{60} CHAP. IV.

Transactions during our Stay at Prince of Wales's Fort, and the former part of our third Expedition, till our Arrival at Clowey, where we built Canoes, in May 1771.

Preparations for our departure—Refuse to take any of the home-guard Indians with me—By so doing, I offend the Governor—Leave the Fort a third time—My instructions on this expedition—Provisions of all kinds very scarce—Arrive at the woods, where we kill some deer—Arrive at Island Lake—Matonabbee taken ill—Some remarks thereon—Join the remainder of the Indians' families—Leave Island Lake—Description thereof—Deer plentiful—Meet a strange Indian—Alter our course from West North West to West by South—Cross Cathawhachaga River, Cossed Lake, Snow-Bird Lake, and Pike Lake—Arrive at a tent of strangers, who are employed in snaring deer in a pound—Description of the pound—Method of proceeding—Remarks thereon—Proceed on our journey—Meet with several parties of Indians; by one of whom I sent a letter to the Governor at Prince of Wales's Fort—Arrive at Thleweyazayeth—Employment there—Proceed to the North North West and North—Arrive at Clowey—One of the Indians' wives taken in labour—Remarks thereon—Customs observed by the Northern Indians on those occasions.

1770. November. 28th.

On my arrival at the Fort, I informed the Governor, of Matonabbee's being so near. On the twenty-eighth of November he arrived. Notwithstanding the many difficulties and hardships which I had undergone during my two unsuccessful attempts, I was so far from being {61} solicited on this occasion to undertake a third excursion, that I willingly offered my service; which was readily accepted, as my abilities and approved courage, in persevering under difficulties, were thought noways inferior to the task.

1770. December.

I then determined to engage Matonabbee to be my guide; to which he readily consented, and with a freedom of speech and correctness of language not commonly met with among Indians, not only pointed out the reasons which had occasioned all our misfortunes in my two former attempts, but described the plan he intended to pursue; which at the same time that it was highly satisfactory to me, did honour to his penetration and judgment; as it proved him to be a man of extensive observation with respect to times, seasons, and places; and well qualified to explain everything that could contribute either to facilitate or retard the ease or progress of travelling in those dreary parts of the world.

7th.

1770. December.

Having engaged Matonabbee, therefore, as my guide, I began to make preparations for our departure; but Mr. Norton, the Governor, having been very fully occupied in trading with a large body of Indians, it was the seventh of December before I could obtain from him my dispatches. It may not be improper to observe, that he again wanted to force some of the home-guard Indians (who were {62} his own relations [Z]) into our company, merely with a view that they might engross all the credit of taking care of{63} me during the journey; but I had round them of so little use in my two former attempts, that I absolutely refused them; and by so doing, offended Mr. Norton to such a degree, that neither time nor absence could ever afterwards eradicate his dislike of me; so that at my return he used every means in his power to treat me ill, and to render my life unhappy. However, to deal with candour on this occasion, it must be acknowledged to his honour, that whatever our private animosities might have been, he did not suffer them to interfere with public business; and I was fitted out with ammunition, and every other article which Matonabbee thought could be wanted. I was also furnished, as before, with a small assortment of light trading goods, as presents to the far distant Indians.

1770. December.

At last I succeeded in obtaining my instructions which were as follows:

{64} "ORDERS and INSTRUCTIONS for Mr. Samuel Hearne, going on his third Expedition to the North of Churchill River, in quest of a North West Passage, Copper Mines, or any other thing that may be serviceable to the British Nation in general, or the Hudson's Bay Company in particular; in the year 1770.

"Mr. Samuel Hearne.
"Sir,

"As you have offered your service a third time to go in search of the Copper Mine River, &c., and as Matonabbee, a leading Indian, who has been at those parts, is willing to be your guide, we have accordingly engaged him for that service; but having no other instrument on the same construction with the quadrant you had the misfortune to break, we have furnished you with an Elton's quadrant, being the most proper instrument we can now procure for making observations on the land.

"The above Leader, Matonabbee, and a few of his best men, which he has selected for that purpose, are to provide for you, assist you in all things, and conduct you to the Copper Mine River; where you must {65} be careful to observe the latitude and longitude, also the course of the river, the depth of the water, the situation of the Copper Mines, &c., but your first instructions, of November sixth, one thousand seven hundred and sixty-nine, being sufficiently full, we refer you to every part thereof for the better regulation of your conduct during this journey.

1770. December.

"As you and your Indian companions are fitted out with everything that we think is necessary, (or at least as many useful articles as the nature of travelling in those parts will admit of), you are hereby desired to proceed on your journey as soon as possible; and your present guide has promised to take great care of you, and conduct you out and home with all convenient speed.

"I conclude with my best wishes for your health and happiness, together with a successful journey, and a quick return in safety. Amen.

"(Signed) Moses Norton, Governor.

"Dated at Prince of Wales's Fort,
7th December 1770."

7th.

On the seventh of December I set out on my third journey; and the weather, considering the season of the year, was for some days pretty mild. One of Matonabbee's wives being ill, occasioned us to walk so slow, that {66} it was the thirteenth before we arrived at Seal River; at which time two men and their wives left us, whose loads, when added to those of the remainder of my crew, made a very material difference, especially as Matonabbee's wife was so ill as to be obliged to be hauled on a sledge.

16th.

