In the record of his famous trip (pages 173 to 176) Hearne makes the following references to his investigation into the subject of the traditional copper mines of the Indians on Coppermine river:—“After a sleep of five or six hours we once more set out, and walked eighteen or nineteen miles to the south-southeast when we arrived at one of the copper mines, which lies, from the river’s mouth about south-southeast, distant about twenty-nine or thirty miles. This mine, if it deserve that appellation, is no more than an entire jumble of rocks and gravel, which has been rent so many ways by an earthquake. Through these ruins there runs a small river, but no parts of it, at the time I was there, was more than knee-deep. The Indians who were the occasion of my undertaking this journey represented this mine to be so rich and valuable, that if a factory were built at the river, a ship might be ballasted with the ore, instead of stone, and that with the same ease and despatch as is done with stones at Churchill river. By their account the hills were entirely composed of that metal, all in handy lumps, like a heap of pebbles. But their account differed so much from the truth, that I and almost all of my companions expended near four hours in search of some of this metal, with such poor success, that among us all, only one piece of any size could be found. This, however, was remarkably good, and weighed above four pounds. I believe the copper has formerly been in much greater plenty, for in many places, both on the surface and in the cavities and crevices of the rocks, the stones are much tinged with verdigrise.
“Before Churchill river was settled by the Hudson’s Bay Company, which was not more than fifty years previous to this journey being undertaken, the Northern Indians had no other metal but copper among them, except a small quantity of iron work, which a party of them who visited York Fort about the year one thousand seven hundred and thirteen, or one thousand seven hundred and fourteen, purchased, and a few pieces of old iron found at Churchill river, which had undoubtedly been left there by Captain Monk. This being the case, numbers of them from all quarters used every summer to resort to these hills in search of copper; of which they made hatchets, ice-chisels, bayonets (sic), knives, awls, arrow-heads, etc. The many
Paths That Had Been Beaten
by the Indians on these occasions and which are yet, in many places, very perfect, especially on the dry ridges and hills, is surprising; in the valleys and marshy grounds, however, they are mostly grown over with herbage, so as not to be discerned.
“The Copper Indians set a great value on their native metal even to this day, and prefer it to iron, for almost every use except that of a hatchet, a knife, and an awl; for these three necessary implements, copper makes but a very poor substitute.
“There is a strange tradition among these people, that the first person who discovered these mines was a woman, and that she conducted them to the place for several years, but as she was the only woman in the company, some of the men took such liberties with her as made her vow revenge on them, and she is said to have been a great conjurer. Accordingly when the men had loaded themselves with copper, and were going to return, she refused to accompany them, and said she would sit on the mine till she sunk into the ground, and that the copper should sink with her. The next year, when the men went for more copper, they found her sunk up to the waist, though still alive and the quantity of copper much decreased, and on their repeating their visit the following year, she had quite disappeared, and all the principal part of the mine with her, so that after that period nothing remained on the surface but a few small pieces, and those were scattered at a considerable distance from each other. Before that period they say the copper lay on the surface in such large heaps, that the Indians had nothing to do but turn it over, and pick up such pieces as would best suit the different uses for which they intended it.”
Sir Alexander Mackenzie is authority for the statement that there was a tradition among the Chipewyan Indians that their ancestors first reached the continent of America at Coppermine river. “Where they first made land, the ground was covered with copper, over which a body of earth had since been collected to the depth of a man’s height.” The tradition is interesting as indicating the fact that the Indians knew of the famous copper deposits for many generations.
Some of the Difficulties of Northern Transportation:—Crossing a Swamp.
Sir John Franklin’s Visit.