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

{95} CHAP. V.

Transactions at Clowey, and on our Journey, till our Arrival at the Copper-mine River.

Several strange Indians join us—Indians employed building canoes; description and use of them—More Indians join us, to the amount of some hundreds—Leave Clowey—Receive intelligence that Keelshies was near us—Two young men dispatched for my letters and goods—Arrive at Peshew Lake; cross part of it, and make a large smoke—One of Matonabbee's wives elopes—Some remarks on the natives—Keelshies joins us, and delivers my letters, but the goods were all expended—A Northern Indian wishes to take one of Matonabbee's wives from him; matters compromised, but had like to have proved fatal to my progress—Cross Peshew Lake, when I make proper arrangements for the remainder of my journey—Many Indians join our party, in order to make war on the Esquimaux at the Copper River—Preparations made for that purpose while at Clowey—Proceed on our journey to the North—Some remarks on the way—Cross Cogead Lake on the ice—The Sun did not set—Arrive at Congecathawhachaga—Find several Copper Indians there—Remarks and transactions during our stay at Congecathawhachaga—Proceed on our journey—Weather very bad—Arrive at the Stoney Mountains—Some account of them—Cross part of Buffalo Lake on the ice—Saw many musk-oxen—Description of them—Went with some Indians to view Grizzlebear Hill—Join a strange Northern Indian Leader, called O'lye, in company with some Copper Indians—Their behaviour to me—Arrive at the Coppermine River.

1771. May.

The Lake Clowey is not much more than twelve miles broad in the widest part. A small river which runs into it on the West side, is said by the Indians to join the Athapuscow Lake.

1771. May.

{96} On our arrival at Clowey on the third of May, we found that the Captain's brother, and those who were sent a-head with him from Theley-aza River, had only got there two days before us; and, on account of the weather, had not made the least progress in building the canoe, the plan of which they had taken with them. The same day we got to Clowey several other Indians joined us from different quarters, with intent to build their canoes at the same place. Some of those Indians had resided within four or five miles, to the South-East of Clowey, all the Winter; and had procured a plentiful livelihood by snaring deer, in the manner which has been already described.

18th.

19th.

20th.

Immediately after our arrival at Clowey, the Indians began to build their canoes, and embraced every convenient opportunity for that purpose: but as warm and dry weather only is fit for this business, which was by no means the case at present, it was the eighteenth of May before the canoes belonging to my party could be completed. On the nineteenth we agreed to proceed on our journey; but Matonabbee's canoe meeting with some damage, which took near a whole day to repair, we were detained till the twentieth.

Those vessels, though made of the same materials with the canoes of the Southern Indians, differ from them both in shape and construction; they are also much smaller and {97} lighter; and though very slight and simple in their construction, are nevertheless the best that could possibly be contrived for the use of those poor people, who are frequently obliged to carry them a hundred, and sometimes a hundred and fifty miles at a time, without having occasion to put them into the water. Indeed, the chief use of these canoes is to ferry over unfordable rivers; though sometimes, and at a few places, it must be acknowledged, that they are of great service in killing deer, as they enable the Indians to cross rivers and the narrow parts of lakes; they are also useful in killing swans, geese, ducks, &c. in the moulting season.

1771. May.

All the tools used by an Indian in building his canoe, as well as in making his snow-shoes, and every other kind of wood-work, consist of a hatchet, a knife, a file, and an awl; in the use of which they are so dextrous, that every thing they make is executed with a neatness not to be excelled by the most expert mechanic, assisted with every tool he could wish.

INDIAN IMPLEMENTS
Reference
A The Bottom of the Canoe
B The Forepart
C The Frame compleat
D A set of Timbers bent and lashed in their proper shape for drying
E A Canoe compleat
F A Paddle
G A spear to kill Deer with in the Water
H The method of carrying the Canoe in Summer
S. H. delin.
Reference to the Skeleton
1 The Stem
2 The Stern Post
3 Two forked Sticks supporting the Stem and Stern
4 The Gunwalls
5 Small Rods placed between the Timbers and the Birchrind
6 The Timbers
7 The Kelsin
8 Large Stones to keep the Bottom steady, till the sides are sewed to

In shape the Northern Indian canoe bears some resemblance to a weaver's shuttle; being flat-bottomed, with straight upright sides, and sharp at each end; but the stern is by far the widest part, as there the baggage is generally laid, and occasionally a second person, who always lies down at full length in the bottom of the canoe. In this manner they carry one another across rivers and the narrow {98} parts of lakes in those little vessels, which seldom exceed twelve or thirteen feet in length, and are from twenty inches to two feet broad in the widest part. The head, or fore part, is unnecessarily long, and narrow; and is all covered over with birch-bark, which adds considerably to the weight, without contributing to the burthen of the vessel. In general, these Indians make use of the single paddle, though a few have double ones, like the Esquimaux: the latter, however, are seldom used, but by those who lie in wait to kill deer as they cross rivers and narrow lakes.[AC]

1771. May.

During our stay at Clowey we were joined by upward of two hundred Indians from different quarters, most of whom built canoes at this place; but as I was under the protection of a principal man, no one offered to molest {99} me, nor can I say they were very clamorous for any thing I had. This was undoubtedly owing to Matonabbee's informing them of my true situation; which was, that I had not, by any means, sufficient necessaries for myself, much less to give away. The few goods which I had with me were intended to be reserved for the Copper and Dogribbed Indians, who never visit the Company's Factories. Tobacco was, however, always given away; for every one of any note, who joined us, expected to be treated with a few pipes, and on some occasions it was scarcely possible to get off without presenting a few inches[AD] to them; which, with the constant supplies which I was obliged to furnish my own crew, decreased that article of my stock so fast, that notwithstanding I had yet advanced so small a part of my journey, more than one half of my store was expended. Gun-powder and shot also were articles commonly asked for by most of the Indians we met; and in general these were dealt round to them with a liberal hand by my guide Matonabbee. I must, however, do him the justice to acknowledge, that what he distributed was all his own, which he had purchased at the Factory; to my certain knowledge he bartered one hundred and fifty martins' skins for powder only; besides a great number of beaver, and other furrs, for shot, ball, iron-work, and tobacco, purposely to give away among his countrymen; as he had certainly as many of these articles given to him as were, in {100} his opinion, sufficient for our support during our journey out and home.

20th.

1771. May.

Matonabbee's canoe having been repaired, on the twentieth we left Clowey, and proceeded Northward. That morning a small gang of strangers joined us, who informed my guide, that Captain Keelshies was within a day's walk to the Southward. Keelshies was the man by whom I had sent a letter to Prince of Wales's Fort, from Cathawhachaga, in the beginning of July one thousand seven hundred and seventy; but not long after that, having the misfortune to break my quadrant, I was obliged to return to the Fort a second time; and though we saw many smokes, and spoke with several Indians on my return that year, yet he and I missed each other on the barren ground, and I had not seen or heard of him since that time.

21st.

As Matonabbee was desirous that I should receive my letters, and also the goods I had written for, he dispatched two of his young men to bring them. We continued our journey to the Northward; and the next day saw several large smokes at a great distance to the Eastward on the barren ground, which were supposed to be made by some parties of Indians bound to Prince of Wales's Fort with furrs and other commodities for trade.

22d.

1771. May.

On the twenty-second and twenty-third, we proceeded to the North, at the rate of fourteen or fifteen miles a day; and in the evening of the latter, got clear of all {101} the woods, and lay on the barren ground.[57] The same evening the two young men who were sent for my letters, &c. returned, and told me that Keelshies had promised to join us in a few days, and deliver the things to me with his own hand.

24th.

The twenty-fourth proved bad and rainy weather, so that we only walked about seven miles, when finding a few blasted stumps of trees, we pitched our tents. It was well we did so, for toward night we had excessively bad weather, with loud thunder, strong lightning, and heavy rain, attended with a very hard gale of wind from the South West; toward the next morning, however, the wind veered round to the North West, and the weather became intensely cold and frosty. We walked that day about eight miles to the Northward, when we were obliged to put up, being almost benumbed with cold. There we found a few dry stumps, as we had done the day before, which served us for fewel.[AE]

26th.

1771. May. 27th.

28th.

{102} The weather on the twenty-sixth was so bad, with snow and thick drifting sleet, that we did not move; but the next morning proving fine and pleasant, we dried our things, and walked about twelve miles to the Northward; most of the way on the ice of a small river which runs into Peshew Lake.[AF][58] We then saw a smoke to the Southward, which we judged to be made by Keelshies, so we put up for the night by the side of the above-mentioned Lake, where I expected we should have waited for his arrival; but, to my great surprise, on the morrow we again set forward, and walked twenty-two miles to the Northward on Peshew Lake, and in the afternoon pitched our tents on an island, where, by my desire, the Indians made a large smoke, and proposed to stay a day or two for Captain Keelshies.