1770. December.

Finding deer and all other game very scarce, and not knowing how long it might be before we could reach any place where they were in greater plenty, the Indians walked as far each day as their loads and other circumstances would conveniently permit. On the sixteenth, we arrived at Egg River, where Matonabbee and the rest of my crew had laid up some provisions and other necessaries, when on their journey to the Fort. On going to the place where they thought the provisions had been carefully secured from all kinds of wild beasts, they had the mortification to find that some of their countrymen, with whom the Governor had first traded and dispatched from the Fort, had robbed the store of every article, as well as of some of their most useful implements. This loss was more severely felt, as there was a total want of every kind of game; and the Indians, not expecting to meet with so great a disappointment, had not used that economy in the expenditure of the oatmeal and other provisions which they had received at the Fort, as they probably would have done, had they not relied firmly on finding a supply at this place. This disappointment and loss was borne by the Indians with the greatest fortitude; and I did not hear {67} one of them breathe the least hint of revenge in case they should ever discover the offenders; the only effect it had on them was, that of making them put the best foot foremost. This was thought so necessary, that for some time we walked every day from morning till night. The days, however, being short, our sledges heavy, and some of the road very bad, our progress seldom exceeded sixteen or eighteen miles a day, and some days we did not travel so much.

18th.

On the eighteenth, as we were continuing our course to the North West, up a small creek that empties itself into Egg River, we saw the tracks of many deer which had crossed that part a few days before; at that time there was not a fresh track to be seen: some of the Indians, however, who had lately passed that way, had killed more than they had occasion for, so that several joints of good meat were found in their old tent-places; which, though only sufficient for one good meal, were very acceptable, as we had been in exceeding straitened circumstances for many days.

19th.

27th.

1770. December.

On the nineteenth, we pursued our course in the North West quarter; and, after leaving the above-mentioned creek, traversed nothing but entire barren ground, with empty bellies, till the twenty-seventh; for though we arrived at some woods on the twenty-sixth, and saw a few deer, four of which the Indians killed, they were {68} at so great a distance from the place on which we lay, that it was the twenty-seventh before the meat was brought to the tents. Here the Indians proposed to continue one day, under pretence of repairing their sledges and snow shoes; but from the little attention they paid to those repairs, I was led to think that the want of food was the chief thing that detained them, as they never ceased eating the whole day. Indeed for many days before we had in great want, and for the last three days had not tasted a morsel of any thing, except a pipe of tobacco and a drink of snow water; and as we walked daily from morning till night, and were all heavy laden, our strength began to fail. I must confess that I never spent so dull a Christmas; and when I recollected the merry season which was then passing, and reflected on the immense quantities, and great variety of delicacies which were then expending in every part of Christendom, and that with a profusion bordering on waste, I could not refrain from wishing myself again in Europe, if it had been only to have had an opportunity of alleviating the extreme hunger which I suffered with the refuse of the table of any one of my acquaintance. My Indians, however, still kept in good spirits; and as we were then across all the barren ground, and saw a few fresh tracks of deer, they began to think that the worst of the road was over for that winter, and flattered me with the expectation of soon meeting with deer and other game in greater plenty than we had done since our departure from the Fort.

28th.

{69} Early in the morning of the twenty-eighth, we again set out, and directed our course to the Westward, through thick shrubby woods, consisting chiefly of ill-shaped stunted pines, with small dwarf junipers, intermixed here and there, particularly round the margins of ponds and swamps, with dwarf willow bushes; and among the rocks and sides of the hills were also some small poplars.[46]

30th.

1770. December.

On the thirtieth, we arrived at the East side of Island Lake,[47] where the Indians killed two large buck deer; but the rutting season was so lately over, that their flesh was only eatable by those who could not procure better food. In the evening, Matonabbee was taken very ill; and from the nature of his complaint, I judged his illness to have proceeded from the enormous quantity of meat that he had eat on the twenty-seventh, as he had been indisposed ever since that time. Nothing is more common with those Indians, after they have eat as much at a sitting as would serve six moderate men, than to find themselves out of order; but not one of them can bear to hear that it is the effect of eating too much: in defence of which they say, that the meanest of the animal creation knows when hunger is satisfied, and will leave off accordingly. This, however, is a false assertion, advanced knowingly in support of an absurd argument; for it is well known by them, as well as all the Southern Indians, that the black bear, who, for size and the delicacy of its flesh, may justly be called a respectable animal, is so far from knowing {70} when its hunger is satisfied, that, in the Summer, when the berries are ripe, it will gorge to such a degree, that it frequently, and even daily, vomits up great quantities of new-swallowed fruit, before it has undergone any change in the stomach, and immediately renews its repast with as much eagerness as before.

1770. December.

Notwithstanding the Northern Indians are at times so voracious, yet they bear hunger with a degree of fortitude which, as Mr. Ellis justly observes of the Southern Indians, "is much easier to admire than to imitate." I have more than once seen the Northern Indians, at the end of three or four days fasting, as merry and jocose on the subject, as if they had voluntarily imposed it on themselves; and would ask each other in the plainest terms, and in the merriest mood, if they had any inclination for an intrigue with a strange woman? I must acknowledge that examples of this kind were of infinite service to me, as they tended to keep up my spirits on those occasions with a degree of fortitude that would have been impossible for me to have done had the Indians behaved in a contrary manner, and expressed any apprehension of starving.

31st.

