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NARRATIVE

THE DISCOVERIES ON
THE NORTH COAST OF AMERICA;
EFFECTED BY THE
OFFICEKS OF THE HUDSOFS BAY COMPAFY
DURING THE YEARS 1836-39.
BY THOMAS SIMPSON, ESQ.

LONDON:
RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET.
PuMiri&« in ©rtfmarg to ?§er tfHajtsltg.
1843. -

London :
Printed by S. & J. Bektley, Wilson, and Fley,
Bangor House, Shoe Lane.

CONTENTS.

PAGE
Memoir of Thomas Simpson, A. M. . . . vii

CHAPTER I.
Introduction. — Instructions. — The Colony of Red
River. — Converted Indians. — Reconciliation of Hostile
Tribes. ...... 1

CHAPTER II.
Description of a Winter Journey from Red River to
Athabasca. . . • • ¦ .26

CHAPTER III.
Occurrences at Fort Chipewyan, spring 1837. — Traits
of the Natives. . . . . .67

CHAPTER IV.
Descent from Athabasca to the Polar Sea.

iv CONTENTS.
CHAPTER V.

PAGE

Voyage from Mackenzie River to Franklin's Return
Reef. — Adventures among Esquimaux and Ice. — Dis
covery of the Franklin Mountains. . . .109

CHAPTER VI.
Discoveries on the Coast from Return Reef up to
Boat Extreme. . . . . .128

CHAPTER VII.
Journey on foot, and in an Esquimaux canoe, to Point
Barrow. — Conduct of the Natives. . . .143

CHAPTER VIII.
Return of the Expedition from Boat Extreme to the
Mackenzie. — Ascent of that river. — Boisterous passage
of Great Bear Lake. — Arrival at Winter-quarters. . 169

CHAPTER IX.
Transactions at Fort Confidence, winter 1837-8. —
Death of Peter Taylor. — Winter Discoveries and
Surveys. ...... 200

CHAPTER X.
Ascent of Dease River. — Passage of the Dismal Lakes
on the Ice. — Dangerous Descent of the Coppermine. —
Flight of the Esquimaux. .... 245

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XI. PAGE
Second Sea Voyage. — Difficulties and detentions
amongst Ice. — Long circuit in Bathurst's Inlet. — Dis
covery of Copper on Barry Islands. — Boats finally
arrested near Point Turnagain. .... 270
CHAPTER XII.
Journey on foot and important discoveries to the East
ward. — Return to the Coppermine, and skilful ascent of
that river. — Traverse of the Barren Grounds, and ar
rival at Fort Confidence. .... 291
CHAPTER XIII.
Transactions at Fort Confidence, winter 1838-39. —
Murder and Distress among the Indians. — Relief afforded
them. ....... 314
CHAPTER XIV.
Second Descent of the Coppermine. — Interviews with
Esquimaux. — Passage of Coronation Gulph, and arrival
on new ground. ..... 342
CHAPTER XV.
Stupendous bay, broken into minor bays, and bordered
by countless islands. — Discovery of the Strait of
Boothia. — Back's Point Ogle doubled in a fog. — Deposit
found on Montreal Island. — Cape Britannia, and dis
coveries to the Eastward. — Progress arrested by gales. —
Return. — Nearest approach to Ross's Pillar and the
Magnetic Pole. — Southern shores of Boothia and Vic
toria Land explored. — Passage of a magnificent Strait. —
Winter sets in. — Re-entry of the Coppermine River. . 359
b

VI • CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XVI. PAGE
Wintry return to Fort Confidence, — Passage of Great
Bear Lake, and ascent of the Mackenzie. — Arrival at
Fort Simpson, and journey on the Snow from thence to
Red River. . . . . . .389

APPENDIX.
List of the Plants collected during the Arctic Journey
of Messrs. Simpson and Dease. By Sir W. J. Hooker,
K. H. . . . . . . . 409
Table of the Magnetic Variation and Dip observed by
Mr. Simpson. . . . . . .419

MEMOIR

OF

THOMAS SIMPSON, A.M.
BY HIS BROTHER, ALEXR- SIMPSON.

Thomas Simpson, the writer of the narrative
contained in the following pages, was born on
the 2nd of July 1808, at Dingwall in Ross-shire,
N. B. His father, Mr. Alexander Simpson,
though a native of Aberdeenshire, had resided
for many years in that distant Highland county,
had long exercised the functions of magistrate
of his little burgh, and was well known to its
visitors and inhabitants for his hospitality and
singleness of heart. He died in the year 1821,
leaving his widow and two sons but very slen
derly provided for.
Thomas, the eldest of the sons, was from his
childhood distinguished by a quiet, tractable tem-
62

Vlli MEMOIR OF
per, and a steady attention to his studies; and,
as is the case with most boys in his sphere of
life in Scotland who manifest such dispositions,
it was early determined to educate him with a
view to his becoming a clergyman of the Scotch
Church. In his boyhood he was rather of a weakly
constitution, having at one time shewn a strong
tendency to consumption. He was then consi
dered by his companions as being of a timid
disposition ; and, so far from taking a lead in
the games common among boys, he was remarked
for an unwillingness to join in their rougher
sports, and for a hesitation in entering upon any
exercises that could in the least expose him to
personal danger.
In these respects we find a remarkable simili
tude to the early years of another traveller of
much repute — Abyssinian Bruce ; and, indeed,
in every matter belonging to their early lives,
and some belonging to their after career, there
is much resemblance between these explorers of
two very different portions of the globe. Both
were mild and timid in their boyhood: both
daring and impetuous in their after-life: both,
from an early age, excited much interest and
sanguine expectations of future success in every
one connected with them: both profited in-

THOMAS SIMPSON. IX
dustriously by their opportunities of education :
in both an inclination early shewed itself for
the sacred ofiice of the ministry : both were
energetic; and their energies were directed en
thusiastically to the discoveries in which they
were engaged : and both were alike regardless
of hunger, thirst, fatigue, and danger in the pro
secution of these discoveries.
In pursuance of the design of educating him
for the Church of Scotland, Mr. Simpson was
sent in his seventeenth year to King's College,
Aberdeen. Here he pursued his studies for four
winters: the remaining months of each year he
spent in his native town, preparing himself for
the succeeding winter's labours; or with his
friends in the neighbourhood, to all of whom
his pleasing address made him an acceptable
visitor. The distinctions to be gained at this northern
institution are not, I am well aware, of equal
value with those to be won at the more celebrated
colleges of southern Scotland, or at the Univer
sities of England ; yet the attainment of the
highest of them is, at least, a proof of a young
man's pre-eminence among his fellow-students.
At the end of his four years' curriculum Mr.
Simpson carried off the " Huttonian " prize, — the
highest given at King's College, — on an examina-

X MEMOIR OF
tion of comparative merit in all the departments
of study during the curriculum ; and at the same
time received a degree as Master of Arts.
In the winter of 1828-29, Mr. Simpson at
tended the divinity class of the same college.
He had, while thus engaged, a repetition of an
offer — which had been pressed upon him in
1826, and declined — to join Mr. (now Sir George)
Simpson, the Governor of the Hudson's Bay
Company's territories in America.
The change which had been gradually going
on for several years in his temperament and
constitution was now complete: from a deli
cate, timid boy, he had sprung up a strong,
brawny youth, with the sanguine disposition
generally accompanying a state of high bodily
health. On a review of his position and prospects,
he saw that, to obtain a settlement as a paro
chial clergyman of the Church of Scotland, he
might require to wait for many years, during
which he must support himself by the usual
resource of probationers of that Church — public
or private tuition. His active and energetic
mind, which, as. a clergyman, would have found
an adequate sphere in a zealous discharge of
his functions, could but ill brook the irksome
and monotonous labour of tuition; he had high

THOMAS SIMPSON. xi
expectations of meeting with much of adventure
and interest in the distant and savage region
to which he was invited: he therefore resolved
to accept this reiterated offer, and proceeded to
America early in 1829.
Of the years spent by him in the Hudson's
Bay country previous to the commencement of
the Arctic expedition, it is unnecessary to say
much. His sanguine temperament and buoyant
spirits enabled him to pass through them with
out much weariness or ennui ; and he strove,
and with success, to accommodate himself to
the duties and mode of life which were imposed
upon him by a residence in the country which
he had chosen as his sphere of action.
Of the share Mr. Simpson had in planning and
organizing the expedition of which the follow
ing pages are a narrative, he himself speaks
modestly and briefly in the first chapter of that
narrative. Although Mr. Simpson's name appears
only as second or junior officer of the expedition,
—the senior being Mr. Peter Warren Dease, an
old and experienced officer of the Hudson's
Bay Company, who co-operated with Sir John
Franklin on his last expedition, — yet a glance
at the narrative in the following pages will prove
that Mr. Simpson was really the main-spring of
the expedition. He alone was at all conversant

xii MEMOIR OF
with science : and the most arduous parts of the
service performed by the expedition — the com
pletion of the survey between Mackenzie River
and Point Barrow; the exploration of the country
between Great Slave Lake and the Coppermine
River — essential to the transport across that
rugged and sterile country (well called the Bar
ren grounds) of the boats and provisions of the
expedition ; and the pedestrian journey along the
coast, of the summer of 1838, which opened the
prospect of a clear sea to the eastward, securing
the success of the expedition in summer 1839,
. — were performed by him alone.
The narrative contained in the following pages
is so full, yet so concise, that I consider it un
necessary here to give any details in reference to
the expedition and its results. I shall merely
remark, that every object in view when it was
first organized was attained, with the loss of only
one man, who died from sickness, not from ac
cident or fatigue.
On the return of the party to Great Slave Lake
in Sept. 1839, Mr. Simpson drew up a succinct
narrative, in a letter addressed to the Directors
of the Hudson's Bay Company, of the operations
of the season, which had been so brilliantly suc
cessful ; which letter was published in most of
the leading papers of the civilized world — as

THOMAS SIMPSON. . Xlli
were likewise his similar letters, describing the
operations of the two preceding years — and at
tracted much attention.
At the same time that this letter was for
warded to London, Mr. Simpson transmitted to
the Directors a plan for an expedition to com
plete the survey of the coast between the ex
treme east of the discoveries of 1839, and the
straits of the Fury and Hecla ; and, notwith
standing the excessive fatigues to which he had
been exposed for upwards of three years, he
offered to assume the command of the expedi
tion without a moment's respite, and anticipated
that arrangements would be made by which he
could again reach the Arctic coast in the sum
mer of 1840.
With this expectation, and in order to be
personally on the spot to expedite and super
intend the arrangements, he left Fort Confidence,
his dreary residence for two long winters, on the
26th Sept. 1839 ; and after a journey of most ex
traordinary celerity, having traversed 1910 miles
on foot in sixty-one days, including all stoppages,
arrived at Red River Settlement on 2nd Feb. 1840.
At this place he remained, anxiously waiting
for letters from England, which would authorize
his proceeding on his new expedition, and which
would convey to him intelligence of the recep-

XIV . MEMOIR OF
tion given in England to the news of his hav
ing completed the survey of the Arctic coast of
America between the point reached by Beech ey
from the Pacific, and that to which Ross had
penetrated from the Atlantic Ocean.
In both these expectations he was most deeply
disappointed ; for the annual canoes from Canada,
which arrived early in June, brought him no
ratification of his plan, nor news of the recep
tion given by the public to the intelligence of
the success of the expedition : indeed, his letters
(contrary to his expectation) did not reach Eng
land in time to be acknowledged by that op
portunity. Having no authority for fitting out another
expedition, the local authorities of the Company
declined undertaking the responsibility of doing
so, notwithstanding the very limited and econo
mical scale on which it was proposed by Mr.
Simpson ; and he, deeply mortified at this delay
of his plans, determined upon proceeding to
England, in preference to remaining a year in
idleness waiting for the acceptance of his pro
posal. That acceptance was written on the 3rd of
June, 1840, by the Directors of the Hudson's
Bay Company, to their Superintendent at Red
River, in the following terms :

THOMAS SIMPSON. XV
" Reverting to the subject of the Arctic Dis
covery Expedition, the gallantry and excellent
management manifested by Messrs. Dease and
Simpson in that arduous and interesting service,
and the good conduct of the people under their
command, entitle them to our warmest com
mendations. The valuable and important ser
vices of Messrs. Dease and Simpson have been
brought under the consideration of her Majesty's
Government, who have not, as yet, noticed the
subject. " We observe that Mr. Dease avails himself
of the leave of absence that has been afforded
him with the intention of visiting Canada this
season ; and that Mr. Simpson volunteers to con
duct another expedition, with the view of con
tinuing the survey from the mouth of the Great
Fish River to the Straits of the Fury and Hecla.
We have much satisfaction in availing ourselves
of that gentleman's proffered services : you will
therefore be pleased to meet any demands that
may be made by Mr. Simpson for men, goods,
provisions, craft, &c. &c, and to take the ne
cessary measures to give effect throughout the
country to that gentleman's views and wishes
in reference to the important and arduous ser
vice on which he is about to re-enter."
Had this letter, instead of being written on

XVI MEMOIR OF
the 3rd of June, reached Mr. Simpson on that
date, how different might have been the result !
On the 6th of June Mr. Simpson left Red
River Settlement, with the purpose of crossing
the prairies to St. Peter's on the Mississippi, and
thence making his way to England.
On starting from the Colony, he was accom
panied by a party of settlers and half-breeds.
Eager to reach England, he got tired, in a very
few days, of their slow movements, and went
on ahead in company with a party of four men.
He pursued his journey with much rapidity ;
for, on a chart which was found with his other
papers after his death, we trace his day's journey
on the 11th of June to have been forty-seven
miles in a straight line.
Subsequent to that date every circumstance
is involved in mystery. All that can be ascer
tained with certainty is, that, on the afternoon
of the 13th or 14th of June, Mr. Simpson shot
two of his companions ; that the other two
mounted their horses and rejoined the larger
party, a part of which went to the encampment
where Mr. Simpson was alone, on the next
morning; and that Mr. Simpson's death then
took place.
Whether he shot these men in self-defence,

THOMAS SIMPSON. xvii
and was subsequently put to death by their com
panions ; or whether the severe stretch to which
his faculties had been subjected for several years
brought on a temporary hallucination of mind,
under the influence of which the melancholy
tragedy took place, is known only to God, and
to the surviving actors in that tragedy.
But it must be noticed, in support of the
former supposition, that the depositions of those
who pretend to describe the manner of his death
are contradictory in the extreme. Moreover,
the North American half-breed is, of all races
in the world, that which most retains the odium
in longum jaciens. Mr. Simpson had, five years
before, incurred the animosity of the half-breeds
of Red River by inflicting a chastisement on one
of them who had grossly insulted him, and they
then threatened his life.
Three of his companions were of this race.
They saw Mr. Simpson returning to England after
having achieved an object important in itself,
but of which they even exaggerated the import
ance; their long-treasured animosity was likely
to have shewn itself in threats and insults, if not
in actual attack ; and hence — it is the opinion of
many intelligent men who have examined the
circumstances, and are acquainted with the cha-

XVlll MEMOIR OF
racter of the half-caste natives — resulted the
events which cut short the career of this enter
prising young traveller.
If the other supposition should be true (and
there is nothing save the contradictory state
ments of his attendants to support it) ; if, indeed,
it pleased Providence to darken the spirit which
had passed undaunted through so many trials ;
we can but acknowledge that the decrees of God
are inscrutable to mortals, and join in these beau
tiful lines of Cowper :
Man is a harp whose chords elude the sight,
Each yielding harmony disposed aright :
The chords reversed (a task which, if He please,
God in a moment executes with ease,)
Ten thousand thousand strings at once go loose ;
Lost, till He tune them, all their power and use.
Thus perished, before he had completed his
thirty-second year, Thomas Simpson, a man of
great ardour, resolution, and perseverance; one
who had already achieved a great object, and
who has left a name which will be classed by
posterity with that of Cook, Parry, Lander, and
Franklin. The British Government, in the same month
in which he died, intimated its intention of be
stowing upon him a pension of £100 per annum

THOMAS SIMPSON. XIX
in testimony of his services. The Royal Geogra
phical Society presented to him in 1839 their
gold medal, which never reached him, and is now
in the possession of his only surviving brother.
In person Mr. Simpson was rather under the
middle size ; but he was strongly and symmetri
cally formed, and his whole appearance was that
of a man able to encounter a great amount of
physical fatigue. His countenance was open, and
had an expression of energy and liveliness. His
manners were pleasing and amiable. He was
much beloved by all who knew him ; and his loss
has been deplored by his relatives — to whom his
kindness and affection were unbounded — as the
greatest of earthly calamities.