1771. May.

1771. May.

In the night, one of Matonabbee's wives and another woman eloped: it was supposed they went off to the Eastward, in order to meet their former husbands, from {103} whom they had been sometime before taken by force. This affair made more noise and bustle than I could have supposed; and Matonabbee seemed entirely disconcerted, and quite inconsolable for the loss of his wife. She was certainly by far the handsomest of all his flock, of a moderate size, and had a fair complexion; she apparently possessed a mild temper, and very engaging manners. In fact, she seemed to have every good quality that could be expected in a Northern Indian woman, and that could render her an agreeable companion to an inhabitant of this part of the world. She had not, however, appeared happy in her late situation; and chose rather to be the sole wife of a sprightly young fellow of no note, (though very capable of maintaining her,) than to have the seventh or eighth share of the affection of the greatest man in the country. I am sorry to mention an incident which happened while we were building the canoes at Clowey, and which by no means does honour to Matonabbee: it is no less a crime than that of having actually stabbed the husband of the above-mentioned girl in three places; and had it not been for timely assistance, would certainly have murdered him, for no other reason than because the poor man had spoken disrespectfully of him for having taken his wife away by force. The cool deliberation with which Matonabbee committed this bloody action, convinced me it had been a long premeditated design; for he no sooner heard of the man's arrival, than he opened one of his wives' bundles, and, with the greatest {104} composure, took out a new long box-handled knife, went into the man's tent, and, without any preface whatever, took him by the collar, and began to execute his horrid design. The poor man anticipating his danger, fell on his face, and called for assistance; but before any could be had he received three wounds in the back. Fortunately for him, they all happened on the shoulder-blade, so that his life was spared. When Matonabbee returned to his tent, after committing this horrid deed, he sat down as composedly as if nothing had happened, called for water to wash his bloody hands and knife, smoked his pipe as usual, seemed to be perfectly at ease, and asked if I did not think he had done right?

1771. May.

It has ever been the custom among those people for the men to wrestle for any woman to whom they are attached; and, of course, the strongest party always carries off the prize. A weak man, unless he be a good hunter and well-beloved, is seldom permitted to keep a wife that a stronger man thinks worth his notice: for at any time when the wives of those strong wrestlers are heavy-laden either with furrs or provisions, they make no scruple of tearing any other man's wife from his bosom, and making her bear a part of his luggage. This custom prevails throughout all their tribes, and causes a great spirit of emulation among their youth, who are upon all occasions, from their childhood, trying their strength and skill in wrestling. This enables them to protect their property, and particularly their wives, {105} from the hands of those powerful ravishers; some of whom make almost a livelihood by taking what they please from the weaker parties, without making them any return. Indeed, it is represented as an act of great generosity, if they condescend to make an unequal exchange; as, in general, abuse and insult are the only return for the loss which is sustained.

The way in which they tear the women and other property from one another, though it has the appearance of the greatest brutality, can scarcely be called fighting. I never knew any of them receive the least hurt in these rencontres; the whole business consists in hauling each other about by the hair of the head: they are seldom known either to strike or kick one another. It is not uncommon for one of them to cut off his hair and to grease his ears, immediately before the contest begins. This, however, is done privately; and it is sometimes truly laughable, to see one of the parties strutting about with an air of great importance, and calling out, "Where is he? Why does he not come out?" when the other will bolt out with a clean shorned head and greased ears, rush on his antagonist, seize him by the hair, and though perhaps a much weaker man, soon drag him to the ground, while the stronger is not able to lay hold on him. It is very frequent on those occasions for each party to have spies, to watch the other's motions, which puts them more on a footing of equality. For want of hair to pull, they {106} seize each other about the waist, with legs wide extended, and try their strength, by endeavouring to vie who can first throw the other down.

1771. May.

On these wrestling occasions the standers-by never attempt to interfere in the contest; even one brother offers not to assist another, unless it be with advice, which, as it is always delivered openly on the field during the contest, may, in fact, be said to be equally favourable to both parties. It sometimes happens that one of the wrestlers is superior in strength to the other; and if a woman be the cause of the contest, the weaker is frequently unwilling to yield, notwithstanding he is greatly overpowered. When this happens to be the case, the relations and friends, or other bye-standers, will sometimes join to persuade the weaker combatant to give up the contest, lest, by continuing it, he should get bruised and hurt, without the least probability of being able to protect what he is contending for. I observed that very few of those people were dissatisfied with the wives which had fallen to their lot, for whenever any considerable number of them were in company, scarcely a day passed without some overtures being made for contests of this kind; and it was often very unpleasant to me, to see the object of the contest sitting in pensive silence watching her fate, while her husband and his rival were contending for the prize. I have indeed not only felt pity for those poor wretched victims, but the utmost indignation, when I {107} have seen them won, perhaps, by a man whom they mortally hated. On those occasions their grief and reluctance to follow their new lord has been so great, that the business has often ended in the greatest brutality; for, in the struggle, I have seen the poor girls stripped quite naked, and carried by main force to their new lodgings. At other times it was pleasant enough to see a fine girl led off the field from a husband she disliked, with a tear in one eye and a finger on the other: for custom, or delicacy if you please, has taught them to think it necessary to whimper a little, let the change be ever so much to their inclination. I have throughout this account given the women the appellation of girls, which is pretty applicable, as the objects of contest are generally young, and without any family: few of the men chuse to be at the trouble of maintaining other people's children, except on particular occasions, which will be taken notice of hereafter.

1771. May.

Some of the old men, who are famous on account of their supposed skill in conjuration, have great influence in persuading the rabble from committing those outrages; but the humanity of these sages is seldom known to extend beyond their own families. In defence of them they will exert their utmost influence; but when their own relations are guilty of the same crime, they seldom interfere. This partial conduct creates some secret, and several open enemies; but the generality of their neighbours are deterred, through fear or superstition, from {108} executing their revenge, and even from talking disrespectfully of them, unless it be behind their backs; which is a vice of which almost every Indian in this country, without exception, is guilty.

1771. May.

Notwithstanding the Northern Indians are so covetous, and pay so little regard to private property as to take every advantage of bodily strength to rob their neighbours, not only of their goods, but of their wives, yet they are, in other respects, the mildest tribe, or nation, that is to be found on the borders of Hudson's Bay: for let their affronts or losses be ever so great, they never will seek any other revenge than that of wrestling. As for murder, which is so common among all the tribes of Southern Indians, it is seldom heard of among them. A murderer is shunned and detested by all the tribe, and is obliged to wander up and down, forlorn and forsaken even by his own relations and former friends. In that respect a murderer may truly be compared to Cain, after he had killed his brother Abel. The cool reception he meets with by all who know him, occasions him to grow melancholy, and he never leaves any place but the whole company say "There goes the murderer!" The women, it is true, sometimes receive an unlucky blow from their husbands for misbehaviour, which occasions their death; but this is thought nothing of: and for one man or woman to kill another out of revenge, or through jealousy, or on any other account, is so extraordinary, that very few are now {109} existing who have been guilty of it. At the present moment I know not one, beside Matonabbee, who ever made an attempt of that nature; and he is, in every other respect, a man of such universal good sense, and, as an Indian, of such great humanity, that I am at a loss how to account for his having been guilty of such a crime, unless it be by his having lived among the Southern Indians so long, as to become tainted with their blood-thirsty, revengeful, and vindictive disposition.

29th.

Early in the morning of the twenty-ninth, Captain Keelshies joined us. He delivered to me a packet of letters, and a two-quart keg of French brandy; but assured me, that the powder, shot, tobacco, knives, &c. which he received at the Fort for me, were all expended. He endeavoured to make some apology for this, by saying, that some of his relations died in the Winter, and that he had, according to their custom, thrown all his own things away; after which he was obliged to have recourse to my ammunition and other goods, to support himself and a numerous family. The very affecting manner in which he related this story, often crying like a child, was a great proof of his extreme sorrow, which he wished to persuade me arose from the recollection of his having embezzled so much of my property; but I was of a different opinion, and attributed his grief to arise from the remembrance of his deceased relations. However, as a small recompence for my loss, he presented me with four {110} ready-dressed moose-skins, which was, he said, the only retribution he could then make. The moose-skins, though not the twentieth part of the value of the goods which he had embezzled, were in reality more acceptable to me, than the ammunition and the other articles would have been, on account of their great use as shoe-leather, which at that time was a very scarce article with us, whereas we had plenty of powder and shot.