1771. January. 1st.

1771. January.

Early in the morning of the thirty-first, we continued our journey, and walked about fourteen miles to the Westward on Island Lake, where we fixed our residence; but Matonabbee was at this time so ill as to be obliged to be hauled on a sledge the whole day. The {71} next morning, however, he so far recovered as to be capable of walking; when we proceeded on to the West and West by North, about sixteen miles farther on the same Lake, till we arrived at two tents, which contained the remainder of the wives and families of my guides, who had been waiting there for the return of their husbands from the Fort. Here we found only two men, though there were upward of twenty women and children; and as those two men had no gun or ammunition, they had no other method of supporting themselves and the women, but by catching fish, and snaring a few rabbits:[48] the latter were scarce, but the former were easily caught in considerable numbers either with nets or hooks. The species of fish generally caught in the nets are tittemeg, pike, and barble; and the only sorts caught with hooks are trout, pike, burbut, and a small fish, erroneously called by the English tench: the Southern Indians call it the toothed tittemeg, and the Northern Indians call it saint eah. They are delicate eating; being nearly as firm as a perch, and generally very fat. They seldom exceed a foot in length, and in shape much resemble a gurnard, except that of having a very long broad fin on the back, like a perch, but this fin is not armed with similar spikes. The scales are large, and of a sooty brown. They are generally most esteemed when broiled or roasted with the scales on, of course the skin is not eaten.

3d.

{72} As the Captain [Matonabbee] and one man were indisposed, we did not move on the second of January; but early in the morning of the third set out, and walked about seven miles to the North Westward, five of which were on the above mentioned Lake; when the Indians having killed two deer, we put up for the night.

Island Lake (near the center) is in latitude 60° 45' North, and 102° 25' West longitude, from London; and is, at the part we crossed, about thirty-five miles wide: but from the North East to the South West it is much larger, and entirely full of islands, so near to each other as to make the whole Lake resemble a jumble of serpentine rivers and creeks; and it is celebrated by the natives as abounding with great plenty of fine fish during the beginning of the Winter. At different parts of this Lake most part of the wives and families of those Northern Indians who visit Prince of Wales's Fort in October and November generally reside, and wait for their return; as there is little fear of their being in want of provisions, even without the assistance of a gun and ammunition, which is a point of real consequence to them. The Lake is plentifully supplied with water from several small rivulets and creeks which run into it at the South West end; and it empties itself by means of other small rivers which run to the North East, the principal of which is Nemace-a-seepee-a-fish, or Little Fish River. Many of the islands, {73} as well as the main land round this Lake, abound with dwarf woods, chiefly pines; but in some parts intermixed with larch and small birch trees. The land, like all the rest which lies to the North of Seal River, is hilly, and full of rocks; and though none of the hills are high, yet as few of the woods grow on their summits, they in general show their snowy heads far above the woods which grow in the vallies, or those which are scattered about their sides.

1771. January.

After leaving Island Lake, we continued our old course between the West and North West, and travelled at the easy rate of eight or nine miles a day. Provisions of all kinds were scarce till the sixteenth, when the Indians killed twelve deer. This induced us to put up, though early in the day; and finding great plenty of deer in the neighbourhood of our little encampment, it was agreed by all parties to remain a few days, in order to dry and pound some meat to make it lighter for carriage.

22d.

1771. January.

Having, by the twenty-second, provided a sufficient stock of provision, properly prepared, to carry with us, and repaired our sledges and snow-shoes, we again pursued our course in the North West quarter; and in the afternoon spoke with a stranger, an Indian, who had one of Matonabbee's wives under his care. He did not remain in our company above an hour, as he only smoked part of a few pipes with his friends, and returned to his tent, which could not {74} be far distant from the place where we lay that night, as the woman and her two children joined us next morning, before we had taken down our tent and made ready for moving. Those people were the first strangers whom we had met since we left the Fort, though we had travelled several hundred miles; which is a proof that this part of the country is but thinly inhabited. It is a truth well known to the natives, and doubtless founded on experience, that there are many very extensive tracts of land in those parts, which are incapable of affording support to any number of the human race even during the short time they are passing through them, in the capacity of migrants, from one place to another; much less are they capable of affording a constant support to those who might wish to make them their fixed residence at any season of the year. It is true, that few rivers or lakes in those parts are entirely destitute of fish; but the uncertainty of meeting with a sufficient supply for any considerable time together, makes the natives very cautious how they put their whole dependance on that article, as it has too frequently been the means of many hundreds being starved to death.

23d.

By the twenty-third, deer were so plentiful that the Indians seemed to think that, unless the season, contrary to expectation and general experience, should prove unfavourable, there would be no fear of our being in want of {75} provisions during the rest of the Winter, as deer had always been known to be in great plenty in the direction which they intended to walk.

February. 3d.

On the third of February, we continued our course to the West by North and West North West,[49] and were so near the edge of the woods, that the barren ground was in sight to the Northward. As the woods trended away to the West, we were obliged to alter our course to West by South, for the sake of keeping among them, as well as the deer. In the course of this day's walk we saw several strangers, some of whom remained in our company, while others went on their respective ways.

6th.

1771. February.

On the sixth, we crossed the main branch of Cathawhachaga River;[50] which, at that part, is about three quarters of a mile broad; and after walking three miles farther, came to the side of Cossed Whoie,[51] or Partridge Lake; but the day being far spent, and the weather excessively cold, we put up for the night.

7th.