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JOURNAL

OF
THE HONOURABLE
HUDSOFS BAY COMPANY'S EXPEDITION.

CHAPTER I.

Introduction. — Instructions. — The Colony of Red River. —
Converted Indians. — Reconciliation of Hostile Tribes.
The zealous and effective co-operation of the
Hudson's Bay Company, in the Arctic land ex
peditions commanded by Franklin and Back, is
well known to the British public. Notwithstand
ing the reiterated efforts of these able officers,
and the simultaneous enterprise by sea, a con
siderable extent of the northern coast of Ame
rica remained unexplored at their close.
Actuated by an earnest desire to complete an
examination so important to geographical science,
and towards the achievement of which Great Bri
tain had made so many brilliant attempts, the Di
rectors of the Company determined, in the spring

2 INSTRUCTIONS.
of 1836, to equip an expedition on a small scale,
under the orders of their own officers. The fa
cilities afforded by their extensive chain of posts,
their control over the Indian tribes, the know
ledge possessed by their officers of the resources,
and their habitude to the hardships of the coun
try, all concurred in pointing out this mode as
the most likely to ensure success.
Chief Factor Peter Warren Dease, who so ably
assisted Sir John Franklin at his winter quarters
in 1825-26, and myself, were appointed by
Governor Simpson to the joint management of
the expedition; and I was honoured with the
Governor's commands to draw out a plan, of ope
rations, upon which our instructions were to be
founded. Among various plans considered, that
which appeared the most eligible coincided in
its leading features, but on a reduced scale, with
one previously proposed by Dr. Richardson. The
following copy of the instructions, which were
soon after delivered to us by Governor Simpson,
will convey to the reader a lucid and compre
hensive view of the whole subject.
" Norway House, 2nd July, 1836.
" Gentlemen, "By the 79th and 80th Resolutions of
Council of this season, you will observe that we

INSTRUCTIONS. 3
have determined on fitting out an Expedition
forthwith, for the purpose of endeavouring to
complete the discovery and survey of the North
ern shores of this continent.
" 2. This object has, for a great length of
time, excited the most lively interest in the
public mind, and has baffled the exertions of
many enterprising men, among whom the names
of Parry, Franklin, Ross, and Back have of late
years appeared conspicuous ; but I trust that the
honour of its accomplishment is reserved for the
Hudson's Bay Company through your exertions ;
and, in selecting you for so important a mission,
we give the best proof of the high opinion we
entertain of your abilities and qualifications for
such an undertaking.
" 3. The expedition, consisting of twelve men,
is now placed under your direction ; and you will
be pleased to conduct it without delay to the
Athabasca country, and to pass the ensuing win
ter at Fort Chipewyan, or Great Slave Lake, as
you may consider expedient, although, in my opi
nion, Great Slave Lake would be the preferable
wintering ground, in many respects, as regards
the objects of the expedition.
" 4. At the opening of the navigation in June,
you will proceed by boat down Mackenzie River
to Fort Norman ; and there leave four men,
B 2

4 INSTRUCTIONS.
with directions that they proceed from thence to
the north-east end of Great Bear Lake, and there
erect buildings, establish fisheries, and collect
provisions, for the accommodation and mainte
nance of the party during the winter 1837-8.
" 5. You will then go down to the sea with
the remaining eight men, and endeavour to trace
the coast to the westward to long. 156° 21',
N. lat. 71° 23' 39", whence Captain Beechey's
barge returned. Should your progress along the
coast be obstructed by ice or fog, as Sir John
Franklin's was, you will either put the boat in
a place of security, and proceed on foot with all
your party, or leave four men with the boat for
its protection while you go along shore, carrying
a sufficient quantity of provisions with you for
the journey. It is desirable to take observations
as frequently, and to survey the coast as ac
curately as possible, without, however, losing
time on your outward journey in waiting for
the appearance of the sun, moon, or stars, which
are frequently obscured by the dense fogs that pre
vail so much on that coast; but devoting as much
time to these objects as the season and the
state of your provisions will allow on your
return. " 6. At the most westerly point you may reach,
you will erect, in a conspicuous situation, a pillar

INSTRUCTIONS. 5
or mound, and leave deposited in the earth at
its base a bottle hermetically sealed, containing
an outline of the leading circumstances con
nected with the voyage.
" 7. In suggesting that the boat should be
left, in the event of your progress being ob
structed by ice or fog, I beg it to be under
stood, that that ought not to be done if there
be the least probability, that, by perseverance,
you may succeed in getting her along shore*
as the preservation of the boat I consider to be
highly essential both to the accomplishment of
the voyage and to the protection of the party ;
but if there be no possibility of getting on with
the boat, I beg to recommend that you provide
yourselves with axes and cordage to make rafts
for crossing rivers, and some parchment sheeting
and oilcloths, to make a couple of small canoes
for the conveyance of the party, should it be
found impossible to cross the rivers on rafts, and
in order to secure your retreat in the event of
the loss of the boat.
"8. Should you not be able to accomplish
the voyage or journey during the season of open
water, and that you fall in with friendly Esqui
maux or Indians, as many of the party as can
be maintained may remain with them, so as
to complete the survey in the course of the

6 INSTRUCTIONS.
winter or spring ; in this, however, you will
exercise your own discretion, and be guided by
circumstances. " 9. It is exceedingly desirable, however, that
you should return by open water, so as to pass
the winter at the establishment to be formed
at the north-east end of Great Bear Lake, in
order to make the necessary preparations for
another voyage of discovery, to the eastward,
at the opening of the navigation in the summer
of 1838.
" 10. The object of that voyage is to trace the
coast, from Franklin's Point Turnagain, eastward,
to the entrance of Back's Great Fish River. To
that end, you will haul your boat across from
the north-eastern extremity of Great Bear Lake
to the Coppermine River before the winter breaks
up, and at the opening of the navigation proceed
to the sea, and make as accurate a survey of the
coast as possible, touching at Point Turnagain,
and proceeding to Back's Great Fish River, if
the strait or passage exists, which that officer
represents as separating the main land from Ross's
Boothia Felix; but should it turn out, on ex
amination, that no such strait exists, and that
Captain Ross is correct in his statement that it
is a peninsula, not an island, you will in that
case leave your boat and cross the isthmus on

INSTRUCTIONS. 7
foot, taking with you materials for building two
small canoes, by which you may follow the coast
to Point Richardson, Point Maconochie, or some
other given spot that can be ascertained as
having been reached by Captain Back. And
you will be regulated in determining whether
you will return by Great Fish River or by the
coast, by the period of the season at which you
may arrive there, the state of the navigation, and
other circumstances.
"11. In order to guard against privation, in
the event of your returning by Great Fish
River, it will be advisable to make arrange
ments, at Great Slave Lake, that a supply of
provisions, with ammunition and fishing-tackle,
likewise babiche for snow-shoe lacing, be de
posited at Lake Beechey, or some other point
of that route.
" 12. Should you be unable to complete the
voyage to the eastward from the Coppermine
River in one season, you may, as suggested in
reference to the other voyage, take up your
quarters with the Esquimaux for the winter,
so as to accomplish it the following season.
"13. In making your arrangements for both
voyages, I have to recommend that a consider
able quantity of pemican and flour, not less than
one hundred pieces, be provided for voyaging

8 INSTRUCTIONS.
provisions, and that you be well supplied with
materials for constructing small canoes, leather
for shoes, and snow-shoe netting, likewise with
ammunition, axes, crooked knives, fishing-hooks,
net-thread, backing and setting lines, and with
warm clothing for yourselves and the people.
" 14. The necessary astronomical and survey
ing instruments* are provided, to enable you
to take observations and to make surveys, in
which you will be as accurate as possible ; and
you will be pleased to prepare a full and par
ticular journal, or narrative of the voyage, like
wise a chart of the coast; and to take formal
possession of the country, on behalf of Great
Britain, in your own names, acting for the Ho
nourable Hudson's Bay Company, at every part
of the coast you may touch ; giving names to
the different headlands, mountains, rivers, and
other remarkable objects you may discover. It
is also desirable that you make a collection of
minerals, plants, or any specimens of natural
history you may fall in with, that appear to be
new, curious, or interesting.
" 15. You are hereby authorised to avail your
selves, for the use of the expedition, of any as
sistance whatsoever you may require, at any of
the Honourable Company's establishments you
* By Jones, Charing Cross.

COLONY OF RED RIVER. 9
may touch at, or have communication with,
either by letter or otherwise ; and the gentle
men in charge of those establishments are here
by instructed to meet all demands you may
make upon them.
" 16. In the event of any accident occurring
to prevent either of you from proceeding on
this mission, the other will be pleased to follow
up the object of it, and to avail himself of the
assistance, as a second in command, of any clerk
of the Company he may find within his reach;
and such clerk will be pleased to act in that
capacity accordingly. With fervent prayers for
your safety and success,
" I remain, Gentlemen,
Your most obedient humble servant,
(Signed) George Simpson."
" Messrs. P. W. Dease and Thomas Simpson."
Our complement of men was completed at
the same high rate of wages as on Captain
Back's overland expedition. We were unfor
tunate only in our fishermen : one injured his
leg and was unable to go ; another, a powerful
man, named Anderson, who had served at Fort
Reliance, being seized with a sudden panic, fled
into the woods, where he was found, after our
departure, disordered in his mind. His place

10 COLONY OF RED RIVER.
was filled by a man subsequently engaged on
the route northward.
A supply of trading goods having been got
up from York Factory, and all the other ar
rangements being complete, Mr. Dease took his
departure, on the 21st of July, from Norway
House for Athabasca, in company with Chief
Factor Smith, the gentleman in charge of that
department, who afforded every possible aid in
transporting the goods and provisions destined
for the expedition, during the long and laborious
voyage to Fort Chipewyan, which they safely
reached on the 28th of September. At the
same time I returned to spend the autumn at
Red River Settlement, chiefly with a view to
refresh and extend my astronomical practice,
which had for some years been interrupted by
avocations of a very different nature.
It would be foreign to my purpose to enter
into a lengthened description of this isolated
colony : I shall merely bestow upon it a cursory
glance, to give the reader some faint idea of its
peculiar character. Situated under the 50th de
gree of north latitude, and 97th of west longitude,
at an elevation of eight or nine hundred feet
above the sea, and stretching for upwards of fifty
miles along the wooded borders of the Red and
Assiniboine rivers, which flow through a level

COLONY OF RED RIVER. 11
country of vast extent, it possesses a salubrious
climate and a fertile soil ; but summer frosts,
generated by undrained marshes, sometimes blast
the hopes of the husbandman, and the extremes
of abundance and want are experienced by an
improvident people. Horses, horned cattle, hogs,
and poultry, are exceedingly numerous. Sheep
have been brought by the Company, at great
expense, from England and the United States,
and are reared with success. Wheat, barley,
oats, potatoes, turnips, and most of the ordinary
culinary vegetables, thrive well. Pumpkins, me
lons, and cucumbers come to maturity in the
open air in favourable seasons. Maize, pease,
and beans, have not been extensively cultivated ;
hops grow luxuriantly; flax and hemp are poor
and stunted ; orchards are as yet unknown.
The banks of the rivers are cultivated to the
width of from a quarter to half a mile. All the
back level country remains in its original state —
a vast natural pasture, covered for the greater
part of the year with cattle, and also furnish
ing the inhabitants with a sufficiency of coarse
hay for the support of their herds during the
winter. The length of this severe season ex
ceeds five months, the rivers usually freezing
in November and opening in April, when
there is a fine sturgeon-fishery ; but Lake Wini-

12 COLONY OF RED RIVER.
peg, the grand receptacle of the river waters,
does not break up till the close of May.* The
most common sorts of wood are oak, elm, pop
lar, and maple; pines are likewise found to
wards Lake Winipeg. Firewood is rafted down
the rivers, from above the limits of the colony,
during the summer, or transported on sledges
when the snow falls; but as this essential article
is now, through waste and neglect, growing less
plentiful, many of the inhabitants have provided
themselves with cast-iron stoves, which occasion
a much less consumption of fuel. The two prin
cipal churches, Protestant and Roman Catholic,
the gaol, the Company's chief buildings, the bi
shop's residence, and the houses of some retired
officers of the fur trade, are built of stone, which
is brought from a considerable distance. The
generality of the settlers dwell in frame or log-
houses, roofed with wooden slabs, bark, or shin
gles, and, for the most part, whitewashed or
painted externally. Not a man, however mean
or idle, but possesses a horse ; and they vie in
gay carioles, harness, saddles, and fine clothes.
A great abundance of English goods is imported,
* Two-decked vessels ply on this lake during the summer
between the colony and the entrepot of Norway House, situated
at its northern extremity, where the river navigation to Hud
son's Bay commences.