1771. May.

On the same day that Keelshies joined us, an Indian man, who had been some time in our company, insisted on taking one of Matonabbee's wives from him by force, unless he complied with his demands, which were, that Matonabbee should give him a certain quantity of ammunition, some pieces of iron-work, a kettle, and several other articles; every one of which, Matonabbee was obliged to deliver, or lose the woman; for the other man far excelled him in strength. Matonabbee was more exasperated on this occasion, as the same man had sold him the woman no longer ago than the nineteenth of the preceding April. Having expended all the goods he then possessed, however, he was determined to make another bargain for her; and as she was what may be called a valuable woman in their estimation; that is, one who was not only tolerably personable, but reckoned very skilful in manufacturing the different kinds of leather, skins, and furrs, and at the same time very clever in the performance of every other domestic duty required of the sex in this part of the {111} world; Matonabbee was more unwilling to part with her, especially as he had so lately suffered a loss of the same kind.

1771. May.

29th.

This dispute, which was after some hours decided by words and presents, had like to have proved fatal to my expedition; for Matonabbee, who at that time thought himself as great a man as then lived, took this affront so much to heart, especially as it was offered in my presence, that he almost determined not to proceed any farther toward the Coppermine River, and was on the point of striking off to the Westward, with an intent to join the Athapuscow Indians, and continue with them: he being perfectly well acquainted with all their leaders, and most of the principal Indians of that country, from whom, during a former residence among them of several years, he said he had met with more civility than he ever did from his own countrymen. As Matonabbee seemed resolutely bent on his design, I had every reason to think that my third expedition would prove equally unsuccessful with the two former. I was not, however, under the least apprehension for my own safety, as he promised to take me with him, and procure me a passage to Prince of Wales's Fort, with some of the Athapuscow Indians, who at that time annually visited the Factory in the way of trade. After waiting till I thought Matonabbee's passion had a little abated, I used every argument of which I was master in favour of his proceeding on the journey; assuring him {112} not only of the future esteem of the present Governor of Prince of Wales's Fort, but also of that of all his successors as long as he lived; and that even the Hudson's Bay Company themselves would be ready to acknowledge his assiduity and perseverance, in conducting a business which had so much the appearance of proving advantageous to them. After some conversation of this kind, and a good deal of intreaty, he at length consented to proceed, and promised to make all possible haste. Though it was then late in the afternoon, he gave orders for moving, and accordingly we walked about seven miles that night, and put up on another island in Peshew Lake. The preceding afternoon the Indians had killed a few deer; but our number was then so great, that eight or ten deer would scarcely afford us all a taste. These deer were the first we had seen since our leaving the neighbourhood of Thelewey-aza-yeth; so that we had lived all the time on the dried meat which had been prepared before we left that place in April.

30th.

1771. May.

The thirtieth proved bad, rainy weather; we walked, however, about ten miles to the Northward, when we arrived on the North side of Peshew Lake, and put up. Here Matonabbee immediately began to make every necessary arrangement for facilitating the executing of our design; and as he had promised to make all possible haste, he thought it expedient to leave most of his wives and all his children in the care of some Indians, then in our company, who had his orders to proceed to the {113} Northward at their leisure; and who, at a particular place appointed by him, were to wait our return from the Copper-mine River. Having formed this resolution, Matonabbee selected two of his young wives who had no children, to accompany us; and in order to make their loads as light as possible, it was agreed that we should not take more ammunition with us than was really necessary for our support, till we might expect again to join those Indians and the women and children. The same measures were also adopted by all the other Indians of my party; particularly those who had a plurality of wives, and a number of children.

31st.

As these matters took some time to adjust, it was near nine o'clock in the evening of the thirty-first before we could set out; and then it was with much difficulty that Matonabbee could persuade his other wives from following him, with their children and all their lumber; for such was their unwillingness to be left behind, that he was obliged to use his authority before they would consent, consequently they parted in anger; and we no sooner began our march, than they set up a most woeful cry, and continued to yell most piteously as long as we were within hearing. This mournful scene had so little effect on my party, that they walked away laughing, and as merry as ever. The few who expressed any regret at their departure from those whom they were to leave behind, {114} confined their regard wholly to their children, particularly to the youngest, scarcely ever mentioning their mother.

Though it was so late when we left the women, we walked about ten miles that night before we stopped. In our way we saw many deer; several of which the Indians killed. To talk of travelling and killing deer in the middle of the night, may at first view have the appearance of romance; but our wonder will speedily abate, when it is considered that we were then to the Northward of 64° of North latitude, and that, in consequence of it, though the Sun did not remain the whole night above the horizon, yet the time it remained below it was so short, and its depression even at midnight so small at this season of the year, that the light, in clear weather, was quite sufficient for the purpose both of walking, and hunting any kind of game.[59]

1771. May.

It should have been observed, that during our stay at Clowey a great number of Indians entered into a combination with those of my party to accompany us to the Copper-mine River; and with no other intent than to murder the Esquimaux, who are understood by the Copper Indians to frequent that river in considerable numbers. This scheme, notwithstanding the trouble and fatigue, as well as danger, with which it must be obviously attended, was nevertheless so universally approved by those people, that for some time almost every man who joined {115} us proposed to be of the party. Accordingly, each volunteer, as well as those who were properly of my party, prepared a target, or shield, before we left the woods of Clowey. Those targets were composed of thin boards, about three quarters of an inch thick, two feet broad, and three feet long; and were intended to ward off the arrows of the Esquimaux. Notwithstanding these preparations, when we came to leave the women and children, as has been already mentioned, only sixty volunteers would go with us; the rest, who were nearly as many more, though they had all prepared targets, reflecting that they had a great distance to walk, and that no advantage could be expected from the expedition, very prudently begged to be excused, saying, that they could not be spared for so long a time from the maintenance of their wives and families; and particularly, as they did not see any then in our company, who seemed willing to encumber themselves with such a charge. This seemed to be a mere evasion, for I am clearly of opinion that poverty on one side, and avarice on the other, were the only impediments to their joining our party; had they possessed as many European goods to squander away among their countrymen as Matonabbee and those of my party did, in all probability many might have been found who would have been glad to have accompanied us.

1771. May.

When I was acquainted with the intentions of my companions, and saw the warlike preparations that were carrying on, I endeavoured as much as possible to persuade {116} them from putting their inhuman design into execution; but so far were my intreaties from having the wished-for effect, that it was concluded I was actuated by cowardice; and they told me, with great marks of derision, that I was afraid of the Esquimaux. As I knew my personal safety depended in a great measure on the favourable opinion they entertained of me in this respect, I was obliged to change my tone, and replied, that I did not care if they rendered the name and race of the Esquimaux extinct; adding at the same time, that though I was no enemy to the Esquimaux, and did not see the necessity of attacking them without cause, yet if I should find it necessary to do it, for the protection of any one of my company, my own safety out of the question, so far from being afraid of a poor defenceless Esquimaux, whom I despised more than feared, nothing should be wanting on my part to protect all who were with me. This declaration was received with great satisfaction; and I never afterwards ventured to interfere with any of their war-plans. Indeed, when I came to consider seriously, I saw evidently that it was the highest folly for an individual like me, and in my situation, to attempt to turn the current of a national prejudice which had subsisted between those two nations from the earliest periods, or at least as long as they had been acquainted with the existence of each other.

June. 1st.

16th.

Having got rid of all the women, children, dogs, heavy baggage, and other incumbrances, on the first of June we {117} pursued our journey to the Northward with great speed; but the weather was in general so precarious, and the snow, sleet, and rain so frequent, that notwithstanding we embraced every opportunity which offered, it was the sixteenth of June before we arrived in the latitude of 67° 30', where Matonabbee had proposed that the women and children should wait our return from the Copper-mine River.

1771. June.

1771. June.

In our way hither we crossed several lakes on the ice; of which Thoy-noy-kyed Lake[60] and Thoy-coy-lyned Lake[61] were the principal. We also crossed a few inconsiderable creeks and rivers,[62] which were only useful as they furnished a small supply of fish to the natives. The weather, as I have before observed, was in general disagreeable, with a great deal of rain and snow. To make up for that inconvenience, however, the deer were so plentiful, that the Indians killed not only a sufficient quantity for our daily support, but frequently great numbers merely for the fat, marrow and tongues. To induce them to desist from this practice, I often interested myself, and endeavoured, as much as possible, to convince them in the clearest terms of which I was master, of the great impropriety of such waste; particularly at a time of the year when their skins could not be of any use for clothing, and when the anxiety to proceed on our journey would not permit us to stay long enough in one place to eat up half the spoils of their hunting. As national customs, however, are not easily {118} overcome, my remonstrances proved ineffectual; and I was always answered, that it was certainly right to kill plenty, and live on the best, when and where it was to be got, for that it would be impossible to do it where every thing was scarce: and they insisted on it, that killing plenty of deer and other game in one part of the country, could never make them scarcer in another. Indeed, they were so accustomed to kill every thing that came within their reach, that few of them could pass by a small bird's nest, without slaying the young ones, or destroying the eggs.

20th.