Early in the morning of the seventh, the weather being serene and clear, we set out, and crossed the above mentioned Lake; which at that part is about fourteen miles wide; but from the South South West to North North East is much larger. It is impossible to describe the intenseness of the cold which we experienced this day; and the dispatch we made in crossing the lake is almost incredible, as it was {76} performed by the greatest part of my crew in less than two hours; though some of the women, who were heavy laden, took a much longer time. Several of the Indians were much frozen, but none of them more disagreeably so than one of Matonabbee's wives, whose thighs and buttocks were in a manner incrusted with frost; and when thawed, several blisters arose, nearly as large as sheeps' bladders. The pain the poor woman suffered on this occasion was greatly aggravated by the laughter and jeering of her companions, who said that she was rightly served for belting her clothes so high. I must acknowledge that I was not in the number of those who pitied her, as I thought she took too much pains to shew a clean heel and good leg; her garters being always in sight, which, though by no means considered here as bordering on indecency, is by far too airy to withstand the rigorous cold of a severe winter in a high Northern latitude. I doubt not that the laughter of her companions was excited by similar ideas.

1771. February.

When we got on the West side of Partridge Lake we continued our course for many days toward the West by South and West South West; when deer were so plentiful, and the Indians killed such vast numbers, that notwithstanding we frequently remained three, four, or five days in a place, to eat up the spoils of our hunting, yet at our departure we frequently left great quantities of good meat behind us, which we could neither eat nor carry with us. {77} This conduct is the more excusable among people whose wandering manner of life and contracted ideas make every thing appear to them as the effect of mere chance. The great uncertainty of their ever visiting this or that part a second time, induces them to think there is nothing either wrong or improvident in living on the best the country will afford, as they are passing through it from place to place; and they seem willing that those who come after them should take their chance, as they have done.

21st.

On the twenty-first, we crossed The-whole-kyed Whoie, or Snowbird Lake,[52] which at that part was about twelve or thirteen miles wide, though from North to South it is much larger. As deer were as plentiful as before, we expended much time in killing and eating them. This Matonabbee assured me was the best way we could employ ourselves, as the season would by no means permit us to proceed in a direct line for the Copper-mine River; but when the Spring advanced, and the deer began to draw out to the barren ground, he would then, he said, proceed in such a manner as to leave no room to doubt of our arrival at the Copper-mine River in proper time.

March. 2d.

1771. March. 3d.

On the second of March, we lay by the side of Whooldyah'd Whoie or Pike Lake,[53] and not far from Doo-baunt Whoie River. On the next day we began to cross the above mentioned Lake, but after walking seven miles on it to the West South West, we arrived at a large tent of Northern {78} Indians, who had been living there from the beginning of the Winter, and had found a plentiful subsistence by catching deer in a pound. This kind of employment is performed in the following manner:

1771. March.

When the Indians design to impound deer, they look out for one of the paths in which a number of them have trod, and which is observed to be still frequented by them. When these paths cross a lake, a wide river, or a barren plain, they are found to be much the best for the purpose; and if the path run through a cluster of woods, capable of affording materials for building the pound, it adds considerably to the commodiousness of the situation. The pound is built by making a strong fence with brushy trees, without observing any degree of regularity, and the work is continued to any extent, according to the pleasure of the builders. I have seen some that were not less than a mile round, and am informed that there are others still more extensive. The door, or entrance of the pound, is not larger than a common gate, and the inside is so crowded with small counter-hedges as very much to resemble a maze; in every opening of which they set a snare, made with thongs of parchment deer-skins well twisted together, which are amazingly strong. One end of the snare is usually made fast to a growing pole; but if no one of a sufficient size can be found near the place where the snare is set, a loose pole is substituted in its room, which is always of such size and length that a deer cannot drag it {79} far before it gets entangled among the other woods, which are all left standing except what is found necessary for making the fence, hedges, &c.

The pound being thus prepared, a row of small brush-wood is stuck up in the snow on each side of the door or entrance; and these hedge-rows are continued along the open part of the lake, river, or plain, where neither stick nor stump besides is to be seen, which makes them the more distinctly observed. These poles, or brush-wood, are generally placed at the distance of fifteen or twenty yards from each other, and ranged in such a manner as to form two sides of a long acute angle, growing gradually wider in proportion to the distance they extend from the entrance of the pound, which sometimes is not less than two or three miles; while the deer's path is exactly along the middle, between the two rows of brush-wood.

Indians employed on this service always pitch their tent on or near to an eminence that affords a commanding prospect of the path leading to the pound; and when they see any deer going that way, men, women, and children walk along the lake or river-side under cover of the woods, till they get behind them, then step forth to open view, and proceed towards the pound in the form of a crescent. The poor timorous deer finding themselves pursued, and at the same time taking the two rows of brushy poles to be two ranks of people stationed {80} to prevent their passing on either side, run straight forward in the path till they get into the pound. The Indians then close in, and block up the entrance with some brushy trees, that have been cut down and lie at hand for that purpose. The deer being thus enclosed, the women and children walk round the pound, to prevent them from breaking or jumping over the fence, while the men are employed spearing such as are entangled in the snares, and shooting with bows and arrows those which remain loose in the pound.