COLONY OF RED RIVER. 13
both by the Company and by individuals, in the
Company's annual ships to York Factory, and
disposed of in the colony at moderate prices.
Labour is dear, and produce of all kinds sells at
a higher rate than could be expected in such a
secluded place.
Governor Simpson has long endeavoured, by
arguments and rewards, to excite an exportation
to England of hides, tallow, flax, hemp, and
wool for the benefit of the settlers, but with
little success. The bulky nature of such exports,
a long and dangerous navigation to Hudson's
Bay, but, above all, the roving and indolent
habits of the half-breed race, who form the mass
of the population, and love the chase of the buf
falo better than the drudgery of agriculture or
regular industry, seem to preclude the proba
bility of this colony rising to commercial import
ance.* The currency of the place consists in
the Company's notes, with a smaller amount of
* Since this was written, I have learned with infinite plea
sure, that the settlers have at length found out the only prac
ticable outlet for their cattle and grain ; the fine level plains
leading to the Mississippi and the St. Peter's, where there is
the promise of a sufficient market among the Americans.
Domestic manufactures too, which ought ever to precede ex
portation, have at last made some progress, in the shape of
coarse cloths, stuffs, shawls, linen, sacking, tanned leather,
&c. ; all which tend to diminish the annual orders from Eng
land, and to render the people independent.

14 COLONY OF RED RIVER.
silver and copper coin. Fifteen wind and three
water mills grind the wheat and prepare the
malt of the inhabitants, who use neither barley
nor oats in bread. Of all these mills two only
have been erected by a Roman Catholic, a gen
tleman in the Company's pay as warden of the
plains ; the rest are in the hands of the Protest
ants, who constitute but two-fifths of the popu
lation. It may be remarked that, while not a
few of the children, by native women, of the
Company's retired European servants, who are
chiefly Orkneymen, inherit the plodding careful
disposition of their fathers, the half-breed de
scendants of the French Canadians are, with
rare exceptions, characterised by the pater
nal levity and extravagance, superadded to the
uncontrollable passions of the Indian blood.
Many of the industrious Scotch, who first planted
the colony in 1811, under the auspices of the
late Earl of Selkirk, have saved handsome sums
of money, besides rearing large families in rus
tic plenty. A considerable portion of this va
luable class, however, dreading the predominance
and violence of the half-breeds, with whom they
have avoided intermarrying, have converted their
property into money, and removed to the United
States. Besides extensive purchases of grain and pro-

CONVERTED INDIANS. 15
visions, for their transport and other service, the
Company annually expends large sums at Red
River, in various works of public utility, such
as experimental farming, erecting churches and
other buildings, endowing schools, affording me
dical aid gratis to the poor, encouraging domes
tic manufactures, maintaining an armed police,
dispensing justice, and in contributing to the
support of two Protestant clergymen, of a Roman
Catholic bishop, and three priests from Canada.
These self-denying men are exemplary in their
lives, zealous and indefatigable in their benevo
lent labours, among the fruits of which may be
reckoned the conversion and location of a great
number of Indians, of the Cree and Saulteaux or
Chipeway nations. To compensate this heavy
outlay the Company has hitherto derived no re
turn, for the occasional sale of lands does not
even defray the cost of the survey, they being
in most instances bestowed gratis, though regu
larly purchased from the Indians, and the fur
trade of the surrounding country has been long
ago ruined by the colony ; but under the Com
pany's fostering care a population of five thou
sand souls has been nurtured, and a comfort
able retreat has been provided for such of its
retired officers and servants as prefer spending
the evening of life, with their native families, in

16 CONVERTED INDIANS.
this oasis of the desert, to returning to the coun
tries of their nativity. I cannot pass over with
out particular notice the admirable boarding-
schools established by the Rev. Mr. Jones, where
about sixty youth of both sexes, the intelligent
and interesting offspring of the Company's offi
cers, are trained up in European accomplishments,
and in the strictest principles of religion. Nor
should I omit mentioning the Indian settlements,
founded by the Rev. Mr. Cockran at the lower
extremity of the colony. He has provided school
masters for the native children, and built places
of worship where he regularly officiates. He
has constructed a windmill for the Indians, as
sists them in erecting their wooden houses, and
with his own hands sets them the example of
industry. At the other extremity of the colony,
M. Belcour, one of the Roman Catholic priests,
with untiring zeal conducts a location of Saul
teaux Indians on a smaller scale. I wish I
could add that the improvement of the abori
gines is commensurate to those beneficent cares.
But unhappily the experience of Canada, of the
United States, of California, in short, of all
parts of North America where the experiment
of ameliorating the character of the Indian
tribes by civilization has been tried, is renewed
at Red River. Nothing can overcome their in-

CONVERTED INDIANS. 17
satiable desire for intoxicating liquors ; and
though they are here excluded from the use of
spirits, and the settlers are fined when detected
in supplying them with ale, yet, from the great
extent of the colony, they too often contrive to
gratify that debasing inclination, to which they
are ready to sacrifice everything they possess.
They feel no gratitude to their benefactors, or
spiritual teachers; and, while they lose the
haughty independence of savage life, they ac
quire at once all the bad qualities of the white
man, but are slow, indeed, in imitating his in
dustry and his virtues.*
Indian lads, educated in the Church Mission
ary Society's school at Red River, have been sent
to instruct their countrymen in various parts of
the Company's territory. In the countries of the
Columbia and New Caledonia, to the westward
of the great Rocky mountain chain, the mission
ary labours promise considerable success. There
the climate is softened by the influences of the
Pacific; food is abundant; the numerous natives
do not lead the same solitary wandering lives as
* Yet among the native tribes there exist marked distinc
tions. The swampy Crees, who have long been employed in
the Company's service at York Factory and other places, adopt
steady habits with far greater facility than the proud Saulteaux,
who contemptuously term the settlers gardeners and diggers of
the ground. C

18 CONVERTED INDIANS.
the eastern tribes, but dwell together in villages.
They are endowed with a greater capacity and
quickness of apprehension ; are more pliant and
tractable in temper ; are fond of imitating the
customs of white men; and now receive, with
eagerness, the truths of Christianity, from those
upon whom but a few years ago they perpe
trated the most barbarous murders: but the
fever and ague, to which the country is very
subject, has of late thinned their numbers.
The Company's principal chaplain resides at
their depot of Fort Vancouver, on the north
side of the Columbia river, where agriculture,
rearing of stock, and other commercial operations
are prosecuted on a great scale. The same
enlightened body has, of late years, liberally as
sisted American missionaries employed in in
structing the dissolute maritime tribes, and in
founding an American colony on the Willamette,
a southern tributary of the Columbia; and has
since conveyed across the mountains several Ca
nadian priests, who, under the authority of the
bishop at Red River, are gone to form another
British settlement on the shores of Puget's
Sound, — the nucleus of a future empire in the far
west. The case is widely different in the frozen
regions of the north ; there the Indian hunters
are scattered through interminable forests, into

HOSTILE TRIBES. 19
which civilization can never penetrate. Since
the coalition of the rival companies, however,
and the discharge of the noxious swarm of ad
venturers, who, encouraged by the licence of a
hot opposition, overran and well-nigh ruined the
country, the precepts of morality and order have
been instilled into the minds of the aborigines
by many officers of the Company. No stronger
proof of the salutary effect of their injunctions
can be adduced than that, while peace and de
corum mark the general conduct of the northern
tribes, bloodshed, rapine, and unbridled lust are
the characteristics of the fierce hordes of Assini-
boines, Piegans, Black-feet, Circees, Fall and
Blood Indians, who inhabit the plains between
the Saskatchewan and Missouri, and are with
out the pale of the Company's influence and
authority. It gives me sincere pleasure to say that a
reconciliation has at length been effected be
tween those lately inveterate and bloody ene
mies, the Saulteaux and Sioux nations. Under
the safeguard of the Company's people, aided by
the settlers, two bands of the latter tribe visited
Red River during my residence there, in 1834
and 1836. Presents were given and speeches
were made both to them and to the assembled
Saulteaux, who upon the first occasion vere very
c 2

20 RECONCILIATION OF
violent, and were only restrained from bloodshed
by disarming and other vigorous measures ; but,
upon the last occasion, they smoked the calumet
of peace and slept in the same apartments with
the Sioux at the Company's head-quarters, Fort
Garry. The Sioux seemed highly gratified with
the kindness and protection they experienced,
and have on several occasions performed friendly
offices to the Company's couriers and others
passing through their country to the American
garrison on the river St. Peter's. They are a
warlike, equestrian race, with light sinewy frames
and eagle eyes, who pursue the buffalo in the
boundless plains of the Missouri and the upper
Mississippi. Some of the incidents connected with the first
visit of the Sioux may be worth narrating, as
illustrative of savage passions. A party of six-
and-thirty men, headed by a daring chief, called
The Burning Earth, in consequence of some dis
gust which originated across the lines, resolved
to brave the danger arising from the implacable
hatred of the Saulteaux, through whose country
they must pass, and to pay a visit to the British
settlement. Being obliged to leave their horses
on the way, they marched during the night, and
reached undiscovered the woody banks of the
Red River, a short distance above the remotest

HOSTILE TRIBES. 21
houses. There they lay concealed for several
days, and, being almost naked, suffered much
from cold and hunger. At length one of them,
venturing out to the brink of the stream, ob
served on the opposite side a half-breed, named
Baptiste Parisien, whom he recognised. This
man had travelled through the Sioux territories,
and served, it is said, in the United States' ca
valry against the Socs and Foxes. Parisien
instantly invited the stranger to his house; and
the latter, plunging into the river, swam across
to him. He told his story, and Parisien gene
rously proceeded with a canoe to ferry over the
whole party. He lodged them, collected his
friends to protect them from their enemies, and
sent a messenger to the Company's central esta
blishment, at the forks of the Red and Assini-
boine rivers, to report their arrival and desire
of an interview. Chief Factor Christie, the go
vernor of the colony, acceded to their request,
and Parisien conducted them, under a strong
escort, to Fort Garry. There a conference was
opened with great form and gravity. The Sioux
declared that the object of their hazardous jour
ney was to transfer their trade to the British,
and, to that end, to make a lasting peace with
the Saulteaux. Mr. Christie replied, that, they
being American subjects, the Company could not

22 RECONCILIATION OF
gratify them in the first particular, but was most
anxious to promote a cordial reconciliation be
tween them and their ancient enemies. I was
particularly pleased with the speech of a grim
old warrior, called The Black Eagle. After de
scribing their state of perpetual hostility with
the Saulteaux : " In our plains," said he, " every
stock, every stone, is taken for an enemy ; these
fears can no longer be endured : let the Sioux
and the Saulteaux smoke the calumet of peace ;
let them hunt the buffalo together, and let them
henceforth be one nation." Another orator, of
a more lively mien, concluded his harangue by
begging " a drink of (rum) fire-water ;" " for,"
said he, " I love it "better than ever I did my
mother's milk." As second officer, I assisted
Mr. .Christie during the interview, and officiated
at the same time as French interpreter, that
being the language of the only capable Sioux
speaker at the place. At the close of the " pa
laver," The Burning Earth presented Mr. Christie
and myself with ornamented pipes, and I handed
him the gun I carried in return.* All went on
* His people then entertained us in the open air with their
national dances, which are more animated than most Indian
exhibitions of this sort. The Corypkeus, a humorous little
fellow, was really amusing. His place was on the outside of
the ring, and, as he moved round the dancers, he saluted each
with a smart lash of a thong on the bare back, and immedi-

HOSTILE TRIBES. 23
pleasantly till the evening, when a large party
of Saulteaux, from the river Assiniboine, gal
loped suddenly into the court. They were com
pletely armed, and breathed fury and revenge;
having lost forty of their relatives by an attack
of the Sioux a year or two before. We instantly
stationed a strong guard around the building, and
despatched messengers, summoning the police
and able-bodied settlers to the defence of the
strangers who had thrown themselves on our
hospitality. A sufficient number arrived in the
course of the night to prevent any violent attempt
being made. The Saulteaux, continually aug
menting, were so irritated at being repulsed from
the windows through which they sought to fire
upon the unfortunate Sioux within, that they
turned upon some of Parisien's followers, and
blood had well-nigh been spilled. The great
difficulty now was, how to get the strangers
safely home again. We supplied them with pro
visions, tobacco, and some clothing, and also
ammunition for their defence, in case of their
being attacked beyond the bounds of the colony.
They concealed their alarm, put on a resolute
countenance, sung their death-song, and the chief,
unsheathing his sabre, smote the bare shoulders
ately after sounded a shrill whistle with a look of malicious
drollery.

24 RECONCILIATION OF
of each of his followers with the flat side of the
blade. After this ceremony, they declared their
readiness to depart, and were led out between
two lines of the police and the settlers to the
boats, which were in readiness to convey them
across the river. The Saulteaux, who were on
the watch, now endeavoured to press forward;
but we drove them back, and disarmed a great
many of them. Parisien and his half-breeds
undertook to conduct the Sioux safely out into
the open plains, where they might set their bush-
fighting foes at defiance. The party had no
sooner crossed the river than a number of the
Saulteaux threw themselves into their canoes
on the Assiniboine, a little distance above, with
a view to intercept their retreat. Observing this
manoeuvre, I ran towards them, followed by Mr.
M'Kinlay and a few others, and, levelling our
guns at the men in the canoes, ordered them
to turn back. They angrily complied, when the
principal man, seeing that we were but a handful,
began to vent threats against us; but, a party
opportunely riding up to our assistance, we carried
the old fellow with us to the establishment, and
his followers dispersed. Parisien sent us word
next day, that, though some ambuscades were
laid, he had seen the Sioux safely clear of the
woods; after which they had little difficulty in

HOSTILE TRIBES. 25
returning to their own country, about Lac Tra
vel's. I regret to add that this gallant fellow
was, three years afterwards, shot through the
heart in the melee of a buffalo hunt.
On the second occasion, the Sioux came in
double numbers, better armed, and led by Ula-
neta, the greatest chief of their whole nation.
He was distinguished by a sort of coronet of
eagle feathers and a necklace of grisly bears'
claws, with the unromantic addition of a pair
of green spectacles! He is a tall elderly man,
with a mild, almost a benignant, expression of
countenance; yet he is said to be one of the
fiercest warriors in all the plains. He was obey
ed with respect, and some of his people seemed
expressly appointed to maintain order amongst
the rest. The whole party wore painted buffalo
robes. They were, as before, hospitably received,
and dismissed with gifts, but under strict injunc
tions not to repeat their troublesome and perilous
visits.

26 WINTER JOURNEY FROM

CHAPTER II.
Description of a Winter Journey from Red River to Athabasca.
In the afternoon of the 1st of December, the
day I had fixed upon for quitting the colony
on my long winter journey to Athabasca, I bade
adieu to my kind and much esteemed friend,
Chief Factor Christie, to the worthy clergymen,
and the other gentlemen forming the little so
ciety of the place, all of whom breathed the
warmest wishes for our welfare and success.
The autumn had been long and beautiful, and
the snow had not yet cast its white mantle upon
the earth. I was therefore obliged to set out
with horses and carts, which conveyed our bag
gage to the Manitobah Lake. My gay cariole
and three sledges followed, light drawn by the
dogs, and attended by three drivers — chosen
men — who completed the little party bound
for the distant north. I started from Fort Garry
on horseback, escorted by three or four of the
young gentlemen belonging to the establishment.