From the seventeenth to the twentieth, we walked between seventy and eighty miles to the North West and North North West; the greater part of the way by Cogead Lake[63]; but the Lake being then frozen, we crossed all the creeks and bays of it on the ice.

21st.

On the twenty-first we had bad rainy weather, with so thick a fog that we could not see our way: about ten o'clock at night, however, it became fine and clear, and the Sun shone very bright; indeed it did not set all that night, which was a convincing proof, without any observation, that we were then considerably to the North of the Arctic Polar Circle.

22d.

1771. June.

As soon as the fine weather began, we set out and walked about seven or eight miles to the Northward, when we {119} came to a branch of Conge-ca-tha-wha-chaga River[64]; on the North side of which we found several Copper Indians, who were assembled, according to annual custom, to kill deer as they cross the river in their little canoes.

The ice being now broken up, we were, for the first time this Summer, obliged to make use of our canoes to ferry across the river: which would have proved very tedious, had it not been for the kindness of the Copper Indians, who sent all their canoes to our assistance. Though our number was not much less than one hundred and fifty, we had only three canoes, and those being of the common size, could only carry two persons each, without baggage. It is true, when water is smooth, and a raft of three or four of those canoes is well secured by poles lashed across them, they will carry a much greater weight in proportion, and be much safer, as there is scarcely a possibility of their oversetting; and this is the general mode adopted by the people of this country in crossing rivers when they have more than one canoe with them.

1771. June.

Having arrived on the North side of this river, we found that Matonabbee, and several others in our company, were personally acquainted with most of the Copper Indians whom we found there. The latter seemed highly pleased at the interview with our party, and endeavoured, by every means in their power, to convince our company of their readiness to serve us to the utmost; so that by the {120} time we had got our tents pitched, the strangers had provided a large quantity of dried meat and fat, by way of a feast, to which they invited most of the principal Indians who accompanied me, as well as Matonabbee and myself, who were presented with some of the very best.

It is natural to suppose, that immediately after our arrival the Copper Indians would be made acquainted with the nature and intention of our journey. This was no sooner done than they expressed their entire approbation, and many of them seemed willing and desirous of giving every assistance; particularly by lending us several canoes, which they assured us would be very useful in the remaining part of our journey, and contribute both to our ease and dispatch. It must be observed, that these canoes were not entirely entrusted to my crew, but carried by the owners themselves who accompanied us; as it would have been very uncertain where to have found them at our return from the Copper River.

Agreeably to my instructions, I smoked my calumet of peace with the principal of the Copper Indians, who seemed highly pleased on the occasion; and, from a conversation held on the subject of my journey, I found they were delighted with the hopes of having an European settlement in their neighbourhood, and seemed to have no idea that any impediment could prevent such a scheme from being carried into execution. Climates and {121} seasons had no weight with them; nor could they see where the difficulty lay in getting to them; for though they acknowledged that they had never seen the sea at the mouth of the Copper River clear of ice, yet they could see nothing that should hinder a ship from approaching it; and they innocently enough observed, that the water was always so smooth between the ice and shore, that even small boats might get there with great ease and safety. How a ship was to get between the ice and the shore, never once occurred to them.

1771. June.

Whether it was from real motives of hospitality, or from the great advantages which they expected to reap by my discoveries, I know not; but I must confess that their civility far exceeded what I could expect from so uncivilized a tribe, and I was exceedingly sorry that I had nothing of value to offer them. However, such articles as I had, I distributed among them, and they were thankfully received by them. Though they have some European commodities among them, which they purchase from the Northern Indians, the same articles from the hands of an Englishman were more prized. As I was the first whom they had ever seen, and in all probability might be the last, it was curious to see how they flocked about me, and expressed as much desire to examine me from top to toe, as an European Naturalist would a non-descript animal. They, however, found and pronounced me to be a perfect human being, except in the colour of my hair {122} and eyes: the former, they said, was like the stained hair of a buffaloe's tail, and the latter, being light, were like those of a gull. The whiteness of my skin also was, in their opinion, no ornament, as they said it resembled meat which had been sodden in water till all the blood was extracted. On the whole, I was viewed as so great a curiosity in this part of the world, that during my stay there, whenever I combed my head, some or other of them never failed to ask for the hairs that came off, which they carefully wrapped up, saying, "When I see you again, you shall again see your hair."

23d.

The day after our arrival at Congecathawhachaga, Matonabbee dispatched his brother, and several Copper Indians, to Copper-mine River, with orders to acquaint any Indians they might meet, with the reason of my visiting those parts, and also when they might probably expect us at that river. By the bearers of this message I sent a present of tobacco and some other things, to induce any strangers they met to be ready to give us assistance, either by advice, or in any other way which might be required.

1771. June.

As Matonabbee and the other Indians thought it advisable to leave all the women at this place, and proceed to the Copper-mine River without them, it was thought necessary to continue here a few days, to kill as many deer as would be sufficient for their support during {123} our absence. And notwithstanding deer were so plentiful, yet our numbers were so large, and our daily consumption was so great, that several days elapsed before the men could provide the women with a sufficient quantity; and then they had no other way of preserving it, than by cutting it in thin slices and drying it in the Sun. Meat, when thus prepared, is not only very portable, but palatable; as all the blood and juices are still remaining in the meat, it is very nourishing and wholesome food; and may, with care, be kept a whole year without the least danger of spoiling. It is necessary, however, to air it frequently during the warm weather, otherwise it is liable to grow mouldy: but as soon as the chill air of the fall begins, it requires no farther trouble till next Summer.

1771. June.

We had not been many days at Congecathawhachaga before I had reason to be greatly concerned at the behaviour of several of my crew to the Copper Indians. They not only took many of their young women, furrs, and ready-dressed skins for clothing, but also several of their bows and arrows, which were the only implements they had to procure food and raiment, for the future support of themselves, their wives, and families. It may probably be thought, that as these weapons are of so simple a form, and so easily constructed, they might soon be replaced, without any other trouble or expense than a little labour; but this supposition can only hold good in places where proper materials are easily procured, which was not the case here: {124} if it had, they would not have been an object of plunder. In the midst of a forest of trees, the wood that would make a Northern Indian a bow and a few arrows, or indeed a bow and arrows ready made, are not of much value; no more than the man's trouble that makes them: but carry that bow and arrows several hundred miles from any woods and place where those are the only weapons in use, their intrinsic value will be found to increase, in the same proportion as the materials which are made are less attainable.[AG]

To do Matonabbee justice on this occasion, I must say that he endeavoured as much as possible to persuade his countrymen from taking either furrs, clothing, or bows, from the Copper Indians, without making them some satisfactory return; but if he did not encourage, neither did he endeavour to hinder them from taking as many women as they pleased. Indeed, the Copper Indian women seem to be much esteemed by our Northern traders; for what reason I know not, as they are in reality the same people in every respect; and their language differs not so much as the dialects of some of the nearest counties in England do from each other.

1771. June.

It is not surprising that a plurality of wives is customary among these people, as it is so well adapted to {125} their situation and manner of life. In my opinion no race of people under the Sun have a greater occasion for such an indulgence. Their annual hunt, in quest of furrs, is so remote from any European settlement, as to render them the greatest travellers in the known world; and as they have neither horse nor water carriage, every good hunter is under the necessity of having several persons to assist in carrying his furrs to the Company's Fort, as well as carrying back the European goods which he receives in exchange for them. No persons in this country are so proper for this work as the women, because they are inured to carry and haul heavy loads from their childhood, and to do all manner of drudgery; so that those men who are capable of providing for three, four, five, six, or more women, generally find them humble and faithful servants, affectionate wives, and fond and indulgent mothers to their children. Though custom makes this way of life sit apparently easy on the generality of the women, and though, in general, the whole of their wants seem to be comprized in food and clothing only, yet nature at times gets the better of custom, and the spirit of jealousy makes its appearance among them: however, as the husband is always arbitrator, he soon settles the business, though perhaps not always to the entire satisfaction of the parties.

Much does it redound to the honour of the Northern Indian women when I affirm, that they are the mildest and most virtuous females I have seen in any part of North {126} America; though some think this is more owing to habit, custom, and the fear of their husbands, than from real inclination. It is undoubtedly well known that none can manage a Northern Indian woman so well as a Northern Indian man; and when any of them have been permitted to remain at the Fort, they have, for the sake of gain, been easily prevailed on to deviate from that character; and a few have, by degrees, become as abandoned as the Southern Indians, who are remarkable throughout all their tribes for being the most debauched wretches under the Sun. So far from laying any restraint on their sensual appetites, as long as youth and inclination last, they give themselves up to all manner of even incestuous debauchery; and that in so beastly a manner when they are intoxicated, a state to which they are peculiarly addicted, that the brute creation are not less regardless of decency. I know that some few Europeans, who have had little opportunity of seeing them, and of enquiring into their manners, have been very lavish in their praise; but every one who has had much intercourse with them, and penetration and industry enough to study their dispositions, will agree, that no accomplishments whatever in a man, is sufficient to conciliate the affections, or preserve the chastity of a Southern Indian woman.[AH]

1771. June.

{127} The Northern Indian women are in general so far from being like those I have above described, that it is very {128} uncommon to hear of their ever being guilty of incontinency, not even those who are confined to the sixth or even eighth part of a man.

