The We-was-kish,[126] or as some (though improperly) call it, the Waskesse, is quite a different animal from the moose, being by no means so large in size. The horns of the We-was-kish are something similar to those of the common deer, but are not palmated in any part. They stand more upright, have fewer branches, and want the brow-antler. The head of this animal is so far from being like that of the Moose, that the nose is sharp, like the nose of a sheep: indeed, the whole external appearance of the head is not very unlike that of an ass. The hair is usually of a sandy red; and they are frequently called by the English who visit the interior parts of the country, red deer. Their flesh is tolerable eating; but the fat is as hard as tallow, and if eaten as hot as possible, will yet chill in so short a time, that it clogs the teeth, and sticks to the roof of the mouth, in such a manner as to render it very disagreeable. In the Spring of one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five, I had thirteen sledge-loads of this meat brought to Cumberland House in one day, and also two of the heads of this animal unskinned, but the horns {361} were chopped off; a proof of their wearing them the whole Winter. They are the most stupid of all the deer kind, and frequently make a shrill whistling, and quivering noise, not very unlike the braying of an ass, which directs the hunter to the very spot where they are. They generally keep in large herds, and when they find plenty of pasture, remain a long time in one place. Those deer are seldom an object of chace with the Indians bordering on Basquiau, except when moose and other game fail. Their skins, when dressed, very much resemble that of the moose, though they are much thinner, and have this peculiar quality, that they will wash as well as shamoy leather; whereas all the other leathers and pelts dressed by the Indians, if they get wet, turn quite hard, unless great care be taken to keep constantly rubbing them while drying.
The person who informed Mr. Pennant that the we-was-kish and the moose are the same animal, never saw one of them; and the only reason he had to suppose it, was the great resemblance of their skins: yet it is rather strange, that so indefatigable a collector of Natural History as the late Mr. Andrew Graham, should have omitted making particular enquiry about them: for any foreign Indian, particularly those that reside near Basquiau, could easily have convinced him to the contrary.
{362} Animals with Canine Teeth.
Wolves.
Wolves[127] are frequently met with in the countries West of Hudson's Bay, both on the barren grounds and among the woods, but they are not numerous; it is very uncommon to see more than three or four of them in a herd. Those that keep to the Westward, among the woods, are generally of the usual colour, but the greatest part of those that are killed by the Esquimaux are perfectly white. All the wolves in Hudson's Bay are very shy of the human race, yet when sharp set, they frequently follow the Indians for several days, but always keep at a distance. They are great enemies to the Indian dogs, and frequently kill and eat those that are heavy loaded, and cannot keep up with the main body. The Northern Indians have formed strange ideas of this animal, as they think it does not eat its victuals raw; but by a singular and wonderful sagacity, peculiar to itself, has a method of cooking them without fire. The females are much swifter than the males; for which reason the Indians, both Northern and Southern, are of opinion that they kill the greatest part of the game.
This cannot, however, always be the case; for to the North of Churchill they, in general, live a forlorn life all the Winter, and are seldom seen in pairs till the Spring, when they begin to couple; and generally keep in pairs all the Summer. They always burrow under-ground to bring forth their young; and though it is natural {363} to suppose them very fierce at those times, yet I have frequently seen the Indians go to their dens, and take out the young ones and play with them. I never knew a Northern Indian hurt one of them: on the contrary, they always put them carefully into the den again; and I have sometimes seen them paint the faces of the young Wolves with vermillion, or red ochre.
Foxes of various colours.
The Arctic Foxes[128] are in some years remarkably plentiful, but generally most so on the barren ground, near the sea-coast. Notwithstanding what has been said of this animal only visiting the settlements once in five or seven years,[129] I can affirm there is not one year in twenty that they are not caught in greater or less numbers at Churchill; and I have known that for three years running, not less than from two hundred to four hundred have been caught each year within thirty miles of the Fort. They always come from the North along the coast, and generally make their appearance at Churchill about the middle of October, but their skins are seldom in season till November; during that time they are never molested, but permitted to feed round the Fort, till by degrees they become almost domestic. The great numbers of those animals that visit Churchill River in some years do not all come in a body, as it would be impossible for the fourth part of them to find subsistence by the way; but when they come near the Fort, the carcasses of dead whales lying along the shores, and the skin and other offal, after boiling the oil, {364} afford them a plentiful repast, and prove the means of keeping them about the Fort till, by frequent reinforcements from the Northward, their numbers are so far increased as almost to exceed credibility.