RED RIVER TO ATHABASCA. 27
Our ride was enlivened by a spirited wolf-hunt,
one of our ordinary pastimes in the plains which
environ the colony, where the horses are trained
to the pursuit of the buffalo and wolf, and to
stand fire at full speed. At sunset we rejoined
our little caravan, which encamped on a bushy
knoll about two leagues from Fort Garry. Af
ter spending some hours with me, my young
friends retraced their steps homewards, and left
us to our night's repose.
The waning moon shone brilliantly when we
awoke ; and, taking an early breakfast, we all
started on foot. The morning was cold, but ex
hilarating. The sun, rising in cloudless splen
dour, threw his horizontal rays across the wide
plain, and, illuminating the hoar-frost upon the
long dry grass, gave to the expanse around us the
appearance of a silver-spangled sea. At noon
we halted for a short time at a cluster of trees,
in whose shade we obtained sufficient snow for
our horses and dogs, in lieu of water, a luxury
not to be found in these arid plains. The coun
try traversed was studded with a few copses of
poplar and dwarf oak; but a great part of it
having been swept by the running fires, so fre
quent and terrible in the prairies, presented a
blackened and dismal aspect. I noticed a num
ber of small natural mounds, on which lay frag-

28 WINTER JOURNEY FROM
ments of limestone, the great basis of the plain
region ; and quantities of little shells were strewed
about in every direction. After travelling twen
ty-seven miles, we took up our quarters at sun
set in a grove on a slight eminence, which my
guide dignified by the name of " Le Grand
Coteau." On the 3rd we passed Shoal Lake, a place
where the half-breed settlers kill a great many
wild fowl in the fall and spring ; after which
our course changed from north-west to west,
winding through a country agreeably varied with
woods and plains. The former abounded in
white hares (lepus Americanus); and, as our
equipage moved leisurely on, we enjoyed an
excellent and profitable day's sport. In the
afternoon we reached the borders of Manitobah
Lake, and procured a night's lodging in the
houses of some " freemen," of whom we found
eleven families resident there. These people
subsist chiefly by hunting and fishing ; they
possess a few horses and cattle, and, though
separated from their fellow-men, seemed to live
quite happily. I ascertained the latitude of this
spot, by a meridian altitude of Jupiter, to be
50° 22' 45" N. I shall not fatigue the reader
by always recording the result of my observations,
which may appear more properly in an Appendix.

RED RIVER TO ATHABASCA. 29
Suffice it to remark, that, throughout the jour
ney northward, I took bearings with a pocket
compass ; and, at night, determined our situation
by altitudes of the planets or fixed stars.
The Manitobah Lake had but recently assumed
its icy covering, which, as far as the eye could
distinguish, rose in huge masses, as if forbidding
all farther progress. So formidable was its ap
pearance that the people endeavoured to dis
suade me from prosecuting that route ; but I
resolved to persevere, and, dismissing our wheeled
vehicles, we soon had our baggage snugly stowed
upon the sledges. The cariole intended for my
self I appropriated to the carriage of my books,
instruments, &c, and preferred performing the
whole journey to Athabasca on foot. Two of
the young freemen agreed to afford us the assist
ance of their dogs to the Company's nearest post ;
and, at each establishment on the route, I, in like
manner, procured the aid of a couple of fresh
men to accompany us to the next. Then began
the flourishing of whips, the shouts of the drivers,
and the howling of the refractory dogs — all blend
ing together in one horrible outcry. For some
distance we found the ice almost impracticable,
but on doubling a point the broken rugged masses
gave place to a smooth and glassy level. To
walk on such a surface, with the moccassins or

30 WINTER JOURNEY FROM
soft leather shoes of the country, was next to
impossible ; we were, however, provided with
iron crampets, which we strapped on in much
the same manner as the Kamschatdales wear
their " posluki," or iee-shoes. Thus secured from
many an awkward fall, we advanced rapidly, but
found it no easy matter to keep pace with our
dogs, who, rejoicing in the ease with which they
now dragged their burdens, scampered along at
a great rate. The young ice, as yet but a few
inches thick, crashed and rumbled like thunder
under our tread. About noon a violent storm
of snow-drift suddenly arose, and compelled us
to seek shelter among the spreading oaks and
elms that ornament the banks of this extensive
lake. On the 5th we travelled thirty-four miles,
our course lying north-west, across a series of
gently rounded bays fringed with rushes. The
wind blew piercingly cold, so that when over
heated we stopped to cut a hole for water ; our
clothes, gloves, and caps immediately became
solid, and we were glad to run again to acquire
fresh warmth.
We resumed our route on the 6th, at an
early hour. When daylight appeared, the Dau
phin Mountain rose before us, blue in the dis
tance, forming a highly agreeable object in that

RED RIVER TO ATHABASCA. 31
level country. Our route led chiefly through a
little archipelago, which conducted us at noon to
a small trading post, called Manitobah-house.
There we were delighted to cast off, for the re
mainder of the day, our galling iron shoes — real
instruments of torture, which, long before we
had done with them, forced us with groans to
acknowledge that our feet were, indeed, made of
clay. In soil and climate this place equals Red
River; barley, wheat, and potatoes, yielding, in
most seasons, excellent returns. The lake pro
duces very fine white-fish (cwegonus albus) ; on
some of its tributary streams tolerable salt is
obtained by the freemen from saline springs,
and the wild hop grows in many places in great
profusion, and of good quality. In the evening a
warm couch was spread for me in the corner of a
large room, round which, on wooden bedsteads,
lay my host Richard, his wife, and half a dozen
grown-up daughters !
At noon of the following day we passed
through a narrow strait, that gives to the
whole lake the name of Manitobah, or Evil
Spirit, by which the Saulteaux Indians believe
it to have been formerly haunted. According
to their account, terrible sounds used to be heard
here, and fearful sights seen ; among others, huge

32 WINTER JOURNEY FROM
snakes with horns ! and it was not till after the
establishment of a trading post near the spot, by
the Canadians, who, with their singing and noise,
scared the demons away, that the natives ventured
to pass by this place of dread.
On the 8th we advanced thirty-three miles, of
which the passage of an extensive bay occupied
twenty-eight. The ice in this bay was inter
sected by large and dangerous rents, into one of
which, while running heedlessly before the dogs,
I fell ; but, luckily seizing an upright fragment on
the brink, I extricated myself, at the mere ex
pense of a wetting. During the succeeding night
it blew furiously from the northward ; and when
we got up at daybreak, we shook from our
blankets a quantity of snow, none of which, un
fortunately, adhered to the slippery ice. Our
route followed the south side of the lake, from
point to point, and at three p.m. we reached
Portage la Prairie, a slip of land two miles broad,
separating the Manitobah from the Winipegoos or
Lesser Winipeg Lake.
The Winipegoos is a more extensive body of
water than its sister lake, and in summer is
brackish; but our route only comprehended a
portion of sixty miles, which we easily accom
plished in two days. The Duck Mountain forms
a very conspicuous object in the western quarter.

RED RIVER TO ATHABASCA. 33
The grey mists of morning were curling up its
rugged sides when it first broke gratefully on our
sight. At its base issue several saline springs'
where the freemen manufacture salt, for sale to
the Company at Norway-house. The oak region
terminates here ; but the shores of the lake are
tolerably well clothed with elm, poplar, and a few
ash, birch, and pine trees. This is particularly the
case with Red Deer Island, which is large, and
affords shelter to many of the fleet and graceful
animals from which it derives its name. As we
approached it, on the 11th, we perceived a red
fox sporting upon the beach. He stood for a
while looking at us, till, the dogs getting scent
of him, off they went, cariole, sledges, and all,
in full chase, utterly regardless of their drivers'
cries; but reynard was unencumbered, and soon
plunged into the thickest of the wood, where the
sledges became entangled, and the laughable pur
suit ceased. Crossing an arm of Duck Bay,
twenty miles broad, where the ice, having be
come fixed in a gale of wind, was piled up in
high sharp ridges, we encamped in a wood of
pines, the first we had yet met with. Their ever
green branches form the favourite bed of the
winter voyager — a comfort we did not fail to
enjoy. A river that empties itself into this bay,
and bears the same name, is much resorted to by
D

34 WINTER JOURNEY FROM
the Saulteaux. Several of them visited us in the
evening, with a supply of fresh fish, for which
they were liberally paid ; and a share of our
supper, and our news, made the poor fellows
quite happy.
12th. — We now left behind us, with pleasure,
the tedious large lakes ; and, after suspending our
iron shoes to the trees, with the first faint streak
of day (between six and seven o'clock) we struck
out across land for Swan River. The path was
very intricate, and in many places imperceptible
to the keenest ordinary eyes ; but one of my
native companions knew it well, and set us right
when at fault. As an instance of the almost
instinctive knowledge which guides the Indian
unerringly through the pathless forest, I may
here mention that this track was first marked out
by one who was an utter stranger to the country
it traverses, and had merely been once at Swan
Lake from a different quarter ; yet, though some
what winding in its course, in order to follow the
best ground, I found its general direction uni
formly the same. There was still so little snow
on the ground, that, though our tiny vehicles
needed a track no more than eighteen inches
wide, the sharp twigs and .fallen timber tore
the ' luckless cariole to tatters. Our route lay
through woods, small lakes, and swamps; the

RED RIVER TO ATHABASCA. 35
former abounding with three different species of
grouse — the spotted, ruffed, and prairie, or sharp-
tailed, (tetrao Canadensis, cupido? et phasianellus,)
which, as I walked a-head, afforded me plentiful
sport. In the afternoon we fell upon the trail of
a solitary Indian, who had passed the day before,
and killed a lynx on our path. We likewise saw
an old camp of the natives, and several graves
rudely constructed with logs — simple, but affect
ing memorials of the " stoics of the wood, the
men without a tear." The weather was soft and
overcast ; and, after travelling nine hours without
intermission, we only made good about twenty-
one miles. We put up on the borders of a
narrow piece of water, called Long Lake, and
partook of a sumptuous repast — the produce of
my day's shooting.
Next day the track became, if possible, worse,
and more difficult to trace, in consequence of the
fast-falling snow. At noon we found ourselves
on the banks of Swan Lake, across which a
violent storm was sweeping. Fortunately, the
wind was on our backs ; and, immediately losing
sight of land, we proceeded due west for Fir Bay,
a distance of six miles. About the middle of
this passage we came suddenly upon a space of
weak ice, only an inch thick, and partially
covered with water. It was an awkward pre-
D 2

36 WINTER JOURNEY FROM
dicament, for advance we must ; we, therefore,
laid ourselves upon the sledges, and, our weight
thus pressing on an extended surface, our saga
cious dogs carried us safely over the danger.
From Fir Bay, two miles of a swampy portage
conducted us to Swan River, close to the tents
of some freemen, who subsist by hunting, fishing,
and making salt and maple sugar. We en
camped a few miles further, in a fine wood of
elm. After the men had gone to rest, the dry
grass on which they lay caught fire, and before
they were aroused their blankets were in a
blaze ; but, fortunately, the sleepers escaped
unscorched. It snowed incessantly during the 14th, making
it heavy travelling for both men and dogs. Our
route now bent to the south-west, sometimes as
cending the winding river for several miles, but
more frequently leading direct through the bor
dering country. The latter consists of swampy
meadows, alternating with woods of poplar fringed
with willow, and a few straggling clumps of pine.
The industry of man may, in some future age,
convert this wilderness into a habitable land, as the
climate is good, and barley, potatoes, and other
vegetable produce have been raised at several
points along Swan River.
On the 15th we came again in view of the

RED RIVER TO ATHABASCA. 37
Duck Mountain, now lying to the southward of
us. We had, in fact, made a circuit round it, to
avoid its rude and impassable heights. We soon
after crossed an open streamlet, close to a bend
of the river, from whose high bank we looked
upon a noble prospect. From west to north lay
outstretched the blue line of the Porcupine Hills,
which are densely wooded to the very summit ;
while from east to south-west extended the more
lofty elevation of the Duck Mountain, encircling
a vast extent of flat country, pleasingly diver
sified with wood and plain, through which, far as
the eye could reach, might be traced the river's
wandering course.
On the following morning we crossed a branch
of the Thunder Hills, two miles in breadth.
These hills afforded us some amusement in run
ning down their steep declivities, an exercise the
more acceptable as the weather had become very
cold. In the plain beyond them we saw seve
ral tracks of red-deer, and fell in with an In
dian family bound on a hunting excursion. In
the evening we crossed Swan River for the last
time, and, availing ourselves of the moonlight*
struck off through an uneven country, partially
covered with underwood, for Fort Pelly, twelve
miles distant. We reached it at 8 p.m., and the
gates were soon thrown open by Mr. Setter, to

38 WINTER JOURNEY FROM
give us admittance and a hearty welcome. Our
day's journey was thirty-seven miles, but being
able to use snow-shoes for a part of it, materially
lightened the fatigue.
Fort Pelly is a compact well-ordered little
place, sheltered from the north by a range of
woods, with the Assiniboine winding a short
distance in front. The only Indians there, during
our visit, were a Saulteaux family, who, having
suffered from privation, were kindly received,
housed, and fed till they could resume the chase
with a prospect of success. My observations
place the establishment in lat. 51° 45' 20" N.,
long. 102° 5' W. Variation 17° E.
Sunday the 18th was made a day of rest and
thankfulness. The sky was bright and cloudless,
the thermometer standing at minus 25°.
On the 19th the temperature fell to — 44°;
but, being amply supplied with all things neces
sary, we took our departure in the forenoon.
Our path was an Indian horse-track, which now
wound beneath, now ascended, a line of gently
undulating eminences, while on our left lay the
woods that border the tortuous course of the
Assiniboine. In the evening we crossed that
river where it turns to the north, and encamped
in a small group of poplars. The night was
intensely cold, and I literally burned my fingers

RED RIVER TO ATHABASCA. 39
with the sextant, while taking the usual obser
vations. I afterwards adopted the precaution of
using very thin shamoy gloves, and have often
taken observations at still lower temperatures
without injury.
We resumed our march at 4 o'clock the fol
lowing morning. The moon, now near the full,
shone coldly bright, and, as she sunk towards the
west, threw long shadows on the snow, causing
every bush and tree to assume strange and start
ling shapes. After proceeding fourteen miles,
we were glad to halt in a thicket, for break
fast, soon after sunrise. Having completed this
cheering operation, we with better heart gave
our faces to the cold, which a westerly wind
rendered doubly piercing. A fine pointer, though
defended from the searching cold by a warm
cloth coat and shoes to match, lay down and
refused to stir till I drove him before me with
the whip. Our route led due west, leaving the
Assiniboine far to the north ; and traversing a
hillocky country, tolerably wooded, and abound
ing m small lakes and swamps, we saw nu
merous tracks of lynxes and wolves in pursuit of
hares ; and found suspended on the trees, by the
natives, several splendid antlers of the stag.
Quitting the horse-track, we encamped at the
foot of the Nut Hills.

