Three Boys in the Wild North Land

by Egerton Ryerson Young

When she was about twenty years of age she returned to the Hudson Bay territories, and was married by the missionary to Mr Ross, who had so well-earned the skillful, loving wife she ever proved to be. Over twenty years of wedded life had been theirs before Mr Ross retired from the service, and several more had passed ere our story opened. Two sons were away from home as clerks in the company’s service at some remote stations similar to those in which most of the officials had begun their apprenticeship.

At home were two bright girls about ten and eight years of age, and a younger brother hardly six, whose name was Roderick. The names of the girls were Minnehaha and Wenonah. A delightful home was theirs, even if in a place so remote from civilisation. Mrs Ross had devoted much of her time to the education of her children. The house was furnished with a splendid library, which Mr Ross himself had gathered with a great deal of care. For music, the piano and harp were their favourite instruments, and several members of the family were able to play exceedingly well. So well cultured were they that they would be considered a well-educated and intellectual family in any land.

There was for a time some anxiety about the wounds which Mr Ross had received when the wolf so savagely sprang at him. However, he was under the careful treatment of Memotas, the Christian Indian doctor, whose fame was in all the land, not only for his marvellous skill, but for his noble, upright character.

During the days of Mr Ross’s recovery, when it was thought best for him to keep quiet, so that there might be the more rapid recovery, there were no long excursions made by the boys. The fact was, they had been so surfeited with excitement that they were quite contented to remain at Sagasta-weekee and revel in its library, where they found many an interesting volume.

Of course this did not mean that they were not much out in the canoes and among the wigwams of the Indians, who were camped about on the various points within easy reaching distances. The natives were always delighted to see the boys, and utilised what little English they possessed in order to impart to them as much information as possible. The visits to Big Tom and Mustagan were always a great pleasure. As Mustagan talked English they were not obliged to have an interpreter, and so enjoyed his company very much, and were always delighted when they could get him talking on his arctic adventures and narrow escapes in polar regions. He was a man with a marvellous history, as he had been employed in no less than five arctic expeditions. He was with Sir John Richardson and Dr Ray on their desperate expeditions, when they so courageously and persistently endeavoured to make the sullen North reveal the story of the destruction of Sir John Franklin and his gallant comrades. Some of his wonderful adventures we must have from his own lips after a while.

Although Mrs Ross was, as has been stated, such a refined and cultured woman, still she had all her nation’s love for the canoe and outdoor life. The result was, many short excursions were undertaken by her and her children to various beautiful and picturesque spots within a few miles from home.

On these excursions one or two faithful well-armed old Indians were always taken, as it might happen that a fierce old bear or prowling wolf would unexpectedly make his appearance. That this precaution was necessary was clearly proved by an adventure that had occurred some time before the arrival of the boys. Mrs Ross, accompanied by her three youngest children, had taken a large canoe, manned by a couple of Indians, and had gone to spend the day at Playground Point, which was ever, as its name would imply, a favourite spot for old and young, Indians and whites. They had with them a large basket of supplies, and anticipated a very pleasant outing. They reached their destination in good time, and in various ways were intensely enjoying their holiday. They had all wandered some distance from the spot where they had landed, and where the canoe had been drawn up on the beach by the Indians. These men, after seeing that everything was made right, and that there were no signs of prowling wild beasts around, had, as Mrs Ross suggested, taken their axes and penetrated some distance into the interior of the forest, to see if they could find some large birch trees, the bark of which would be suitable for a new canoe.

After the young folks had amused themselves for time with their sports they began to think it was time for a raid upon the lunch basket, and so Mrs Ross, who had been sitting on a rock reading, shut her book and accompanied them back to the canoe, where they had left their supplies. An abrupt turn in the path brought them in plain sight of the canoe, which was about a hundred yards directly in front of them. There was a sight at which they had to laugh, although there was a spice of danger mixed with it. Seated up in the canoe, with a large hamper in his lap, was a good-sized black bear deliberately helping himself to the contents. Gravely would he lift up in his handlike paws to his mouth the sandwiches and cakes, and then he cleared out with great satisfaction a large bowl of jelly, spilling, however, a good deal of it on his face.

Mrs Ross would have endeavoured to have noiselessly retreated back with the children, but the sight of their dinner disappearing down the bear’s throat was too much for them, and so ere the mother could check them, a simultaneous shout from them alarmed the bear and quickly brought his meal to a close. The sudden shouting and the apparition of these people were too much for him, and so, jamming what food he had at that instant in his paws in his mouth, he sprang out of the canoe into the water, and began swimming at a great rate toward a small island that was directly out from the mainland. Seeing him thus retreating, and wishing to keep him at it, Mrs Ross and the children, with all the display and noise they could make, rushed forward, and thus, if possible, caused him to redouble his efforts to get away. This was the wisest thing they could have done. A bear is quick to notice whether his presence causes alarm or not. A bold front will generally cause him to retreat, while on the other hand, if he sees any signs of cowardice, or thinks he can terrify his enemies and cause them to fly from him, he is not slow in being the aggressor and making the attempt.

Mrs Ross, well knowing some of the characteristics of bears and their habits, was not to be taken off her guard, and so she was resolved to be prepared for every emergency. Her first precaution was to take out one of the guns and load it well with ball. Then she explored the lunch basket to find out the extent of the bear’s raid upon it. To the children’s sorrow they found that the best part of the contents, from their standpoint, of the hamper was gone. The cakes and most of the jam, which in that country is such a luxury, being imported all the way from England, were all gone. However, there were some packages of bread and butter and cold meats, and so they did not starve.