distance to the north-west and west from it. It is probable therefore that his quadrant was broken on the great plain which lies to the west of the lake, and north-west of the Dubawnt River above the lake.

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