1771. March.

This method of hunting, if it deserves the name, is sometimes so successful, that many families subsist by it without having occasion to move their tents above once or twice during the course of a whole winter; and when the Spring advances, both the deer and Indians draw out to the Eastward, on the ground which is entirely barren, or at least what is so called in those parts, as it neither produces trees or shrubs of any kind, so that moss and some little grass is all the herbage which is to be found on it. Such an easy way of procuring a comfortable maintenance in the Winter months, (which is by far the worst time of the year), is wonderfully well adapted to the support of the aged and infirm, but is too apt to occasion a habitual indolence in the young and active, who frequently spend a whole Winter in this indolent manner: and as those parts of the country are almost destitute of every animal of the furr kind, it cannot be {81} supposed that those who indulge themselves in this indolent method of procuring food can be masters of any thing for trade; whereas those who do not get their livelihood at so easy a rate, generally procure furrs enough during the Winter to purchase a sufficient supply of ammunition, and other European goods, to last them another year. This is nearly the language of the more industrious among them, who, of course, are of most importance and value to the Hudson's Bay Company, as it is from them the furrs are procured which compose the greatest part of Churchill trade. But in my opinion, there cannot exist a stronger proof that mankind was not created to enjoy happiness in this world, than the conduct of the miserable beings who inhabit this wretched part of it; as none but the aged and infirm, the women and children, a few of the more indolent and unambitious part of them, will submit to remain in the parts where food and clothing are procured in this easy manner, because no animals are produced there whose furrs are valuable. And what do the more industrious gain by giving themselves all this additional trouble? The real wants of these people are few, and easily supplied; a hatchet, an ice-chissel, a file, and a knife, are all that is required to enable them, with a little industry, to procure a comfortable livelihood; and those who endeavour to possess more, are always the most unhappy, and may, in fact, be said to be only slaves and carriers to the rest, whose ambition never leads them to any thing beyond the means of procuring food {82} and clothing. It is true, the carriers pride themselves much on the respect which is shewn to them at the Factory; to obtain which they frequently run great risques of being starved to death in their way thither and back; and all that they can possibly get there for the furrs they procure after a year's toil, seldom amounts to more than is sufficient to yield a bare subsistence, and a few furrs for the ensuing year's market; while those whom they call indolent and mean-spirited live generally in a state of plenty, without trouble or risque; and consequently must be the most happy, and, in truth, the most independent also. It must be allowed that they are by far the greatest philosophers, as they never give themselves the trouble to acquire what they can do well enough without. The deer they kill, furnishes them with food, and a variety of warm and comfortable clothing, either with or without the hair, according as the seasons require; and it must be very hard indeed, if they cannot get furrs enough in the course of two or three years, to purchase a hatchet, and such other edge-tools as are necessary for their purpose. Indeed, those who take no concern at all about procuring furrs, have generally an opportunity of providing themselves with all their real wants from their more industrious countrymen, in exchange for provisions, and ready-dressed skins for clothing.

1771. March.

It is undoubtedly the duty of every one of the Company's servants to encourage a spirit of industry among {83} the natives, and to use every means in their power to induce them to procure furrs and other commodities for trade, by assuring them of a ready purchase and good payment for every thing they bring to the Factory: and I can truly say, that this has ever been the grand object of my attention. But I must at the same time confess, that such conduct is by no means for the real benefit of the poor Indians; it being well known that those who have the least intercourse with the Factories, are by far the happiest. As their whole aim is to procure a comfortable subsistence, they take the most prudent methods to accomplish it; and by always following the lead of the deer, are seldom exposed to the griping hand of famine, so frequently felt by those who are called the annual traders. It is true, that there are few of the Indians, whose manner of life I have just described, but have once in their lives at least visited Prince of Wales's Fort; and the hardships and dangers which most of them experienced on those occasions, have left such a lasting impression on their minds that nothing can induce them to repeat their visits: nor is it, in fact, the interest of the Company that people of this easy turn, and who require only as much iron-work at a time as can be purchased with three or four beaver skins, and that only once in two or three years, should be invited to the Factories; because what they beg and steal while there, is worth, in the way of trade, three times the quantity of furrs which they bring. For this reason, it is much more for the interest of the Company that the {84} annual traders should buy up all those small quantities of furrs, and bring them in their own name, than that a parcel of beggars should be encouraged to come to the Factory with scarcely as many furrs as will pay for the victuals they eat while they are on the plantation.

1771. March.

I have often heard it observed, that the Indians who attend the deer-pounds might, in the course of a Winter, collect a vast number of pelts, which would well deserve the attention of those who are called carriers or traders; but it is a truth, though unknown to those speculators, that the deer skins at that season are not only as thin as a bladder, but are also full of warbles, which render them of little or no value. Indeed, were they a more marketable commodity than they really are, the remote situation of those pounds from the Company's Factories, must for ever be an unsurmountable barrier to the Indians bringing any of those skins to trade. The same observation may be made of all the other Northern Indians, whose chief support, the whole year round, is venison; but the want of heavy draught in Winter, and water-carriage in Summer, will not permit them to bring many deer skins to market, not even those that are in season, and for which there has always been great encouragement given.

4th.

7th.

8th.

9th.

1771. March.

We stopped only one night in company with the Indians whom we met on Pike Lake, and in the morning of the fourth, proceeded to cross the remainder of that {85} Lake; but, though the weather was fine, and though the Lake was not more than twenty-seven miles broad at the place where we crossed it, yet the Indians lost so much time at play, that it was the seventh before we arrived on the West side of it. During the whole time we were crossing it, each night we found either points of land, or islands, to put up in. On the eighth, we lay a little to the East North East of Black Bear Hill,[54] where the Indians killed two deer, which were the first we had seen for ten days; but having plenty of dried meat and fat with us, we were by no means in want during any part of that time. On the ninth, we proceeded on our course to the Westward, and soon met with as great plenty of deer as we had seen during any part of our journey; which, no doubt, made things go on smooth and easy: and as the Spring advanced, the rigour of the Winter naturally abated, so that at times we had fine pleasant weather over-head, though it was never so warm as to occasion any thaw, unless in such places as lay exposed to the mid-day sun, and were sheltered from all the cold winds.

19th.

20th.