40 WINTER JOURNEY FROM
We started next day at the same early hour,
and, while in the act of moving out of our bi
vouac, a troop of prairie wolves came howling
around it, as if impatient to seize on anything
we might have left. The morning was intoler
ably cold ; and it required our utmost exertions
to keep the blood in circulation, and to preserve
our faces from freezing. I afterwards ascer
tained, at Fort Chipewyan, that this was the
coldest day of the whole winter there, the ther
mometer being at — 46°. We encamped at the
west end of Stony Lake, having travelled
twenty-nine miles, through a country consisting
of narrow plains, studded with clumps of poplar,
and an abundance of underwood, interspersed
with little lakes and swamps. A great part of
it had been recently overrun by fire ; and the
only interesting feature it presented was a view,
on the left, of the low range of the Beaver Hills,
which we could distinguish to be thickly co
vered with timber. The buffalo frequents this
quarter, and we passed several of its old beaten
tracks. On the 22d we made similar progress. In the
forenoon we crossed Fishing Lake, six miles
wide; then changing our course from west to
west-north-west, we struck out into the immense
prairies which stretch from thence to the Sas-

RED RIVER TO ATHABASCA. 41
katchewan River. After travelling over the
shaggy frozen grass, which bore some recent
traces of red-deer, for a few miles, we fell upon
a tract of country that the fire had bared to the
very soil. The light snowy covering rested on
the blackened plain, and our poor dogs once
more went on with comparative ease. Far on
our right appeared a line of low woods, shoot
ing out from the Nut Hills in an immense
curve, the extremity or horn of which we reached
at our usual camping hour.
We were now at the commencement of a
plain, twenty miles in breadth, which my guide
required daylight to cross ; we therefore break
fasted, and started at 7 o'clock. The wind blew
strongly from the westward ; and to face it, where
there was not a shrub, or even a blade of grass,
to break its force, with a temperature of at least
— 40°, was a serious undertaking. Muffling up
our faces with shawls, pieces of blanket, and lea
ther, in such a manner as to leave only the eyes
exposed, we braved the blast. Each eyelash was
speedily bedizened with a heavy crop of icicles,
and we were obliged, every now and then, to
turn our backs to the wind, and thaw off these
obstructions with our half-frozen fingers. Early
in the afternoon we reached what are called the
Cross Woods, where we were glad to make the

42 WINTER JOURNEY FROM
best lodging we could for the night, there being
another wide prairie on the opposite side. Not
withstanding every precaution, two of the men
were injured by the cold ; one a half-breed from
Fort Pelly, who afterwards, at Carlton, lamented
his inability to dance in consequence of his frozen
heels. Neither bird nor beast was seen during
the day ; the intense cold having driven all
living things, but ourselves, to the shelter of the
woods. Next morning we made an early start, and
crossed the plain, which is fourteen miles wide,
before breakfast. A few willows were thinly
scattered over its barren surface, and we had a
view of the low range of the Touchwood Hills,
extending from south to south-east. We could
again discern the deeply-curved woods on our
right ; in fact, we were travelling from one dis
tant point of them to another, as if traversing
successive bays of the sea, to which these great
plains, that on the left reach to the Rocky Moun
tains, may well be likened. " Lac aux Plumes,"
a very large salt lake, which derives its name
from the multitude of wild fowl that moult there
every summer, lies near this part of our route.
We breakfasted in the Moose Woods, and I ob
served the lat. 52° 4' 16" N., variation 18° 40' E.
The cold continued to be dreadfully severe.

RED RIVER TO ATHABASCA. 43
Crossing another prairie, about half the breadth
of the last, we encamped in a cluster of small
poplars, near " the two openings," or vistas, in
the woods, as seen from the plain.
Christmas-day, Sunday, the 25th. — On shaking
off our slumbers this glad morning, a troop of
wolves were " baying the moon" as she rode in a
cloudless sky. The country before us being in
tricate, we could not start till daylight ; and, when
we sallied forth on our day's march, the weather
had moderated. About two miles from our rest
ing-place we passed over a round hill, and stood
a while on its summit to enjoy the boundless
prospect. From west to south stretched a vast
plain, separated from another, of which we had a
bird's eye glimpse to the north-east, by the broad
belt of woods which we had been skirting along ;
while, before us, in our line of march, lay out
spread a seemingly endless tract of open under
wood, varied by gently swelling eminences. For
seven miles our route led west-north-west,
through thickets and over hillocks; it then
changed to west for fourteen miles, through a
more open country, consisting of rising grounds,
or " coteaus," with bare ridges, and sides clothed
with dwarf poplar and brushwood ; while here
and there, in the hollows, we crossed large ponds,
scarcely deserving, on this continent, the title of

44 WINTER JOURNEY FROM
lakes. They have no outlet; and, on cutting
through the ice for water, we generally found it
putrid : such, however, is its scarcity in that
level country, that we were often fain to use it
when most nauseous, taking the precaution of
imbibing it through snow, which purifies it in
some slight degree. We now turned west-south
west for eight miles, keeping along a broad and
rather winding ridge, which appeared to furnish
the buffalo with a regular road of ingress to the
woods. Several tracks of moose-deer were also
seen during the day. After sunset we took up
our quarters in a small clump of poplars. The
whole country having been ravaged by fire, we
could not find dry grass, as usual, for our beds, and
spread our Christmas couch on willow branches ;
rough indeed, but rendered smooth to us by
health and exercise.
Next day we continued the same direction
for twelve miles ; and, though I remonstrated
with our half-breed guide on his leading us too
much to the southward, Pierre persisted in his
own accurate knowledge of the route; till sud
denly we emerged into the open plains, where
an illimitable snow-covered waste alone met the
view. We made for an eminence five miles
distant, whence we gained a full view of the

RED RIVER TO ATHABASCA. 45
extraordinary country in which we now found
ourselves. What are here called plains, consist
of a collection of barren hills and hollows, tossed
together in a wild wave-like form, as if some
ocean had been suddenly petrified while heaving
its huge billows in a tumultuous swell. Sinclair,
one of my men, informed me that he had from
Fort Pelly traversed, in the summer season, a
similar country, extending to the borders of the
Missouri. From our elevation we could discern,
due north, our eagerly looked-for mark, the
Birch Hill, by which lay our lost route. Being
thus re-assured, a smart walk of thirteen miles
brought us to the external fringe of underwood,
in which we halted at sunset. The loose snow
made the walking this day irksome ; but we had
many a capital race, as the sledges shot down the
steep hill- sides. It was rather dangerous foot
ing on these declivities, garnished as they were
with badger-holes, which, being concealed by the
snow, repeatedly entrapped our legs, and cap
sized us, though we fortunately escaped without
fractures. The country is completely intersected
by buffalo-roads: we saw many skeletons and
one or two recent tracks of these animals; but
no living creature, except a fox that started from
his burrow on the top of one of the bare hills,

46 WINTER JOURNEY FROM
and a pair of lean ravens, which attended us for
the greater part of the day. A strong southerly
wind blew during the night.
At daylight on the 27th we found that a
strong thaw had taken place, which rendered
the travelling execrable ; our route was full of
deviations, which my guide declared necessary
to avoid a rough thickety country. The fact
was, the man was again at fault; and I was on
the point of taking the guidance out of his
hands, to shape a straight course for Carlton,
when I found him kneeling on a hillock, with
what purpose I know not; but, on questioning
him, he said he recognised a low hill before us.
On reaching it, we found ourselves in the midst,
as it were, of a grand amphitheatre, being on
every side surrounded by superior woody ridges.
A few miles further lies the " Lake of the Moose
Deer ;" after passing which we gained the top
of a range of round hills, extending across our
route, where we lodged in a little hollow at
sunset. In the course of the day we saw several
tracks of buffalo bulls, and shot some partridges.
With the dawn we were again in motion.
A light fog overhung the earth, which the rising
sun soon dissipated, lighting up its fragments, as
they rolled away, with bright and changeful hues.
Our route traversed patches of brushwood, prai-

RED RIVER TO ATHABASCA. 47
ries abounding in small lakes, and two broad low
ranges of hills, at the base of the last of which we
encamped. Our course all day was west-north
west by the compass. Walking was laborious
in the extreme, the snow being soft, the grass
long, and the ground lumpy; so that, though we
only advanced twenty-three miles, we were all
tired enough in the evening.
29th. — The cloudy weather having prevented
me from obtaining observations during the night,
I was desirous of taking a meridional altitude
of Arcturus in the morning twilight, which placed
us in lat. 52° 40' 36" N. ; then, starting a little
before sunrise, we proceeded across the plain.
The morning, for the depth of winter, was ex
ceedingly beautiful ; and we had not gone far when
we espied, on the top of a little eminence before
us, four red-deer, inhaling the fresh breeze. They
stood gazing at us for some time; and two of
the party were preparing to creep towards them
through a bushy dingle, when the beautiful crea
tures took the alarm, and, darting down the de
clivity with the speed of light, gained the woods
and disappeared. At noon we found ourselves
on the lofty banks of the South Branch, or Bow
River, which is here a quarter of a mile wide,
and well wooded with poplar, aspen, and birch.
Descending to the stream, we came upon an

48 WINTER JOURNEY FROM
open space, where the clear current rushed spark
ling over its stony bed ; and we quaffed an ample
draught of the pure element, deliciously refresh
ing after the foul and smoky snow-water of the
plains. Then, mounting the steep bank on the
opposite side, we pushed our way, through thicket
and swamp, to the White Hill, a bare elevation,
commanding a view of the open plains to the
westward, and, to the east, of a wooded hilly
country, with the broad river wending its way
majestically through it. We encamped at Duck
Lake, which is three or four miles long.
Next morning, after breakfasting, and making
our simple toilet, we set out for Carlton, si
tuated on the south side of the Saskatchewan
River. There we were greeted by Chief Factor
Pruden with a frank and cordial welcome ; and,
at his pressing request, I consented to pass our
New- Year holidays with him. There were no
bands of the plain Indians in the neighbourhood,
and none of the alarms consequent on their
appearance. In the course of the preceding
summer they had several times fired into the
place, which is defended by high palisades, planted
with wall-pieces. Provisions were unusually
scarce, the great fires in autumn having driven
the buffalo to a distance ; but one of the Cree
hunters was fortunate enough to kill a female

RED RIVER TO ATHABASCA. 49
moose and her two fawns within a short dis
tance of the establishment.
On the 2nd a dance was given in the hall, at
which Mr. Pruden's fine family, with all the other
inmates, young and old, attended, decked in their
gayest attire ; and gave full scope to the passion
for dancing inherent in all the natives of the
country. The following day was employed in
making pemican for our journey, and in getting
everything in readiness to resume it on the mor
row. There is some ground in cultivation here,
and Mr. Pruden was justly proud of the sleek
hides of the cattle and horses in his stable.
4th. — Being now reinforced with fresh men
and dogs, we set out at a rapid rate. After
crossing the river, which is nearly half a mile
broad, we entered an open country, consisting
of low, round, grassy hills, interspersed with
clumps of poplar, and occasionally of pines,
and with many small lakes ; a range of hills,
called "La Montagne Forte," appearing far on
our left. We travelled on till dusk, when we
encamped in a valley.
We started next morning at 4 o'clock. It
was exceedingly dark, but we luckily fell upon
a path made by some people who had lately
passed towards Green Lake. The snow increased
in quantity as we advanced, and the country be-
E

50 WINTER JOURNEY FROM
came more close and woody. After a walk of
fifteen miles, we reached Shell River, a little
stream ; where we found, near an old Cree camp,
several skins of the throat of the moose-deer
suspended on poles, which are esteemed by the
natives as charms of great efficacy in their con
juring. Sixteen or seventeen miles beyond this
rivulet, we passed by Salt Lake, which is nar
row, but of considerable length : its waters are
unfit for use. A hill on its east side is clothed
with fine birch, and thither the Carlton people
resort to procure materials for constructing their
sledges. Proceeding seven miles farther, we came
upon a streamlet containing fine water, ironically
named by the voyageurs " La Grande Riviere,"
on the banks of which, amongst pines, we halted
for the night.
We started on the 6th at the same hour.
The weather continued mild for the season, and
cloudy, as if it would snow. After proceeding
a distance of eight miles, chiefly occupied by four
pieces of water, the largest of which is denomi
nated Fishing Lake, we entered the boundary of
the pine forest, in lat. 53° 30' N. Two leagues
of a very rough, uneven path brought us to an
other rivulet, open in several places, and very
serpentine in its course, often expanding into
small lakes, and originating in one, at the dis-

RED RIVER TO ATHABASCA. 51
tance of ten or eleven miles. It traverses a
pretty valley, the land rising gradually on either
side. Three or four miles through thick woods
lead thence to Otter Lake, five miles long, but
not exceeding a quarter of a mile in breadth.
We saw on the snow several marks of the valu
able fur-animal from which it takes its name.
Beyond this we crossed six little lakes, when,
finding a fine camping-place, we halted after sun
set, having travelled thirty-seven miles. One of
the men had a narrow escape, his gun going off
while carelessly fastened upon the sledge behind
which he was walking.
Next morning we crossed six more " lakelets,"
separated from each other by very close woods,
in passing through which the extreme darkness
rendered it necessary to advance in a stooping
posture, cautiously guarding our eyes from the
low hanging branches : the space thus occupied
was five miles. Then followed a hilly tract of
fourteen miles in extent, dividing the waters
which flow towards the Saskatchewan and
Churchill rivers ; about the middle of which we
fell upon a streamlet winding through a valley,
with elevated woody sides. Along this valley
we descended, occasionally crossing the brook,
which the recent mild weather had caused to
overflow in many places, to our no small incon-
E 2

52 WINTER JOURNEY FROM
venience. At length, between 10 and 11 a.m.,
we reached Green Lake, where we stopped to
breakfast, with enviable appetites. This lake is
narrow, and its reaches assume various bearings,
like those of a large river; its length is about
seventeen miles. Finding the ice level, and not
much encumbered with snow, we trotted briskly
over it, and reached the little post at its extre
mity about sunset. Here we found some Crees,
who, having been unsuccessful in hunting, were
living for a time on the produce of the abundant
fishery made by the people of the place at the
commencement of the winter season.
A considerable quantity of snow fell during
the night, and the morning of the 8th was very
boisterous. At 5 a. m. we started, and, follow
ing a few turns of the stream by which Green
Lake discharges itself into Beaver River, we
turned off into a very bad, swampy track, lead
ing to the two Duck Lakes, each half a league
long, and nearly as far asunder. A short port
age brought us to the banks of Beaver River,
which is about the same size as Swan River, and
similarly wooded. Descending it for twelve
miles, we came to some rapids, which never
freeze. Close to the open water we saw three
otters, but they plunged into the stream before