It is true, that were I to form my opinion of those women from the behaviour of such as I have been more particularly acquainted with, I should have little reason to say much in their favour; but impartiality will not {129} permit me to make a few of the worst characters a standard for the general conduct of all of them. Indeed it is but reasonable to think that travellers and interlopers will be always served with the worst commodities, though perhaps they pay the best price for what they have.

1771. June.

1771. June.

It may appear strange, that while I am extolling the chastity of the Northern Indian women, I should acknowledge that it is a very common custom among the men of this country to exchange a night's lodging with each other's wives. But this is so far from being considered as an act which is criminal, that it is esteemed by them as one of the strongest ties of friendship between two families; and in case of the death of either man, the other considers himself bound to support the children of the deceased. Those people are so far from viewing this engagement as a mere ceremony, like most of our Christian god-fathers and god-mothers, who, notwithstanding their vows are made in the most solemn manner, and in the presence of both God and man, scarcely ever afterward remember what they have promised, that there is not an instance of a Northern Indian having once neglected the duty which he is supposed to have taken upon himself to perform. The Southern Indians, with all their bad qualities, are remarkably humane and charitable to the widows and children of departed friends; and as their situation and manner of life enable them to do more acts of charity with less trouble {130} than falls to the lot of a Northern Indian, few widows or orphans are ever unprovided for among them.

Though the Northern Indian men make no scruple of having two or three sisters for wives at one time, yet they are very particular in observing a proper distance in the consanguinity of those they admit to the above-mentioned intercourse with their wives. The Southern Indians are less scrupulous on those occasions; for among them it is not at all uncommon for one brother to make free with another brother's wife or daughter;[AI] but this is held in abhorrence by the Northern Indians.

1771. July.

1st.

1771. July.

{131} By the time the Indians had killed as many deer as they thought would be sufficient for the support of the women during our absence, it was the first of July; and during this time I had two good observations, both by meridional and double altitudes; the mean of which determined the latitude of Congecathawhachaga[65] to be 68° 46' North; and its longitude, by account, was 24° 2' West from Prince of Wales's Fort, or 118° 15' West of the meridian of London.

2d.

On the second, the weather proved very bad, with much snow and sleet; about nine o'clock at night, however, it grew more moderate, and somewhat clearer, so that we set out, and walked about ten miles to the North by West, when we lay down to take a little sleep. At our departure from Congecathawhachaga, several Indians who had entered the war list, rather chose to stay behind with the women; but their loss was amply supplied by Copper Indians, who accompanied us in the double capacity of guides and warriors.

3d.

On the third the weather was equally bad with that of the preceding day; we made shift, however, to walk ten or eleven miles in the same direction we had done the day before, and at last were obliged to put up, not being able to see our way for snow and thick drift. By putting up, no more is to be understood than that we got to leeward of a {132} great stone, or into the crevices of the rocks, where we regaled ourselves with such provisions as we had brought with us, smoked our pipes, or went to sleep, till the weather permitted us to proceed on our journey.

4th.

1771. July.

On the fourth, we had rather better weather, though constant light snow, which made it very disagreeable under foot. We nevertheless walked twenty-seven miles to the North West, fourteen of which were on what the Indians call the Stony Mountains; and surely no part of the world better deserves that name. On our first approaching these mountains, they appeared to be a confused heap of stones, utterly inaccessible to the foot of man: but having some Copper Indians with us who knew the best road, we made a tolerable shift to get on, though not without being obliged frequently to crawl on our hands and knees. Notwithstanding the intricacy of the road, there is a very visible path the whole way across these mountains, even in the most difficult parts: and also on the smooth rocks, and those parts which are capable of receiving an impression, the path is as plain and well-beaten, as any bye foot-path in England. By the side of this path there are, in different parts, several large, flat, or table stones, which are covered with many thousands of small pebbles. These the Copper Indians say have been gradually increased by passengers going to and from the mines; and on its being observed to us that it was the {133} universal custom for every one to add a stone to the heap, each of us took up a small stone in order to increase the number, for good luck.

Just as we arrived at the foot of the Stony Mountains, three of the Indians turned back; saying, that from every appearance, the remainder of the journey seemed likely to be attended with more trouble than would counterbalance the pleasure they could promise themselves by going to war with the Esquimaux.

5th.

6th.

1771. July.

On the fifth, as the weather was so bad, with constant snow, sleet, and rain, that we could not see our way, we did not offer to move: but the sixth proving moderate, and quite fair till toward noon, we set out in the morning, and walked about eleven miles to the North West; when perceiving bad weather at hand, we began to look out for shelter among the rocks, as we had done the four preceding nights, having neither tents nor tent-poles with us. The next morning fifteen more of the Indians deserted us, being quite sick of the road, and the uncommon badness of the weather. Indeed, though these people are all enured to hardships, yet their complaint on the present occasion was not without reason: for, from our leaving Congecathawhachaga we had scarcely a dry garment of any kind, or any thing to screen us from the inclemency of the weather, except rocks and {134} caves; the best of which were but damp and unwholesome lodging. In some the water was constantly dropping from the rock that formed the roof, which made our place of retreat little better than the open air; and we had not been able to make one spark of fire (except what was sufficient to light a pipe) from the time of our leaving the women on the second instant; it is true, in some places there was a little moss, but the constant sleet and rain made it so wet, as to render it as impossible to set fire to it as it would be to a wet sponge.

We had no sooner entered our places of retreat, than we regaled ourselves with some raw venison which the Indians had killed that morning; the small stock of dried provisions we took with us when we left the women being now all expended.

Agreeably to our expectations, a very sudden and heavy gale of wind came on from the North West, attended with so great a fall of snow, that the oldest Indian in company said, he never saw it exceeded at any time of the year, much less in the middle of Summer. The gale was soon over, and by degrees it became a perfect calm: but the flakes of snow were so large as to surpass all credibility, and fell in such vast quantities, that though the shower only lasted nine hours, we were in danger of being smothered in our caves.

7th.

1771. July.

{135} On the seventh, we had a fresh breeze at North West, with some flying showers of small rain, and at the same time a constant warm sunshine, which soon dissolved the greatest part of the new-fallen snow. Early in the morning we crawled out of our holes, which were on the North side of the Stony Mountains, and walked about eighteen or twenty miles to the North West by West. In our way we crossed part of a large lake on the ice, which was then far from being broken up. This lake I distinguished by the name of Buffalo, or Musk-Ox Lake,[66] from the number of those animals[67] that we found grazing on the margin of it; many of which the Indians killed, but finding them lean, only took some of the bulls' hides for shoe-soals. At night the bad weather returned, with a strong gale of wind at North East, and very cold rain and sleet.

1771. July.

This was the first time we had seen any of the musk-oxen since we left the Factory. It has been observed that we saw a great number of them in my first unsuccessful attempt, before I had got an hundred miles from the Factory; and indeed I once perceived the tracks of two of those animals within nine miles of Prince of Wales's Fort. Great numbers of them also were met with in my second journey to the North: several of which my companions killed, particularly on the seventeenth of July one thousand seven hundred and seventy. They are also found at times in considerable numbers near the sea-coast of Hudson's Bay, {136} all the way from Knapp's Bay to Wager Water, but are most plentiful within the Arctic Circle. In those high latitudes I have frequently seen many herds of them in the course of a day's walk, and some of those herds did not contain less than eighty or an hundred head. The number of bulls is very few in proportion to the cows; for it is rare to see more than two or three full-grown bulls with the largest herd: and from the number of the males that are found dead, the Indians are of opinion that they kill each other in contending for the females. In the rutting season they are so jealous of the cows, that they run at either man or beast who offers to approach them; and have been observed to run and bellow even at ravens, and other large birds, which chanced to light near them. They delight in the most stony and mountainous parts of the barren ground, and are seldom found at any great distance from the woods. Though they are a beast of great magnitude, and apparently of a very unwieldy inactive structure, yet they climb the rocks with great ease and agility, and are nearly as sure-footed as a goat: like it too, they will feed on any thing; though they seem fondest of grass, yet in Winter, when that article cannot be had in sufficient quantity, they will eat moss, or any other herbage they can find, as also the tops of willows and the tender branches of the pine tree. They take the bull in August, and bring forth their young the latter end of May, or beginning of June; and they never have more than one at a time.