On the nineteenth, as we were continuing our course to the West and West by South, we saw the tracks of several strangers; and on following the main path, we arrived that night at five tents of Northern Indians, who had resided there great part of the Winter, snaring deer in the same manner as those before mentioned. Indeed, it should {86} seem that this, as well as some other places, had been frequented more than once on this occasion; for the wood that had been cut down for fewel, and other uses, was almost incredible. Before morning, the weather became so bad, and the storm continued to rage with such violence, that we did not move for several days; and as some of the Indians we met with at this place were going to Prince of Wales's Fort in the Summer, I embraced the opportunity of sending by them a Letter to the Chief at that Fort, agreeably to the tenor of my instructions. By summing up my courses and distances from my last observation, for the weather at that time would not permit me to observe, I judged myself to be in latitude 61° 30' North, and about 19° 60' of longitude to the West of Churchill River. This, and some accounts of the usage I received from the natives, with my opinion of the future success of the journey, formed the contents of my Letter.

23d.

26th.

1771. March.

On the twenty-third, the weather became fine and moderate, so we once more pursued our way, and the next day, as well as on the twenty-sixth, saw several more tents of Northern Indians, who were employed in the same manner as those we had formerly met; but some of them having had bad success, and being relations or acquaintances of part of my crew, joined our company, and proceeded with us to the Westward. Though the deer did not then keep regular paths, so as to enable the Indians to catch them in pounds, yet they were to be met {87} with in great abundance in scattered herds; so that my companions killed as many as they pleased with their guns.

April. 8th.

We still continued our course to the West and West by South, and on the eighth of April, arrived at a small Lake, called Thelewey-aza-yeth;[55] but with what propriety it is so called I cannot discover, for the meaning of Thelewey-aza-yeth is Little Fish Hill: probably so called from a high hill which stands on a long point near the West end of the Lake. On an island in this Lake we pitched our tents, and the Indians finding deer very numerous, determined to stay here some time, in order to dry and pound meat to take with us; for they well knew, by the season of the year, that the deer were then drawing out to the barren ground, and as the Indians proposed to walk due North on our leaving the Lake, it was uncertain when we should again meet with any more. As several Indians had during the Winter joined our party, our number had now increased to seven tents, which in the whole contained not less than seventy persons.

1771. April.

Agreeably to the Indians' proposals we remained at Thelewey-aza-yeth ten days; during which time my companions were busily employed (at their intervals from hunting) in preparing small staves of birch-wood, about one and a quarter inch square, and seven or eight feet long. These serve as tent-poles all the Summer, {88} while on the barren ground; and as the fall advances, are converted into snowshoe frames for Winter use. Birchrind, together with timbers and other wood-work for building canoes, were also another object of the Indian's attention while at this place; but as the canoes were not to be set up till our arrival at Clowey, (which was many miles distant,) all the wood-work was reduced to its proper size, for the sake of making it light for carriage.

As to myself, I had little to do, except to make a few observations for determining the latitude, bringing up my journal, and filling up my chart to the present time. I found the latitude of this place 61° 30' North, and its longitude, by my account, 19° West of Prince of Wales's Fort.

18th.

1771. April.

Having a good stock of dried provisions, and most of the necessary work for canoes all ready, on the eighteenth we moved about nine or ten miles to the North North West, and then came to a tent of Northern Indians who were tenting on the North side of Thelewey-aza River. From these Indians Matonabbee purchased another wife; so that he had now no less than seven, most of whom would for size have made good grenadiers. He prided himself much in the height and strength of his wives, and would frequently say, few women would carry or haul heavier loads; and though they had, in general, a very masculine appearance, yet he preferred them to those of a {89} more delicate form and moderate stature. In a country like this, where a partner in excessive hard labour is the chief motive for the union, and the softer endearments of a conjugal life are only considered as a secondary object, there seems to be great propriety in such a choice; but if all the men were of this way of thinking, what would become of the greater part of the women, who in general are but of low stature, and many of them of a most delicate make, though not of the exactest proportion, or most beautiful mould? Take them in a body, the women are as destitute of real beauty as any nation I ever saw, though there are some few of them, when young, who are tolerable; but the care of a family, added to their constant hard labour, soon make the most beautiful among them look old and wrinkled, even before they are thirty; and several of the more ordinary ones at that age are perfect antidotes to love and gallantry. This, however, does not render them less dear and valuable to their owners, which is a lucky circumstance for those women, and a certain proof that there is no such thing as any rule or standard for beauty. Ask a Northern Indian, what is beauty? he will answer, a broad flat face, small eyes, high cheek-bones, three or four broad black lines across each cheek, a low forehead, a large broad chin, a clumsy hook-nose, a tawny hide, and breasts hanging down to the belt. Those beauties are greatly heightened, or at least rendered more valuable, when the possessor is capable of dressing all kinds of skins, converting them into the different parts {90} of their clothing, and able to carry eight or ten [AA] stone in Summer, or haul a much greater weight in Winter. These, and other similar accomplishments, are all that are sought after, or expected, of a Northern Indian woman. As to their temper, it is of little consequence; for the men have a wonderful facility in making the most stubborn comply with as much alacrity as could possibly be expected from those of the mildest and most obliging turn of mind; so that the only real difference is, the one obeys through fear, and the other complies cheerfully from a willing mind; both knowing that what is commanded must be done. They are, in fact, all kept at a great distance, and the rank they hold in the opinion of the men cannot be better expressed or explained, than by observing the method of treating or serving them at meals, which would appear very humiliating, to an European woman, though custom makes it sit light on those whose lot it is to bear it. It is necessary to observe, that when the men kill any large beast, the women are always sent to bring it to the tent: when it is brought there, every operation it undergoes, such as splitting, drying, pounding, &c. is performed by the women. When any thing is to be prepared for eating, it is the women who cook it; and when it is done, the wives and daughters of the greatest Captains in the country are never served, till all the males, even those who are in the capacity of servants, have eaten what they think proper; {91} and in times of scarcity it is frequently their lot to be left without a single morsel. It is, however, natural to think they take the liberty of helping themselves in secret; but this must be done with great prudence, as capital embezzlements of provisions in such times are looked on as affairs of real consequence, and frequently subject them to a very severe beating. If they are practised by a woman whose youth and inattention to domestic concerns cannot plead in her favour, they will for ever be a blot in her character, and few men will chuse to have her for a wife.