RED RIVER TO ATHABASCA. 53
we could approach within shot. We had now
resumed our snow-shoes, but the fresh fall made
the march very fatiguing both for men and dogs ;
and at 4 p.m. the violence of the gale obliged
us to encamp.
We were again on the river the following
morning at 4 o'clock; the weather desperately
cold, with a violent north-west wind. We break
fasted at the foot of the " Turned-boat Hill," so
called from its peculiar shape. The general
thickness of the ice was about eighteen inches ^
but there were several open rapids, where the
current ran with considerable force, pursuing a
very irregular course, and rendering the ice ex
tremely rough and difficult of passage. But up
on the whole we made good progress, and early
in the afternoon reached the point where we
quitted the river, which describes a long circuit
to the right before falling into Lac la Crosse,
five miles to the east of the establishment. Perch
River, a small stream, joins Beaver River two
reaches lower down, and erroneously appears in
some maps as " Riv. Lac la Ronge." This lake
is fed by the Montreal River, which issues from
Lac Assiniboine, a large body of water, extend
ing, it is said, to within a day's journey of Green
Lake, and abounding in fine white-fish. We tra-

54 WINTER JOURNEY FROM
versed part of the Long Lake Chain, and en
camped in a grove of splendid pines, having tra
velled forty miles.
The morning of the 10th was clear, but pier
cingly cold. We were under way at 3 o'clock,
and passed the remainder of Long Lakes. We
then struck due north by the pole-star, and after
travelling fourteen miles, including five more
small lakes, we reached Lac la Crosse at day
light, and breakfasted. The lake here comes
almost to a point, and expands very gradually
for sixteen miles; when, having attained the
breadth of half a league, this long arm unites
to the main body, which is eight miles across
to the establishment. There being but little
snow on the ice, we ran all the way, and early
in the afternoon we were most kindly and hos
pitably received by Chief Factor Mackenzie.
It was my intention to await at this place the
arrival of an express, soon expected from Atha
basca, in case there should be any arrangements
to make respecting the additional supply of goods
and provisions required by the expedition. The
weather continued mild, with some heavy falls
of snow. The " Fort" is neat and compact, the
surrounding country low and swampy. The fish
ery, in the lake close at hand, yields a constant
supply of fresh and wholesome food, summer and

RED RIVER TO ATHABASCA. 55
winter ; the little farm is productive, and the few
domestic cattle maintained were in excellent con
dition. I noticed a number of ravens stalking
about quite familiarly among the people and
the dogs, and almost making their way into the
houses. They are considered useful, during the
heats of summer, in cleansing the beach of fish
refuse, and are therefore treated with nearly as
much consideration as the stork was by the an
cients, and is at this day in Holland.
On the 13th I sent back my Carlton auxiliaries,
after all hands had been gratified by a " ball," at
which one of my companions, who was a capital
fiddler, officiated as chief musician. A party of
Chipewyans came in with an assortment of furs.
They had been living in abundance on moose-
deer, and were clothed in the same manner as
the people of the establishment. The Chipe
wyans are the most provident of all the northern
tribes ; and, since the union of the rival compa
nies in 1821, their numbers are decidedly on the
increase. The longitude of the place, deduced
from three sets of lunar distances, with stars on
either side of the moon, was 107° 54' 30" W.,
differing only six seconds from that found by Sir
John Franklin in 1825.
On the 20th the long-looked for couriers ar
rived, with letters from Mr. Dease, communi-

9
56 WINTER JOURNEY FROM
eating the welfare of the expedition. After writ
ing on its affairs to the gentlemen in charge of
York Factory, Norway House, and Red River,
and being most liberally supplied, by my worthy
friend Mr. Mackenzie, with everything requisite
for the journey, we took our departure the same
night. At our usual breakfast hour, on the 21st, we
reached Clear Lake, a tolerable day's walk on
snow-shoes. Our route thence to Athabasca
being precisely that followed by Sir John Frank
lin, scarcely needs the minute description which
I have given of the preceding portion. Adher
ing to the general line of the summer water com
munication, the road was not so readily mistaken
as heretofore ; and we, were able to make a great
part of our way during the night, which all ex
perienced snow-travellers know to be less wea
risome to the spirits than broad day, when the
traverses of lakes, and long reaches of rivers, are
seen in all their tedious extent, and the eyes are
oppressed by the glare of the snow. The re
mainder was, consequently, the most rapid part
of our journey. The weather was dark and
snowy. Three large wolves followed us, and a
pair of white owls serenaded us with their harsh
notes during the night, as we lay on Buffalo
Lake.

RED RIVER TO ATHABASCA. 57
Next morning we set out at 2 o'clock. A
dense fog concealed the land, and hid the
Buffalo Mountain, so dreaded by superstitious
voyagers ; but we took our course west-north
west, across a very wide bay. After a smart
walk of eight hours, in which we advanced
twenty-eight miles, we landed for breakfast near
the extremity of the lake, where we found the
ice to be three feet thick. We encamped in
the Methye River.
On the 23rd we started at 3 A. M. Some
time before daylight there was a magnificent
display of the aurora borealis, commencing with
an arch of singular lustre in the north, which
suddenly flashed up towards the zenith, and re
presented the interior of a stupendous cone, the
apex and upper part being of the bright yellow
hue, while the lower assumed a very rich car
mine colour. I had scarcely time to admire this
resplendent phenomenon, when it disappeared.
We pursued as direct a line as the country per
mitted, now following the river, where we found
it straight, then traversing the intervening woods.
Our moonlight transit disturbed from their sleep
ing-places a couple of foxes, and several large
coveys of white partridges. Early in the after
noon we reached Methye Lake, near the middle
of which, on a long projecting point, we en-

58 WINTER JOURNEY FROM
camped, among firs of great size. While cross
ing the lake, I witnessed an extraordinary effect
of the mirage caused by the rays of the even
ing sun. It covered the land to the west with a
mist-like veil; and the ice, even close around us,
appeared to dance with a strange undulating mo
tion, as if tossed up and down on a heavy swell.
I was walking about half a mile a-head of the
rest of the party, and, chancing to look back, the
people seemed to be seated on their sledges;
but on their arrival at the encampment, when I
taxed them with their laziness, they assured me
that they had been on foot the whole time, and
that I had also appeared to them in a recum
bent attitude, borne forward as it were by some
unseen power. Our dogs showing symptoms of
sore feet, we equipped them all in shoes of white
cloth. After I had ascertained the latitude 56° 28'
48*5" N, we quitted our snug quarters at 3 a.m.
of the 24th. Scarcely had we started when the
weather became overcast and snowy; but we took
our course, by compass, across the remaining sec
tion of the lake, to the celebrated Portage la
Loche. The snow was very deep throughout
this formidable barrier ; and the white hares,
which had been strangers to us since leaving

RED RIVER TO ATHABASCA. 59
Lac la Crosse, now often leaped across our path.
From the hills on the north side, a thousand
feet in height, we obtained that noble view of
the Clear Water River, which has been drawn
with so much truth and beauty by Sir George
Back ; though the dark day, and the livery of
winter, were unfavourable to our full enjoyment
of the prospect. Launching down the steep and
slippery descents, we turned off to the left, and
halted for breakfast on the bank of a streamlet
flowing into the Clear Water River, distant four
teen miles from the creek which the boats enter
at the end of this long carrying-place. The In
dians sometimes strike off from hence, through
a hilly wooded country, direct to Athabasca
Lake, and, as I knew that a saving of at least two
days in distance might be effected by that route,
I was desirous of adopting it; but none of my
men- had ever followed it, and, from the report
of the natives, they declared it to be impracti
cable with sledges; we therefore turned our
faces down the deep and picturesque valley of
the Clear Water River, and advanced as usual
till sunset. This is the best plan on such jour
neys, as the preparation of the encampment takes
more time and labour, and, is never so well done,
after nightfall. One of the pines, under shelter

60 WINTER JOURNEY FROM
of which we took up our night's lodgings, mea
sured three yards in girth, at five feet from the
ground. 25th. — There fell a light rain during the night,
and a dense mist hung low down upon the sides
of the lofty hills. We soon reached a narrow
channel, where the stream rushes impetuously
between overhanging turret-shaped rocks, and
descended it for upwards of a mile ; the water
boiling and hissing under our feet, with nume
rous open places on either side of us. Proceed
ing alternately upon the river and through the
woods, we crossed " Portage la Bonne," where
two Indians had recently cut their hieroglyphics
on the trees, to notify to their friends that they
had passed on a hunting excursion, and what
animals they had killed. This is a fine country
for the chase, and so little frequented in the
winter, that it may be regarded as an extensive
preserve. We saw three moose-deer on the top
of one of the hills ; and their tracks, and those
of the wood-buffalo, were numerous in every di
rection. The valley of the river is entirely shel
tered from the inclement north and north-west
winds, but its exposure to the east usually ren
ders the snow deep and soft, as we found to our
cost. It had rained smartly here in the begin
ning of the month, while it snowed elsewhere,

RED RIVER TO ATHABASCA. 61
and over the sharp crust produced by the rain
a foot of fresh snow had fallen. Our poor dogs
sunk through both, and, with all our precautions,
their paws were sorely galled. The passage of
the cascades was rendered hazardous by a num
ber of treacherous holes in the ice, which the
snow concealed. Ten miles lower down, some
strong sulphur springs issue from the left bank of
the river, in a narrow channel formed by an island,
leaving a copious deposit on the stones over
which they flow. The water was nauseous to
my people ; but, being accustomed to the power
ful mineral springs of Strath Peffer, I took a
liberal draught, which doubly whetted the keen
edge of hunger. We encamped soon after, and,
the snow falling very heavily, we made ourselves
covered huts* with pine branches, in which we
considered ourselves superbly lodged.
The travelling next morning was excessively
bad. The weather was cloudy, and even oppres
sively mild for the violent exertion of wading
through deep snow; but with the dawn a cool
westerly breeze sprung up, which refreshed us,
and rendered the atmosphere beautifully clear.
Just before breakfasting we saw, on the northern
hills, a large moose and a band of five wood-
buffaloes sunning their fat sides — a sight sufficient
to make the mouths of pemican-eaters water;

62 WINTER JOURNEY FROM
but they were beyond our reach, and, taking the
alarm, quickly disappeared. The declivities of
the hills seemed, as we passed along, completely
chequered with the tracks of these and smaller
animals. We slept at the mouth of the Pembina,
or Red Willow River.
On the 27th our route lay chiefly along the
river; the hills enclosing it became lower, and
approached nearer together, depriving the valley
of its former romantic character. A walk of
seventeen miles brought us to the confluence of
Clear Water River with the Athabasca. From
the high point of " the forks" we enjoyed a fine
view of that majestic stream, stretching away to
the north, its broad bosom studded with nu
merous wooded islands, which give it a grand
lake-like appearance. We now emerged from
the deep soft snows of the valley, through which,
as well as during the whole journey, I had myself
raised the road, my companions being sufficiently
occupied, each with the care of his sledge. The
dogs, in fact, were so accustomed to follow me,
that when, at any time, I quitted my usual
station in front, they stopped, kept looking wist
fully back, and the whips of their drivers failed
to inspire them with the same ardour, till I re
sumed the lead, when they testified their satisfac
tion by straining to keep at my heels, the leader

RED RIVER TO ATHABASCA. 63
often thrusting forward his black muzzle to be
caressed. This fondness usually procured me the
close society of a whole posse of them during
the night, which, when not extremely cold, was
anything but agreeable.* By marks on the snow
it appeared that the owls (stria? cinerea) were
making sad havoc among the hares. In the
evening a lynx sprang up the bank, at the very
spot we were making for, and, on looking out, we
saw our old friends, the wolves, following us at a
respectful distance. They regularly established
their night's quarters on the opposite side of the
river. Next morning a strong cold north wind blew,
driving in our faces a storm of snow which
almost blinded us. We marched against it for
several hours, when, at an island, we fell in
with a Chipewyan hunter, visiting his traps,
and invited him to share our breakfast. After
messing with the people, I gave him a cup of
tea and a handful of biscuit, when I was no
less surprised than pleased to see the poor fel
low reserve the latter, to carry to his children
at the lodge. At noon we spoke- another hun
ter belonging to the same camp ; he had just
* In consequence of the good treatment they received, half
the number that left Red River with me reached Athabasea —
the longest continuous journey ever performed by the same
dogs. The others I exchanged on the route.

64 WINTER JOURNEY FROM
killed a badger, which he was taking home.
These men were well-clothed, and supplied from
Fort Chipewyan with everything necessary for
this mode of life. The weather changed, and
became clear and very cold. In many places
we, found the ice covered with water, which
had overflowed from tributary creeks, and from
open places in the river itself. The snow, too,
was soft and deep; and our progress was much
retarded by these circumstances. At dusk we
encamped below the upper tar springs, among
the huge pines and poplars, which are every
where of a growth worthy of the noble stream
whose banks they shelter and adorn.
It snowed as usual during the night, and the
morning of the 29th was piercingly cold, a
strong north wind sweeping up the exceedingly
long reaches leading to Pierre au Calumet.
Our dogs began to knock up one by one, and
three were untackled all day. These lagged be
hind, unobserved, in the afternoon ; and I had
to send a man back to look for them. He
met them just as our pertinacious followers,
the wolves, were coming up ; and saved the
poor animals, who were in no condition to
resist such powerful adversaries. In the plain
districts many horses yearly fall a prey to their
voracity.