1771. July.

{137} The musk-ox, when full grown, is as large as the generality, or at least as the middling size, of English black cattle;[AJ] but their legs, though large, are not so long; nor is their tail longer than that of a bear; and, like the tail of that animal, it always bends downward and inward, so that it is entirely hid by the long hair of the rump and hind quarters: the hunch on their shoulders is not large, being little more in proportion than that of a deer: their hair is in some parts very long, particularly on the belly, sides, and hind quarters; but the longest hair about them, particularly the bulls, is under the throat, extending from the chin to the lower part of the chest, between the fore-legs; it there hangs down like a horse's mane inverted, and is full as long, which makes the animal have a most formidable appearance. It is of the hair from this part that the Esquimaux make their musketto {138} wigs, and not from the tail, as is asserted by Mr. Ellis;[AK] their tails, and the hair which is on them, being too short for that purpose. In Winter they are provided with a thick fine wool, or furr, that grows at the root of the long hair, and shields them from the intense cold to which they are exposed during that season; but as the Summer advances, this furr loosens from the skin, and, by frequently rolling themselves on the ground, it works out to the end of the hair, and in time drops off, leaving little for their Summer clothing except the long hair. The season is so short in those high latitudes, that the new fleece begins to appear, almost as soon as the old one drops off; so that by the time the cold becomes severe, they are again provided with a Winter-dress.

The flesh of the musk-ox noways resembles that of the Western buffalo, but is more like that of the moose or elk; and the fat is of a clear white, slightly tinged with a light azure. The calves and young heifers are good eating; but the flesh of the bulls both smells and tastes so strong of musk, as to render it very disagreeable: even the knife that cuts the flesh of an old bull will smell so strong of musk, that nothing but scouring the blade quite bright can remove it, and the handle will retain the scent for a long time. Though no part of a bull is free from this smell, yet the parts of generation, in particular the urethra, are by far the most strongly impregnated. The {139} urine itself must contain the scent in a very great degree; for the sheaths of the bull's penis are corroded with a brown gummy substance, which is nearly as high-scented with musk as that said to be produced by the civet cat; and after having been kept for several years, seems not to lose any of its quality.

8th.

1771. July.

On the eighth, the weather was fine and moderate, though not without some showers of rain. Early in the morning we set out, and walked eighteen miles to the Northward. The Indians killed some deer; so we put up by the side of a small creek, that afforded a few willows, with which we made a fire for the first time since our leaving Congecathawhachaga; consequently it was here that we cooked our first meal for a whole week. This, as may naturally be supposed, was well relished by all parties, the Indians as well as myself. And as the Sun had, in the course of the day, dried our clothing, in spite of the small showers of rain, we felt ourselves more comfortable than we had done since we left the women. The place where we lay that night, is not far from Grizzled Bear Hill; which takes its name from the numbers of those animals that are frequently known to resort thither for the purpose of bringing forth their young in a cave that is found there. The wonderful description which the Copper Indians gave of this place exciting the curiosity of several of my companions as well as myself, we went to view it; but on our arrival at it {140} found little worth remarking about it, being no more than a high lump of earth, of a loamy quality, of which kind there are several others in the same neighbourhood, all standing in the middle of a large marsh, which makes them resemble so many islands in a lake. The sides of these hills are quite perpendicular; and the height of Grizzled Bear Hill, which is the largest, is about twenty feet above the level ground that surrounds it. Their summits are covered with a thick sod of moss and long grass, which in some places projects over the edge; and as the sides are constantly mouldering away, and washing down with every shower of rain during the short Summer, they must in time be levelled with the marsh in which they are situated. At present those islands, as I call them, are excellent places of retreat for the birds which migrate there to breed; as they can bring forth their young in perfect safety from every beast except the Quiquehatch,[68] which, from the sharpness of its claws and the amazing strength of its legs, is capable of ascending the most difficult precipices.

1771. July.

On the side of the hill that I went to survey, there is a large cave which penetrates a considerable way into the rock, and may probably have been the work of the bears, as we could discover visible marks that some of those beasts had been there that Spring. This, though deemed very curious by some of my companions, did not appear so to me, as it neither engaged my attention, nor raised my {141} surprise, half so much as the sight of the many hills and dry ridges on the East side of the marsh, which are turned over like ploughed land by those animals, in searching for ground-squirrels,[69] and perhaps mice, which constitute a favourite part of their food. It is surprising to see the extent of their researches in quest of those animals, and still more to view the enormous stones rolled out of their beds by the bears on those occasions. At first I thought these long and deep furrows had been effected by lightning; but the natives assured me they never knew anything of the kind happen in those parts, and that it was entirely the work of the bears seeking for their prey.

9th.

10th.

1771. July.

On the ninth, the weather was moderate and cloudy, with some flying showers of rain. We set out early in the morning, and walked about forty miles to the North and North by East. In our way we saw plenty of deer and musk-oxen: several of the former the Indians killed, but a smart shower of rain coming on just as we were going to put up, made the moss so wet as to render it impracticable to light a fire. The next day proving fine and clear, we set out in the morning, and walked twenty miles to the North by West and North North West; but about noon the weather became so hot and sultry as to render walking very disagreeable; we therefore put up on the top of a high hill, and as the moss was then dry, lighted a fire, and should have made a comfortable meal, and been otherwise tolerably happy, had it not been {142} for the muskettoes, which were uncommonly numerous, and their stings almost insufferable. The same day Matonabbee sent several Indians a-head, with orders to proceed to the Copper-mine River as fast as possible, and acquaint any Indians they might meet, of our approach. By those Indians I also sent some small presents, as the surest means to induce any strangers they found, to come to our assistance.

11th.

The eleventh was hot and sultry, like the preceding day. In the morning we walked ten or eleven miles to the North West, and then met a Northern Indian Leader, called Oule-eye, and his family, who were, in company with several Copper Indians, killing deer with bows and arrows and spears, as they crossed a little river, by the side of which we put up, as did also the above-mentioned Indians.[AL] That afternoon I smoked my calumet of peace with these strangers, and found them a quite different set of people, at least in principle, from those I had seen at Congecathawhachaga: for though they had great plenty of provisions, they neither offered me nor my companions a mouthful, and would, if they had been permitted, have taken the last garment from off my back, and robbed me of every article I possessed. Even my Northern companions could not help taking notice of such unaccountable behaviour. Nothing but their poverty {143} protected them from being plundered by those of my crew; and had any of their women been worth notice, they would most assuredly have been pressed into our service.

12th.

13th.

1771. July.

The twelfth was so exceedingly hot and sultry, that we did not move; but early in the morning of the thirteenth, after my companions had taken what dry provisions they chose from our unsociable strangers, we set out, and walked about fifteen or sixteen miles to the North and North by East, in expectation of arriving at the Copper-mine River that day; but when we had reached the top of a long chain of hills, between which we were told the river ran, we found it to be no more than a branch of it which empties itself into the main river about forty miles from its influx into the sea. At that time all the Copper Indians were dispatched different ways, so that there was not one in company, who knew the shortest cut to the main river. Seeing some woods to the Westward, and judging that the current of the rivulet ran that way, we concluded that the main river lay in that direction, and was not very remote from our present situation. We therefore directed our course by the side of it, when the Indians met with several very fine buck deer, which they destroyed; and as that part we now traversed afforded plenty of good fire-wood, we put up, and cooked the most comfortable meal to which we had sat down for some months. As such favourable opportunities of indulging the appetite happen but seldom, it is a general {144} rule with the Indians, which we did not neglect, to exert every art in dressing our food which the most refined skill in Indian cookery has been able to invent, and which consists chiefly in boiling, broiling, and roasting: but of all the dishes cooked by those people, a beeatee, as it is called in their language, is certainly the most delicious, at least for a change, that can be prepared from a deer only, without any other ingredient. It is a kind of haggis, made with the blood, a good quantity of fat shred small, some of the tenderest of the flesh, together with the heart and lungs cut, or more commonly torn into small shivers; all which is put into the stomach, and roasted, by being suspended before the fire by a string. Care must be taken that it does not get too much heat at first, as the bag would thereby be liable to be burnt, and the contents be let out. When it is sufficiently done, it will emit steam, in the same manner as a fowl or a joint of meat; which is as much as to say, Come, eat me now: and if it be taken in time, before the blood and other contents are too much done, it is certainly a most delicious morsel, even without pepper, salt, or any other seasoning.