20th.

Finding plenty of good birch growing by the side of Theley-aza River, we remained there for a few days, in order to complete all the wood-work for the canoes, as well as for every other use for which we could possibly want it on the barren ground, during our Summer's cruise. On the twentieth, Matonabbee sent one of his brothers, and some others, a-head, with birch-rind and wood-work for a canoe, and gave them orders to proceed to a small Lake near the barren ground called Clowey, where they were desired to make all possible haste in building the canoe, that it might be ready on our arrival.

1771. April.

Having finished such wood-work as the Indians thought would be necessary, and having augmented our stock of dried meat and fat, the twenty-first was appointed for moving; but one of the women having been taken in labour, and it being rather an extraordinary case, we {92} were detained more than two days. The instant, however, the poor woman was delivered, which was not until she had suffered all the pains usually felt on those occasions for near fifty-two hours, the signal was made for moving when the poor creature took her infant on her back and set out with the rest of the company; and though another person had the humanity to haul her sledge for her, (for one day only,) she was obliged to carry a considerable load beside her little charge, and was frequently obliged to wade knee-deep in water and wet snow. Her very looks, exclusive of her moans, were a sufficient proof of the great pain she endured, insomuch that although she was a person I greatly disliked, her distress at this time so overcame my prejudice, that I never felt more for any of her sex in my life; indeed her sighs pierced me to the soul, and rendered me very miserable, as it was not in my power to relieve her.

When a Northern Indian woman is taken in labour, a small tent is erected for her, at such a distance from the other tents that her cries cannot easily be heard, and the other women and young girls are her constant visitants: no male, except children in arms, ever offers to approach her. It is a circumstance perhaps to be lamented, that these people never attempt to assist each other on those occasions, even in the most critical cases. This is in some measure owing to delicacy, but more probably to an opinion they entertain that nature is {93} abundantly sufficient to perform every thing required, without any external help whatever. When I informed them of the assistance which European women derive from the skill and attention of our midwives, they treated it with the utmost contempt; ironically observing, "that the many hump-backs, bandy-legs, and other deformities, so frequent among the English, were undoubtedly owing to the great skill of the persons who assisted in bringing them into the world, and to the extraordinary care of their nurses afterward."

1771. April.

A Northern Indian woman after child-birth is reckoned unclean for a month or five weeks; during which time she always remains in a small tent placed at a little distance from the others, with only a female acquaintance or two; and during the whole time the father never sees the child. Their reason for this practice is, that children when first born are sometimes not very sightly, having in general large heads, and but little hair, and are, moreover, often discoloured by the force of the labour; so that were the father to see them to such great disadvantage, he might probably take a dislike to them, which never afterward could be removed.

The names of the children are always given to them by the parents, or some person near of kin. Those of the boys are various, and generally derived from some place, season, or animal; the names of the girls are chiefly {94} taken from some part or property of a Martin; such as, the White Martin, the Black Martin, the Summer Martin, the Martin's Head, the Martin's Foot, the Martin's Heart, the Martin's Tail, &c.[AB]

23d.

May. 3d.

On the twenty-third, as I hinted above, we began to move forward, and to shape our course nearly North; but the weather was in general so hot, and so much snow had, in consequence, been melted, as made it bad walking in snow-shoes, and such exceeding heavy hauling, that it was the third of May before we could arrive at Clowey,[56] though the distance was not above eighty-five miles from Thelewey-aza-yeth. In our way we crossed part of two small Lakes, called Tittameg Lake and Scartack Lake; neither of which are of any note, though both abound with fine fish.

FOOTNOTES:

[Z] Mr. Norton was an Indian;[45] he was born at Prince of Wales's Fort, but had been in England nine years, and considering the small sum which was expended in his education, had made some progress in literature. At his return to Hudson's Bay he entered into all the abominable vices of his countrymen. He kept for his own use five or six of the finest Indian girls which he could select; and notwithstanding his own uncommon propensity to the fair sex, took every means in his power to prevent any European from having intercourse with the women of the country; for which purpose he proceeded to the most ridiculous length. To his own friends and country he was so partial, that he set more value on, and shewed more respect to one of their favourite dogs, than he ever did to his first officer. Among his miserable and ignorant countrymen he passed for a proficient in physic, and always kept a box of poison, to administer to those who refused him their wives or daughters.

With all these bad qualities, no man took more pains to inculcate virtue, morality, and continence on others; always painting, in the most odious colours, the jealous and revengeful disposition of the Indians, when any attempt was made to violate the chastity of their wives or daughters. Lectures of this kind from a man of established virtue might have had some effect; but when they came from one who was known to live in open defiance of every law, human and divine, they were always heard with indignation, and considered as the hypocritical cant of a selfish debauchee, who wished to engross every woman in the country to himself.