RED RIVER TO ATHABASCA. 65
The 30th was intensely cold, with a penetrat
ing head wind, and not an incident occurred
to vary the scene as we passed down the long
monotonous reaches of the river.
The cold during the succeeding night was
excessive. At the end of sixteen miles we
made a land-cut of two miles in length to
avoid a detour. The wolves having become very
daring, lured on by the prints of the dogs'
bleeding feet, I lay in wait for them, after the
rest of the party had passed, and fired upon the
foremost as they dashed up the bank, which
effectually checked the pursuit. We encamped
at the mouth of a small creek, thirty miles from
Fort Chipewyan.
1st February. — This being the day I had
fixed, on leaving Red River, for my arrival at
Fort Chipewyan, we were on the move at 2
a. m. The morning was windy, but not cold ;
the sky was clear, and a vivid arch of the aurora
spanned it to the north, but speedily resolved
itself into a thousand flashes and coruscations
of extreme brilliancy. Leaving the main chan
nel by which the Athabasca pours its waters
into the lake, we struck across the land to a
minor branch, called the Embarras. We fol
lowed its narrow and devious course for several
miles, rousing the moose-deer from their lairs
F

66 JOURNEY TO ATHABASCA.
by the noise of our dog-bells. Crossing a short
portage, we reached Lake Mamawee, where we
despatched the small remainder of our provi
sions. Then continuing onwards with accele
rated speed, at 3 p. m. we were warmly welcomed
by Chief Factors Smith and Dease, who did not
expect me for more than a month to come.
Thus happily terminated a winter journey of
1277 statute miles.* In the wilderness time and
space seem equally a blank, and for the same
reason — the paucity of objects to mark or di
versify their passage ; but, in my opinion, the
real secret of the little account which is made
of distance in these North American wilds is,
that there is nothing to pay. Every assistance
is promptly rendered to the traveller without
fee or reward, while health and high spirits
smile at the fatigues of the way.
* From Fort Garry to Fort Pelly . . . 394 miles.
„ Fort Pelly to Carlton . . . 276 „
„ Carlton to Isle a la Crosse . . . 236 „
„ Isle a la Crosse to Fort Chipewyan . 371 „
1277

67

CHAPTER III.
Occurrences at Fort Chipewyan, spring, 1837  Traits of the
Natives. f
The whole month of February was unusually
mild, and at noon the sun not unfrequently asserted
his increasing power by a gentle thaw. Mes-
sengers were continually arriving with favourable
accounts from the Indian camps ; a pleasing con
trast to the preceding winter, which is rendered
memorable to the poor natives by the ravages
of an influenza — scarcely less dreadful than the
cholera — that carried off nearly two hundred of
the distant Chipewyans. I say distant, because
all who were within reach of the establish
ments were sent for and carried thither, where
every care was taken of them ; warm clothing
and lodgings were provided; medicines adminis
tered ; the traders and servants fed them, part
ing with their own slender stock of luxuries*
* A few pounds of tea, sugar, &c, allowed to officers and
guides, and purchased by the common-men, are called " lux
uries" in Hudson's Bay. The old Canadian " voyageurs," who
f 2

68 OCCURRENCES AT FORT CHIPEWYAN.
for their nourishment ; till even the cold heart
of the red man warmed into gratitude, and his
lips uttered the unwonted accents of thanks.
The first point determined, after my arrival,
in reference to the expedition, was, that in
stead of one large boat for the coast, we should
immediately get two built, of smaller dimensions.
The purpose of this change was, to provide for
the greater security of the party; to render our
craft so light as to admit of their being carried
over the icy reefs obstructing the passage along
the western coast, and that they might after
wards be transported with facility, across the
Coppermine portage, to another scene of opera
tions. This step was the more necessary, as it
was extremely doubtful whether the northern
parts of Great Bear Lake produced timber fit
for the construction of boats of any description,
and as we should there be unprovided with a
boat-house, forge, and many other requisites for
that purpose, which we possessed at Fort Chi
pewyan. It will be abundantly evident, in the
course of the narrative, that, with a single boat,
the expedition must have terminated disastrous-
lament the degeneracy of their successors, are nothing loth to
imitate their example in adding these comforts to their fare ;
and an encampment of the present day exhibits a regular as
sortment of tea-kettles, pots, and pans.

TRAITS OF THE NATIVES. 69
ly. To complete the crews, we required only
two additional men, whom Chief Factor Smith
promptly provided from among several volun
teers, the service being now popular with the
northern voyageurs. We likewise engaged, as
hunters for Great Bear Lake, a Chipewyan
family, comprehending an old man, his two sons
and two sons-in-law, accompanied by their wives
and children.
It is with sincere pleasure I take this occa
sion of observing, that the harsh treatment of
their women, for which the Chipewyans were,
not long since, remarkable, even among the
North American tribes, is now greatly alleviated,
especially among those who have frequent com
munication with the establishments. At Great
Bear Lake I had many opportunities of witness
ing the conduct of this particular family, and
always saw the females treated with kindness.
The present Chipewyan character, indeed, con^
trasts most favourably with that of the party
which accompanied Hearne on his . discovery of
the Coppermine River, and who massacred the
unhappy Esquimaux, surprised asleep in their
tents at the Bloody Fall. A large proportion of
the Company's servants, and, with very few ex
ceptions, the officers, are united to native women.
A kindly feeling of relationship thus exists be-

70 TRAITS OF THE NATIVES.
tween them and the Indians, which tends much to
the safety of the small and thinly scattered posts,
placed, as they are, among overwhelming num
bers, were those numbers hostile. The rising
class of officers have begun to marry the young
ladies educated at Red River, which will tend to
give a higher tone to the manners and morals of
the country, without, it is to be hoped, diminish
ing those mutual feelings of good-will that now
subsist between the Indians and the traders resi
dent amongst them.
The month of March proved as severe as
February was mild. The thermometer fell to
— 36°, and ranged from — 20° to — 30° for many
days. The aurora frequently exhibited its fantastic
lights, but only once or twice vividly displayed
the prismatic colours. An aged Cree hunter
arrived with his family. Feeling his strength —
'which had borne him through forest and flood for
many a year — no longer equal to the chase, the
old man said that he was come to end his days at
the Fort. With care and attention, however, he
soon began to revive; the whole family were
furnished with everything necessary, had the
same rations assigned them as the regular ser
vants, and continued to live in comfort at the
establishment. Many other Indians came in

TRAITS OF THE NATIVES. 71
from the different camps with furs and for
supplies. From some of the Chipewyans I learned that
they had, in the course of the preceding summer,
met with a party of Esquimaux at the confluence
of the noble Thelew of Thelon River with the
Doobaunt of Hearne, below the lake of the latter
name, and not far from the influx of these united
streams into Chesterfield Inlet. This meeting
was of the most amicable character, and they
spent a great part of the summer together. The
Esquimaux even proposed to send two of their
young men to Athabasca, inviting the same
number of Indians to pass the winter with them.
The arrangement was agreed to by both parties,
but was frustrated by some petty jealousy among
the women. They also informed me that, in
1832, some of the Athabasca Chipewyans accom
panied the Churchill branch of their tribe on
their annual meeting with other Esquimaux at
Yath Kyed, or White Snow Lake of Hearne,
which receives the united waters of the Cathaw-
chaga and the rapid Kasan, or White Partridge
River. This remarkable change, from mortal
hatred to frank and confident intercourse, is
solely owing to the humane interposition of the
Company's officers, who neglect no opportunity of

72 TRAITS. OF THE NATIVES.
inculcating on the minds of these savage tribes
the propriety of their forgiving ancient wrongs,
and uniting together in the bonds of peace and
friendship. By the same influence, the warlike
Beaver Indians of Peace River have been, of late
years, reconciled to their old enemies — the Thoe-
canies of the Rocky Mountains, and the Carriers
of New Caledonia.
April opened with the unpromising tempera-
'ture of 5° below zero, but the weather soon
became mild and pleasant. On the 13th there
fell a copious shower of rain; on the 17th the
first swans were seen, on the south side of the
lake ; and on the 21st several flocks of wild fowl
flew past the establishment. In the woods the
cranberry and juniper disclosed their crimson and
purple fruit, so long hidden beneath the snow;
the buds of the willow began to appear; from
bush and tree a tribe of little birds twittered and
carolled in the glad sunshine; the axes of the
woodsmen resounded from the adjacent hills ;
while the numerous Indian tents, pitched on the
rocks around the Fort, poured forth a swarm of
youthful savages, who gambolled in the full ac
tivity of untutored nature. Spring — joyous, arit-
mated spring — was returned, . arid the death-like
silence of winter was past !
During this month I had the most convincing

TRAITS OF THE NATIVES. 73
proofs of that recklessness which prompts the
Indian to prefer a momentary gratification to a
substantial benefit. Earnest applications were
made by the assembled Chipewyans for the re-
introduction into their country of ardent spirits,
which had been for many years discontinued by
the Company's humane policy. Their attachment
to the poisonous beverage, however, remained so
strong, that, every season, parties of the tribe
traversed the continent to Churchill, on Hudson's
Bay, with no other purpose than to obtain it.
At length its use was prohibited there also,
and the Chipewyans renewed their solicitations.
Instead of gaining their point, they were now
justly reproved by their benefactor, Mr. Smith,
and obliged to confess their own folly. The
following is an extract of the Company's standing
orders on these subjects: — "That the Indians be
treated with kindness and indulgence, and mild
and conciliatory means resorted to, in order to
encourage industry, repress vice, and inculcate
morality; that the use of spirituous liquors be
gradually discontinued in the few districts in
which it is yet indispensable; and that the Indians
be liberally supplied with requisite necessaries,
particularly with articles of ammunition, whether
they have the means of paying for it or not."
It is equally the Company's inclination, and their

74 TRAITS OF THE NATIVES:
interest, to render the natives comfortable. It is
when they are well-clothed, and amply provided
with ammunition, that they are best able to exert
themselves in collecting furs and provisions.
But, so far is it from the Company's wish to
acquire an undue influence over them, by loading
them with debts, that repeated attempts have
been made to reduce the trade to a simple barter.
In order to effect an object so beneficial to the
natives themselves, the arrears of the Chipewyans
have been twice cancelled since the junction of
the two Companies in 1821 ; but the generous ex
periment has signally failed. The improvidence
of the Indian character is an unsurmountable
obstacle to its success, and in the Chipewyans is
aggravated by a custom which the whites have
not yet been able wholly to eradicate. On the
death of a relative, they destroy guns, blankets,
kettles, everything, in short, they possess, con
cluding the havoc by tearing their lodges to
pieces. When these transports of grief have
subsided, they must have recourse to the nearest
establishment for a fresh supply of necessaries,
and thus their debts are renewed. The debts of
the deceased are, in every case, lost to the Com
pany. The Indian debt system is, in reality,
equivalent to the practice, in many civilised
countries, of making advances to hired servants

TRAITS OF THE NATIVES. 75
previous to the commencement of their actual
duties. This is particularly remarkable among
the French Canadians, who can scarcely be in
duced to undertake any work or service without
first receiving part payment in advance. Their
improvidence approaches to that of the Indian,
and produces similar effects. f
It is not perhaps generally known that, in
some parts of the Indian territory, the hunting-
grounds descend by inheritance among the na
tives, and that this right of property is rigidly
enforced. Where no such salutary law pre
vails, their main source of wealth, the beaver,
would soon be exhausted by the eager search
of the hunters, were it not for the judicious re
gulations of the Company, whose officers have,
for many years past, exhorted the natives to
spare the young of that valuable animal. In
this praiseworthy design they have met with
increasing success, according as the eyes of the
Indians have been opened to their own true in
terests. But the attempt will be understood to
be one of extreme difficulty, in consequence of
that passion for depriving the animal creation
of life, so deeply implanted in the breast of the
North American Indian, that it costs him a pang
to pass bird, beast, or fish without an effort to
destroy it, whether he stands in need of it or

76 TRAITS OF THE NATIVES.
not. Near York Factory, .in 1831, this pro
pensity, contrary to all the remonstrances of
the gentlemen of that place, led to the indis
criminate destruction of a countless herd of rein
deer, while crossing the broad stream of Haye's
River, in the height of summer. The natives
took some of the meat for present use, but
thousands of carcases were abandoned to the
current, and infected the river banks, or floated
out into Hudson's Bay, there to feed the sea-
fowl and the Polar bear. As if it were a judg
ment for this barbarous slaughter, in which
women and even children participated, the deer
have never since visited that part of the country
in similar numbers. It is to their own head
strong imprudence, which the example and in
fluence of the traders cannot at all times con
trol, that the occasional deaths by starvation
among the natives, and still more rare aban
donment of the aged and helpless, must be
ascribed. The quantity of provisions furnished by the
Indians to the establishments throughout the
northern districts is inconsiderable. In the win
ter season it is generally limited to the rib-
pieces of the moose, red, and rein-deer, half-
dried in the smoke of their tents, and the bones
removed for lightness of carriage ; to which a

TRAITS OF THE NATIVES. 77
few tongues are perhaps added. In the course
of the summer, when the animals are easily
hunted, and there is water transport everywhere,
the more industrious families usually bring to
their Fort a bale • of " dried meat," consisting of
the fleshy parts of the deer cut into large slices
and dried in the sun, with a bladder or two con
taining fat ; or a bag of " pounded meat," which,
when mixed with boiled fat, forms the renowned
pemican. When these scanty supplies prove in
sufficient, with the produce of their own fisheries,
and, where the climate is suitable, of the ground
cultivated, to support the few people who reside
at each of the widely separate posts, two or
more young active Indians without family, or
with but small families, are engaged as " Fort
hunters," and regarded as regular servants. The
duty of these hunters is confined to the killing
of large animals for the establishment ; and such
part of the meat as is not required by them
selves and their families, is transported thither,
with dogs and sledges, by the servants belong
ing to the place. To become Fort hunter is the
ambition of a northern Indian, for the situation
is at once an acknowledgment of his skill, and
places the finest and gayest clothing at his com
mand. It is, however, necessary to change them
from time to time, as an Indian no sooner forms

78 TRAITS OF THE NATIVES.
the notion that his services are indispensable,
than from that moment he slackens his exertions.
Every prudent manager of a post endeavours to
procure more provisions than the actual wants
of his charge. He is thus enabled, when scarcity
or ill-success overtakes his Indians, to afford
them a timely, and always a gratuitous relief.
I do not speak here of the comparatively mild
climate of the Saskatchewan, where the mounted
plain hordes often glut the establishments with
the spoils of myriads of buffaloes, and threaten
their existence by their dangerous visits. Nor
are these remarks applicable to the still more
southerly districts bordering on Canada, where
the natives, as well as the people in the Com
pany's service, are in a great measure fed upon
imported provisions, purchased by the Company
from the Americans. The principle universally
acted on throughout the vast and now admirably
governed fur-countries is, that the true interests
of the native Indian, and of the white man who
resides in voluntary exile on his lands, are in-
dissolubly united.
All attempts to raise farm produce among
the rocks at Fort Chipewyan have proved abor
tive, even potatoes being brought down from
Peace River ; but there are never-failing fisheries
in Athabasca Lake. The few horses and oxen

OCCURRENCES AT FORT CHIPEWYAN. 79
required for hauling firewood to the place are
maintained, during the long winter of seven
months, upon coarse grass cut in the swamps,
and, when that fails, upon fish.
May, like April, was a fine month ; but, till
near its close, there was little sultry weather.
Swallows appeared about the houses on the
19th ; and, during the whole month, the geese,*
on their northward migration, afforded the na
tive camp food, and the Fort sportsmen amuse
ment. The environs of the lake, for miles, re
sounded with the fusilade, as if bands of skir
mishers, hotly engaged, were scattered over the
country. On the 11th we had a smart thunderstorm;
and another, more distant, a few days after.-
wards: these were the only ones of the spring.
Owing to the general coolness of the season,
and the low state of the waters, the ice lingered
on the lake until the 22nd ;| a party of Indians
having crossed it, opposite the Fort, only the day
before. It continued alternately driving and
stopping for several days.
* There were four kinds of geese, the Snow, Canada,
Laughing, and Hutchin's ; of which the first were by far the
most numerous.
•j- The eastern part of the lake, which, unlike the western,
is traversed by no large river, never opens till the month of
June.