1771. July.

After regaling ourselves in the most plentiful manner, and taking a few hours rest, (for it was almost impossible to sleep for the muskettoes,) we once more set forward, directing our course to the North West by West; and after walking about nine or ten miles, arrived at that long wished-for spot, the Copper-mine River.[70]

FOOTNOTES:

[AC] See the Plate, where Fig. A represents the bottom of the canoe, Fig. B being the fore-part. Fig. C is the complete frame of one before it is covered with the bark of the birch-tree; it is represented on an artificial bank, which the natives raise to build it on. Fig. D is an end-view of a set of timbers, bent and lashed in their proper shape, and left to dry. Fig. E is the representation of a complete canoe. Fig. F represents one of their paddles. Fig. G a spear with which they kill deer; and Fig. H, their mode of carrying the canoe.

The following references are to the several parts of the canoe: Fig. C. 1. The stem. 2. The stern-post. 3. Two forked sticks supporting the stem and stern-post. 4. The gunwales. 5. Small rods placed between the timbers and birch-bark that covers them. 6. The timbers. 7. The keelson. 8. Large stones placed there to keep the bottom steady till the sides are sewed on.

[AD] The tobacco used in Hudson's Bay is the Brasil tobacco; which is twisted into the form of a rope, of near an inch diameter, and then wound into a large roll; from which it is taken by measures of length, for the natives.

[57] Thus, four days after leaving Clowey, travelling in a northerly direction, they passed out of the wooded region and reached the barren grounds, though it is evident that there had been open barren grounds to the east of them for most of the way. Their course probably lay along the height of land east of Artillery Lake. The northern edge of the forest and southern line of the barren grounds crosses this lake near the middle, the most northern woods on its eastern shore being in latitude 63° 4' N., while on its western side the woods extend north to latitude 63° 11' N.

Artillery Lake is thus described by J. W. Tyrrell, who visited it in May 1900:—

"Artillery Lake was reached by our outfit on the 26th of May, more than two weeks after it had been first visited by Fairchild and Acres, when exploring and 'brushing' the trail for our voyageurs. Then its ice had been as solid as in winter, showing no signs of disruption or decay, whereas now it was rapidly decomposing, forming what is known as candle-ice, and making much open water along the shores. It lies in a north-easterly and south-westerly direction, and is fifty-five miles in length, ... and the superficial area of the lake is about one hundred and ninety square miles. Its shores are bold and high, in some places about two hundred feet above the lake, and for the most part they present a bare, desolate appearance, especially on the easterly shore where few trees of any kind can be seen.

"Such small groves as were found are shown on the map, but on the westerly side, about ten miles from the south end, the shore is quite well timbered with small spruce, and they continue northerly, although thinly scattered, for a distance of twenty miles, eight miles farther north than the last grove on the east shore. There the woods cease entirely." (Report on an Exploratory Survey between Great Slave Lake and Hudson Bay. By J. W. Tyrrell. Ann. Report, Dept. of the Interior, Ottawa, 1901. App. 26, Part III., pp. 17-18.)

[AE] I have observed, during my several journies in those parts, that all the way to the North of Seal River the edge of the wood is faced with old withered stumps, and trees which have been blown down by the wind. They are mostly of the sort which is called here Juniper, but were seldom of any considerable size. Those blasted trees are found in some parts to extend to the distance of twenty miles from the living woods, and detached patches of them are much farther off; which is a proof that the cold has been increasing in those parts for some ages. Indeed, some of the older Northern Indians have assured me, that they have heard their fathers and grandfathers say, they remembered the greatest part of those places where the trees are now blasted and dead, in a flourishing state; and that they were remarkable for abounding with deer. It is a well-known fact, that many deer are fond of frequenting those plains where the juniper trees abound near barren grounds, particularly in fine weather during the Winter; but in heavy gales of wind they either take shelter in the thick woods, or go out on the open plains. The Indians, who never want a reason for any thing, say, that the deer quit the thin straggling woods during the high winds, because the nodding of the trees, when at a considerable distance from each other, frightens them; but in the midst of a thick forest, the constant rustling of the branches lulls them into security, and renders them an easy prey to a skilful hunter.

[This appears to have been the last wood seen before reaching the Coppermine River.

The wood known as juniper on Hudson Bay is the American larch, Larix laricina (Du Roi) which extends to the edge of the barren grounds.]

[AF] Probably the same with Partridge Lake in the Map.

[58] Between Clowey and Peshew or Cat Lake, the map shows that their course was across Partridge Lake. The exact position of this lake was made known by Mr. Warburton Pike and afterwards by James W. Tyrrell, who crossed from Great Slave Lake to Hudson Bay in 1900. It is a small lake on the river between Artillery and Clinton-Colden Lakes, and lies just a little north of the southern edge of the barren lands. The name given to it on the Cook map is Cossadgath and on the Mackenzie map Cassandgath Lake, which are evidently modifications of the Chipewyan word for Ptarmigan or "White Partridge." With regard to the limits of Hearne's course in an east and west direction, it is quite clear that he passed to the east of Great Slave Lake and to the west of the belt of timber on Hanbury River, so that he must have passed in the vicinity of this lake if he did not pass over it.

Peshew is the Cree word for Wild Cat or Lynx, and therefore Peshew Lake should be the Cat Lake of the map, and not Partridge Lake as stated in the note, which was evidently inserted by Dr. Douglas after the author's death. Peshew or Cat Lake has been identified by Sir George Back, and following him by Sir John Richardson, as Artillery Lake, but this identification is almost certainly wrong. The shores of the southern half of Artillery Lake are wooded, while the Cat Lake of Hearne was three days' journey at least north of the southern edge of the barren lands. I think, therefore, that the Peshew or Cat Lake of this map is the lake which was named by Sir George Back, Clinton-Colden Lake, and which is known by this name on our present maps. Besides, though this argument may have little weight, Hearne's map shows Partridge and Cat Lakes in approximately the same positions in latitude as Partridge Lake (Kasba) and Clinton-Colden Lake respectively. On the Cook and Mackenzie maps, Cat Lake is shown as Cheesadawd Lake, which is certainly the same word as Tchizè-ta, which Abbé Petitot says means Gîte-du-Lynx or Home-of-the-Wild-Cat Lake. Petitot, however, states that this is the name of the lake which is now known as Walmsley Lake. Rt. Rev. J. Lofthouse, Bishop of Keewatin, also informs me that the Chipewyan name for Wild Cat or Lynx Lake is Seeza-tua. Another complication is brought in by the Pennant map, which leaves Hearne's Cat Lake unnamed, and applies the name Peshew (Cat) Lake to the Lake known on Hearne's map as No-name Lake. This is much more nearly in the position of Walmsley Lake of the present maps. It is therefore difficult to avoid the conclusion that Hearne trusted to his memory for the names of these lakes, and that his memory failed him here. It is quite possible that after crossing Partridge Lake the Indians changed their course, for some reason or other, and turned west or south of west to Walmsley Lake, and that in the excitement of meeting Keelshies, just from Churchill with a two-quart keg of brandy, Hearne neglected to make note of the change in the course.

[59] Some of the women and children were thus left on the north side of Peshew, probably Clinton-Colden Lake, and in that case he is correct in saying that they were north of latitude 64°. At the town of Dawson, in the Yukon territory, which is in about the same latitude, there is sufficient light to work and travel at midnight between the 10th of May and the 1st of August.

[60] The map shows that he changed his course a little more to the west from the north shore of Clinton-Colden Lake, but actually he altered his course more than is there shown, and, while his map is reasonably correct thus far, it here becomes very inaccurate, and his distances are greatly exaggerated from this point to the mouth of the Coppermine River, during the time when the party was hurrying, with the lightest equipment possible, across the barren lands. The first lake crossed is said to have been Thoy-noy-kyed Lake, which is identified by Sir John Richardson as Tha-na-koi or Sand Hill Mount or Aylmer Lake. This lake is placed by Hearne about seventy-five miles from Cat (Clinton-Colden) Lake, while actually it is only a very few miles from it, forming, with it, but one body of water with a rapid between them. On the Cook map it is shown as having its discharge in a stream flowing south-westward into the east end of Great Slave Lake. If his Cat Lake should prove to be Walmsley Lake his distances would not be quite so inaccurate, for Walmsley and Aylmer Lakes are about fifty miles apart.

[61] Thoy-coy-lyned Lake has not been definitely located, and as there are very many lakes still unknown in that country, there is little use in making a guess at its position. Between it and Cogead Lake, the women of the party were all left behind at a point which he places in latitude 67° 30', but which must have been much farther south, as we shall see.

[62] One of these streams, just north of Thoy-coy-lyned Lake, is called on the map Thlewey-chuck, which means Great-fish River. This can hardly be the Great Fish River which rises in Sussex Lake and empties into the Arctic Ocean south of King William Island, but it may be a river mentioned by Petitot under the name L'uétchôr des tchègè, which is said by him to flow southward into Great Slave Lake. Or it may be some other stream known by the same name to the Chipewyan Indians.