His apartments were not only convenient but elegant, and always crowded with favourite Indians: at night he locked the doors, and put the keys under his pillow; so that in the morning his dining-room was generally, for the want of necessary conveniences, worse than a hog-stye. As he advanced in years his jealousy increased, and he actually poisoned two of his women because he thought them partial to other objects more suitable to their ages. He was a most notorious smuggler; but though he put many thousands into the pockets of the Captains, he seldom put a shilling into his own.

An inflammation in his bowels occasioned his death on the 29th of December 1773; and though he died in the most excruciating pain, he retained his jealousy to the last; for a few minutes before he expired, happening to see an officer laying hold of the hand of one of his women who was standing by the fire, he bellowed out, in as loud a voice as his situation would admit, "God d——n you for a b——h, if I live I'll knock out your brains." A few minutes after making this elegant apostrophe, he expired in the greatest agonies that can possibly be conceived.

This I declare to be the real character and manner of life of the late Mr. Moses Norton.

[45] He was a son of Richard Norton, an Englishman, and a former Governor of Fort Prince of Wales, by an Indian woman. He was undoubtedly a man of forceful character, and was able to retain the confidence of the directors of the Company in London, but whether he was the moral degenerate described by Hearne is uncertain.

[46] Populus tremuloides (Michx.).

[47] The name by which the Chipewyan Indians of Fort Churchill know this lake is Nueltin (meaning Frozen-Island) Lake, which name seems to have been corrupted on Mackenzie's map into "North Lined Lake." On the Cook map it is marked Menishtick Lake, which is simply the Cree name for Island Lake. There is no record of any one having visited Island Lake since Hearne's time, but in 1894, while on the way to the Kazan River, I explored two of the upper branches of the Thlewiaza River, which flows into the lake, and was told by the Indians that the distance north-eastward down the river to this lake was not very great. This information, if correct, would place the lake rather farther south than it is placed by Hearne.

[48] Lepus americanus (Erxleben).

[49] Between Island Lake and the Cathawhachaga River, the map indicates that he crossed Fatt Lake, which is probably the lake now known to the Indians of Reindeer Lake as Twal-kai-tua or Fat-fish Lake, and said by them to lie east of Kasba Lake, though its exact position has not been determined. On the Pennant and Mackenzie maps it is called Wiethen Lake.

[50] The Cathawhachaga or Kazan River would appear to have been crossed about five miles below where it leaves Kasba Lake, as it is here about a quarter of a mile wide, while between this place and the lake it is for the most part a swift stream varying from one to three hundred yards in width. His crossing-place would therefore be in latitude 60° 37' N., while his own latitude for the crossing-place, as given on his map, is 61° 32' N., which would be far out on the barren lands, beyond the northern limit of the woods. Thus, almost as soon as he left the track followed by him on his former journey, his surveys become very inaccurate. This is so much at variance with the approximate accuracy of his surveys on his second journey, that either the Elton quadrant carried by him was quite useless, or else he did not make use of it at all.

[51] Cossed Whoie, spelt Cassad on the Cook map, and Cassed on the Pennant map. This lake lies at the source of the Kazan River, and is now known as Kasba Lake. He crossed it north of the point where the Kazan River flows from its eastern side. My survey of the lake, made in 1894, did not extend north of its outlet, but, judging from what I could see of it, and from the information obtainable from the Chipewyan Indians of the vicinity, the width here given for the lake is much too great.

[52] The-whole-kyed (Whoie) or Snowbird Lake, known to the Indians of Lake Athabasca as Thel-wel-ky Lake. The course from Kasba Lake is given in the text as W. by S. and W.S.W., and the time occupied in travelling it as thirteen days, while on Hearne's map the course is shown as westward and the distance twenty miles.

[53] The name Whooldyah'd Lake had been applied to the lake at the source of Dubawnt River, which I explored in the summer of 1893. The lake was known to the Indians of the vicinity as Pelican Lake, and they assured me that there was no lake on the river of the name of Whooldyah'd or Pike Lake. The identification of this lake with the one crossed by Hearne is reasonably, but not perfectly, certain.

[54] It had taken him thirteen days to travel from Wholdiah Lake to this camp, and, assuming a rate of four miles a day, he was fifty-two miles west of that lake. As his course was about westerly, his position would be in latitude 60° 20' north and longitude 11° 30' west of Churchill.

[55] The exact position of this lake (Thelewey-aza-yeth) has not yet been determined. In the text it is given in latitude 61° 30' north, longitude 19° west of Prince of Wales Fort, while on the map it is placed in latitude 61° 15' and 19° 30' west of Prince of Wales Fort, or one hundred and fifty miles west of Wholdiah Lake. The direction travelled from the crossing of Wholdiah Lake is shown as a little south of west, and as the south end of the latter lake is in latitude 60° 20', it is reasonable to suppose that Thelewey-aza-yeth Lake is at least a degree farther south than it is shown on the map, and, judging from the known approximate position of Hill Island Lake, which he crossed on his way back from the Coppermine, it is much farther east than the position assigned to it on the map.

[AA] The stone here meant is fourteen pounds.

[AB] Matonabbee had eight wives, and they were all called Martins.

[56] Lake Clowey is marked on the map as discharging by a stream into Great Slave Lake, but its exact position is not known. On the map it is placed in latitude 62° 50', which is probably not very far from its correct position. From the description here given, it would appear to be near the divide between the watershed of Great Slave Lake and Thelon River. L'Abbé Petitot in Géographie de L'Athabaskaw-Mackenzie identifies the Clowey River, which flows from this lake into Great Slave Lake, with the T'ézus-dèssé or Poudrerie (Snowdrift) River, which flows into Christie Bay of Great Slave Lake.