[63] Cogead Lake.—This lake has been identified by Sir J. Richardson with Contwoy-to or Rum Lake of Franklin, the name which it bore in his day among the Copper Indians. Sir J. Franklin says of it: "The lake is called by them Contwoy-to or Rum Lake, in consequence of Mr. Hearne having here given the Indians who accompanied him some of that liquor." It lies in N. latitude 65° 50', a long way south of the Arctic circle, and therefore Hearne is in error in the next paragraph when he says that the sun "did not set all that night." Mr. Frank Russell visited this district in 1894, and he speaks of a large lake called by the Indians Ko-ă-kă-tcai-tĭ which he thinks must be the Rum Lake of Franklin, and consequently the Cogead Lake of Hearne ("Explorations in the Far North," by Frank Russell, 1898, p. 113).

[64] This place has also been identified by Sir John Franklin, who says: "We subsequently learned from the Copper Indians that the part at which we had crossed the (Anatessy) river was the Congecathawhachaga of Hearne, of which I had little idea at the time" ("First Journey," p. 405). Sir John Richardson ("Polar Regions," p. 126) makes the following statement with regard to the identification of this place:

"Travelling without incumbrance, the war-party, with Hearne in company, reached a river of some size called Congecawthawhachaga, on the 21st of June, and there they met a large body of the Copper Indians or Red Knives, one of whom, then a boy named Cascathry, was well known in 1820-21 to Sir John Franklin. This boy joined the war-party, and in his old age remembered the circumstances well. Hearne says that he ascertained with his Elton's quadrant the position of the ferry over the river to be 68° 46' north, and 118° 15' west of London. According to Sir John Franklin's observations it lies in 66° 14' N., long. 112° W."

[AG] See Postlethwayt on the article of Labour.

[AH] Notwithstanding this is the general character of the Southern Indian women, as they are called on the coasts of Hudson's Bay, and who are the same tribe with the Canadian Indians, I am happy to have it in my power to insert a few lines to the memory of one of them, whom I knew from her infancy, and who, I can truly affirm, was directly the reverse of the picture I have drawn.

Mary, the daughter of Moses Norton, many years Chief at Prince of Wales's Fort, in Hudson's Bay, though born and brought up in a country of all others the least favourable to virtue and virtuous principles, possessed them, and every other good and amiable quality, in a most eminent degree.

Without the assistance of religion, and with no education but what she received among the dissolute natives of her country, she would have shone with superior lustre in any other country: for, if an engaging person, gentle manners, an easy freedom, arising from a consciousness of innocence, an amiable modesty, and an unrivalled delicacy of sentiment, are graces and virtues which render a woman lovely, none ever had greater pretensions to general esteem and regard: while her benevolence, humanity, and scrupulous adherence to truth and honesty, would have done honour to the most enlightened and devout Christian.

Dutiful, obedient, and affectionate to her parents; steady and faithful to her friends; grateful and humble to her benefactors; easily forgiving and forgetting injuries; careful not to offend any, and courteous and kind to all; she was, nevertheless, suffered to perish by the rigours of cold and hunger, amidst her own relations, at a time when the griping hand of famine was by no means severely felt by any other member of their company; and it may truly be said that she fell a martyr to the principles of virtue. This happened in the Winter of the year 1782, after the French had destroyed Prince of Wales's Fort; at which time she was in the twenty-second year of her age.

Human nature shudders at the bare recital of such brutality, and reason shrinks from the task of accounting for the decrees of Providence on such occasions as this: but they are the strongest assurances of a future state, so infinitely superior to the present, that the enjoyment of every pleasure in this world by the most worthless and abandoned wretch, or the most innocent and virtuous woman perishing by the most excruciating of all deaths, are matters equally indifferent. But,

"Peace to the ashes, and the virtuous mind,
Of her who lived in peace with all mankind;
Learn'd from the heart, unknowing of disguise,
Truth in her thoughts, and candour in her eyes;
Stranger alike to envy and to pride,
Good sense her light, and Nature all her guide;
But now removed from all the ills of life,
Here rests the pleasing friend and faithful wife."—Waller.

Her father was, undoubtedly, very blamable for bringing her up in the tender manner which he did, rendering her by that means not only incapable of bearing the fatigues and hardships which the rest of her countrywomen think little of, but of providing for herself. This is, indeed, too frequent a practice among Europeans in that country, who bring up their children in so indulgent a manner, that when they retire, and leave their offspring behind, they find themselves so helpless, as to be unable to provide for the few wants to which they are subject. The late Mr. Ferdinand Jacobs, many years Chief at York Fort, was the only person whom I ever knew that acted in a different manner; though no man could possibly be fonder of his children in other respects, yet as there were some that he could not bring to England, he had them brought up entirely among the natives; so that when he left the country, they scarcely ever felt the loss, though they regretted the absence of a fond and indulgent parent.

[AI] Most of the Southern Indians, as well as the Athapuscow and Neheaway tribes, are entirely without scruple in this respect. It is notoriously known, that many of them cohabit occasionally with their own mothers, and frequently espouse their sisters and daughters. I have known several of them who, after having lived in that state for some time with their daughters, have given them to their sons, and all parties been perfectly reconciled to it.

In fact, notwithstanding the severity of the climate, the licentiousness of the inhabitants cannot be exceeded by any of the Eastern nations, whose luxurious manner of life, and genial clime, seem more adapted to excite extraordinary passions, than the severe cold of the frigid Zone.

It is true, that few of those who live under the immediate protection of the English ever take either their sisters or daughters for wives, which is probably owing to the fear of incurring their displeasure; but it is well known that acts of incest too often take place among them, though perhaps not so frequently as among the foreign Indians.

[65] As seen on page 153, the latitude given for this place is 2° 32' too far north. Almost any quadrant, however bad, would permit of taking an observation closer than this; but as the error is approximately two and a half degrees, his mistake in observing the double altitude would be five degrees, and if he took an observation at all it is possible that this error was in making the calculations or in transcribing, rather than in taking, the observation.

[66] The position of this lake has not since been determined, and as the name Musk-Ox Lake seems to be one given by Hearne himself, and as the Indian name is not given, it will be difficult at any time to identify it.

[67] Ovibos moschatus (Zimm.).

[AJ] Mr. Dragge says, in his Voyage ["An Account of a Voyage for the Discovery of a North-West Passage," by the Clerk of the California, London, 1748], vol. ii. p. 260, that the musk-ox is lower than a deer, but larger as to belly and quarters; which is very far from the truth; they are of the size I have here described them, and the Indians always estimate the flesh of a full-grown cow to be equal in quantity to three deer. I am sorry also to be obliged to contradict my friend Mr. Graham, who says that the flesh of this animal is carried on sledges to Prince of Wales's Fort, to the amount of three or four thousand pounds annually. To the amount of near one thousand pounds may have been purchased from the natives in some particular years, but it more frequently happens that not an ounce is brought one year out of five. In fact, it is by no means esteemed by the Company's servants, and of course no great encouragement is given to introduce it; but if it had been otherwise, their general situation is so remote from the settlement, that it would not be worth the Indians while to haul it to the Fort. So that, in fact, all that has ever been carried to Prince of Wales's Fort, has most assuredly been killed out of a herd that has been accidentally found within a moderate distance of the settlement; perhaps an hundred miles, which is only thought a step by an Indian.

[AK] Voyage to Hudson's Bay, p. 232.

[68] Gulo luscus Linn. See p. 346.

[69] Citellus parryi Richardson.—E. A. P.

[AL] This river runs nearly North East, and in all probability empties itself into the Northern Ocean, not far from the Copper River.

[70] He reached the Coppermine River at Sandstone Rapids, having travelled one hundred and forty-five miles north-westward from Congecathawhachaga in thirteen days, making an average of eleven miles a day, or, omitting the two days on which the party did not travel, an average of thirteen miles a day. The distance stated in the text is one hundred and eighty-eight miles. Considering the very rough nature of the country over which he was travelling, this is not a very extravagant estimate nor a very unreasonable error. While his estimate of distance is not very bad, his direction should have been N. 58° W. instead of N. 23° W., as shown on his map. Mr. Frank Russell, who crossed the Coppermine River in the spring of 1894 while on a hunt for musk oxen, says that its present Chipewyan name is Tson Te ("Explorations in the Far North," p. 112).

In 1821 Sir John Franklin explored and surveyed this river from Point Lake to the Arctic Ocean, a distance of about two hundred and seventy-five miles. Its length above Point Lake is not known, but it is probably about two hundred miles. A short distance below Point Lake Franklin says that it "is about two hundred yards wide and ten feet deep, and flows very rapidly over a rocky bottom" ("First Journey," p. 327).

Sir John Richardson writes of the river farther north as follows: "The river contracting to a width of a hundred and twenty yards at length forces itself through the Rocky Defile, a narrow channel which it has cut during a lapse of ages in the shelving foot of a hill" ("First Journey," p. 527).

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