80 OCCURRENCES AT
On the 23rd the Peace River boats reached
" English Island," and their cargoes were carried
by land to the establishment, a distance of two
miles. On the 25th, Chief Factor M'Leod arrived with
the canoes from Fort Resolution. This gentle
man, already known to the public as Sir George
Back's intrepid assistant at Great Slave Lake, vo
lunteered, in the handsomest manner, to conduct
a party of Chipewyans to meet us at the mouth
of the Great Fish River in August 1838. Cir
cumstances, however, prevented our availing our
selves of his gallant proposal ; and, without the
aid of an experienced officer, it would have been
vain to attempt, through Indians, making any
deposit of provisions, &c, at Lake Beechey, as
suggested in our instructions.
From the mean of a great number of obser
vations, I deduced the position of Fort Chipe
wyan, which accords well with the results in
Sir John Franklin's first and second journeys.
Lat. 58° 42' 38" N. ; long. 111° 18' 32" W.
The variation, by several sets of azimuths, was
26° 6' 23" E., showing an increase of 36' 46"
since 1825, or about three minutes per annum.
Our sea-boats were now finished. They were
light clinker-built craft, of twenty-four feet keel
and six feet beam, furnished with wash-boards,

FORT CHIPEWYAN. 81
and carrying each two lug-sails. They were ex
pressly adapted for a shallow navigation, by their
small draught of water ; were payed with a mix
ture of clear pine-resin, which gave them a light
and elegant appearance, and with the coloured
earths of the country we manufactured paints
for their further decoration. So perfectly alike
and admirable were they, that they were ho
noured with the classical appellations of the twins
Castor and Pollux ; while the more capacious
bateau for Great Bear Lake gloried in the re
doubtable name of Goliah. Each of the sea-
boats was provided with a small, oiled, canvass
canoe, and portable wooden frame, which proved
highly serviceable in the sequel.
On the 30th we had a trial of our boats on
the lake in a stiff breeze, and were well satisfied
with their respective performances.

G

82 DESCENT FROM ATHABASCA

CHAPTER IV.
Descent from Athabasca to the Polar Sea.
Having, with Chief Factor Smith's kind and
liberal assistance, satisfactorily completed every
arrangement, the expedition took its departure,
on the evening of Thursday the 1st of June,
from Fort Chipewyan, under a salute, which we
returned with three hearty cheers. As soon as
the first shade of regret at parting from so sin
cere a friend had passed away, we warmly con
gratulated each other on being at length fairly
embarked in the interesting service of discovery.
Our hopes of achieving what far more distin
guished names had left undone were high, and
we may be pardoned if we exulted in the flat
tering prospect. Traversing the western ex
tremity of the Athabasca Lake, we entered
Rocky River, its principal outlet, and encamped.
We formed a small but happy party ; and as our
white tents glittered in the rays of the sun,
now declining to the horizon after his long

TO THE POLAR SEA. 83
diurnal course, with the broad river running in
front, and around us the green woods, the view
was pleasing, if not picturesque.
The succeeding morning broke sweetly, and
we were on the water at 3 o'clock. The day
proved sultry, but a gentle northerly breeze oc
casionally freshened the air, and the men rowed
with energy. Passing the confluence of the no
ble Peace River, we entered the augmented
volume of the Great Slave River, which we de
scended for upwards of thirty miles, and en
camped. It thundered and rained a little in the
evening. We could not help being struck with
the rapid advance of vegetation, now that we
were beyond the chilling influence of the lake.
Here the bright green of the poplar and willow
blended with and lightened the deeper and more
durable verdure of the pine.
On the 3rd we were favoured with a fine
breeze on the quarter, and our craft shot swiftly
down the wide stream for nearly forty miles ;
when, coming to a rapid, we lowered sail, and ran
it in excellent style. The Cassette Portage soon
followed, and at its north end we encamped early;
a heavy rain falling, which continued through
out the night. In the afternoon we saw some
Indians, from whom we obtained an acceptable
supply of fresh moose meat. G 2

84 DESCENT FROM ATHABASCA
4th. — We were involved all day among por
tages and rapids ; the river rushing impetuously,
in numerous channels, among rocky wooded
islands, with a breadth of from one to two miles.
Many patches of snow still adhered to the river
banks. We encamped on the Mountain Portage.
A considerable part of the 5th was occupied
by the Pelican Portage, and that of The Drowned.
The desert-bird frequents the first in prodigious
numbers; and the rocky islands, a mile out in
the stream, were crowded with their white ranks
reposing after their morning's fishing. After
passing these turbulent barriers, we descended
the now tranquil river for about five leagues,
and found our hunters*(who had been despatched
two days a-head), with a large camp of other
Chipewyans, squatted, like so many beavers, in
their lodges on the muddy banks of the Salt
River. We chose our station in the neighbour
ing woods.
On the morning of the 6th I mustered in
the camp three of the largest canoes, and ascended
Salt River, in order to procure a supply of its
most useful production, and to view the beau
tiful plain represented with so much spirit by
Back's able pencil. The distance to the open
ing of the plain exceeds twenty miles, follow
ing the tortuous course of the stream, which

TO THE POLAR SEA. 85
is shallow, and, as we advanced, became salt as
brine. We had not the good fortune to fall in
with buffaloes, though their tracks, and those of
moose and bears, were numerous ; but consoled
ourselves in an attack upon the wild fowl at
tracted hither by the briny waters. There were
swans ; Canada and laughing geese ; several species
of ducks, the most remarkable of which were
the beautiful light blue; and a very small but
splendidly variegated teal, so tame as almost to
allow itself to be caught with the hand. We
had not to search long for salt : a single mound
on the plain furnished us with thirty bags of the
finest quality, and seemed undiminished by the
removal of a quantity sufficient for our own
wants, and for the supply of the Athabasca and
Mackenzie River districts. A mountain, which
terminates the plain at the distance of four or
five miles, glistened as if incrusted with the
same pure white substance. From the hill-sides
gush delicious springs of fresh water. Having
finished our work, we bivouacked and feasted
under as lovely an evening sky as fancy could
paint. A sudden gust of wind, which bent the
tall pines and poplars like wands, cleared off the
musquitoes ; and we enjoyed a, few hours of re
freshing rest in the soft twilight, for there was
no longer any night in these regions.

86 DESCENT FROM ATHABASCA
We returned to the boats the following day
at noon. The interval had been employed by
the carpenter in re-caulking the seams opened
by the frost and heat, which rendered them per
fectly tight during the remainder of the voyage.
As soon as this operation was completed, we
re-embarked, and descended Slave River for
twenty miles.
The 8th was fine, but a fresh north-west wind
much retarded our progress; and, though we
were on the water fourteen hours, we advanced
little more than forty miles. The Indian flotilla
came up to us while ashore breakfasting. They
had two large beavers on board, just killed,
and a little cub, which they picked up as it
was helplessly carried down by the stream. We
encamped at Stony Point, which was strewed
with fragments of gypsum. Our journey next
clay was precisely similar. Though travelling
directly northward, the warm limestone bed over
which the river flows nourished an advanced
vegetation. We several times put ashore, and
availing ourselves of the willowy covert, here
in full leaf, shot a number of geese that were
basking on the sunny beach. We halted at a
late hour below the channel called Riviere a
Jean. Following the principal mouth of the river,

TO THE POLAR SEA. 87
on the morning of the 10th we entered Great
Slave Lake. Every eye was directed across that
inland sea, and great was our mortification when,
with the glass, we discerned an unbroken line
of ice embracing the land beyond Moose-deer
Island. We advanced to the edge of that un
welcome barrier ; but it was firm and immove
able, threatening us with a long detention. Turn
ing within the islands, a portage, performed with
the aid of canoes, brought our provisions and
other property, in the course of the day, to
Fort Resolution ; the boats crossing the shallows
light. From the 10th to the 21st of June the ice
kept us prisoners at Fort Resolution, occasionally
retreating a mile or two, as if to tantalize us,
then closing and driving the fishermen and their
nets ashore.
On the 12th we indulged our people with a
dance, though the constant daylight was rather
unfavourable to the dark complexions of the
ladies. It was concluded by a general supper,
at which tea was the beverage, all intoxicating
liquors being, as already noticed, excluded from
this sober land.
The 13th was marked by a thunderstorm of
a terrible violence, unusual in these high lati
tudes ; to which succeeded a week of beautiful

88 DESCENT FROM ATHABASCA
weather. The games and sports of the people
without the gates were generally at their height
at midnight, when the coolness of the atmosphere
incited to exertion. At every shout the echoes
ran along the floating ice in the bay, passing
from one fragment to another, and producing
a succession of sounds, that became gradually
softer and fainter, till they seemed to mingle
with the horizon. The mirage, too, exhibited
some curious appearances. Mr. Dease vacci
nated all the young people, Indian or half-breed,
at the place ; a benefit already conferred on the
whole concourse of natives at Fort Chipewyan.
Several sets of azimuths made the variation here
37° 16' 30" E. The variation found by Back,
in 1833, was 37° 20' ; and by Franklin, in 1825,
29° 15' 9" E. For the last four years, then,
the quantity would seem to have remained nearly
stationary, but from 1825 to 1833 to have in
creased annually one degree ; while at Fort Chi
pewyan, as formerly stated, the annual increase,
since 1825, has only been about three minutes.
Local attraction and difference of instruments
have probably a share in these discrepancies,
which might otherwise throw some light upon
the motion of the magnetic pole. In this man
ner was the delay beguiled ; but our main ob
ject languished, and many an anxious glance was

TO THE POLAR SEA. 89
directed to the ice, which a southerly breeze
at length wafted outwards on the morning of
the 21st. We now embarked in the Goliah all
the dogs I had brought with me from Red River,
which, with some additions, numbered twenty-
one, the complement of seven sledges, and proved
most unruly passengers.
We set sail in the forenoon of the 21st, hav
ing despatched our hunters along shore two or
three days before. The day was delightful, the
wind light ; and we had advanced about forty
miles, when we found the Indians encamped on
a point close to the fixed ice, and with them we
put up late in the evening. A westerly wind
opened a passage for us during the night. After
pulling against it for a few hours, and forcing our
way in many places through the loose ice, we
landed to breakfast in Sulphur Cove. The springs
here are well worthy of inspection. They are
large, clear, and leave a deep sulphureous deposit
wherever their waters run, as well as in the
fountains themselves. The wind blew strongly
now; and our Indian companions, having to re
pair their canoes, had not come up. They at
last made their appearance ; and, the breeze fall
ing, we started at 6 P. M. and proceeded all
night. At 5 in the morning of the 23rd we made

90 DESCENT FROM ATHABASCA
Hay River, and, the ice being jammed to the
shore close beyond it, we halted for the re
mainder of the day. A net set across the stream
supplied us with a number of dory and inconnu,
while its banks furnished wild onions in abun
dance. On the 24th we found the ice in many places
still wedged-in to the land, and, though we
pushed through it with unabated energy all
day, it was midnight when we reached the head
of the great river Mackenzie, where we en
camped. Sunday, 25th. — After rowing against a strong
contrary wind, to very little purpose, all the
morning, we caught sight of the Fort Simpson
boats ascending the current under sail. We im
mediately landed on a small island, and spent the
rest of the day with our esteemed friend Chief
Trader M'Pherson. There were several arrange
ments to concert with that gentleman touching
the expedition ; which 'done, he resumed his route
to Portage la Loche about midnight, and we
remained wind-bound on our islet. We after
wards learned that he experienced quite as much
difficulty as ourselves in making his way through
the ice of Great Slave Lake.
The gale moderating on the 26th, we took our
departure in the afternoon. After a couple of

TO THE POLAR SEA. 91
hours' tough pulling, during which we shipped
some water, and were assailed by several heavy
squalls with rain, the wind came round upon our
starboard bow. Setting sail, — for the boats stood
well within four points, — we made tolerable pro
gress till 10 p. M., when we put ashore for supper,
and to wait for our Indian squadron, now left
far behind. The richness of the foliage on the
banks of the Mackenzie, after issuing from the
inhospitable climate of Great Slave Lake, was
refreshing to the eye ; but the musquitoes acted
as a check upon our admiration, and we were
glad to re-embark before midnight.
The weather was now beautiful; a light cool
breeze played upon the water ; our men were in
high spirits, and lightened the labours of the
oar with the enlivening strains of the Canadian
voyageur songs. Soon after 2 a. m., just as the
sun emerged in glory from his short rest, " firing
the high tops of the eastern pines," we approach
ed the first camp we had yet seen of the Dog-rib
Indians. They came out in their curiously-shaped
canoes to welcome us ashore, their animated ges
tures and sparkling eyes testifying the pleasure
they derived from the meeting. Their tents
were pitched on a pretty point, just within the
margin of the green wood, where we held an
hour's talk with these kind inoffensive people.

92 DESCENT FROM ATHABASCA
I noticed some fine faces among the younger
men ; and the women, though not so good-look
ing, have an affectionate and pleasing address.
They all, down to the very children, expressed
their thanks by the French abbreviation, "mer-
ci," for the various articles presented to them;
a most agreeable contrast to the sullen indiffe
rence of the Chipewyans. Our hunters not mak
ing their appearance, we engaged one or two of
the most active youths to escort them to Fort
Simpson, and pursued our way.
Several more Dog-ribs were passed during the
day ; and at 10 p.m. we landed at one of their
huts, placed on an island near the site of the
ill-fated Livingstone's establishment, who, with
most of his crew, was massacred by the Esqui
maux, many years ago, on his attempting to open
a trade with them. The children and dogs were
huddled together asleep when we arrived, and
formed rather a queer group. We continued
our route at 11, and, having rowed for an hour,
lashed the boats together, and resigned " them
to the guidance of the wide deep stream.
When we awoke on the 28th, we found that
we had drifted three or four leagues with the
current. The morning sun shone brilliantly, ting
ing the broad waters and the wood-crowned cliffs
with golden hues. The verdure on the banks

TO THE POLAR SEA. 93
was luxuriant, and, viewed in that glowing light,
the scenery produced a very imposing effect. A
fine breeze bore us swiftly down the stream, and,
crossing the mouth of the picturesque River of
the Mountains, we reached Fort Simpson.
Our hunters cast up in the forenoon of the
29th. They had stove one of their canoes, had
narrowly escaped foundering in the attempt to
follow us near the shore in the boisterous weather
of the 26th, and were much fatigued. The fields
here looked well, but the young barley had a
troublesome enemy in the passenger pigeons.
Except one in Salt River, we saw none of these
graceful birds elsewhere throughout our jour
ney. The wild rose and a variety of flowers
ornamented the woods. From two meridional
observations, the latitude of this establishment
is 61° 51' 25" N. ; the variation of the compass
37° 10' E. ; and, at a subsequent period, the
longitude, 121° 25' 15" W. was obtained from
a number of lunar distances. The latitude de
duced by Sir John Franklin, in 1825, from the
dead reckoning, was 62° 11', being nearly twenty
miles too far to the north ; an error easily ac
counted for by the difficulty of making a just
allowance for the strength of an unequal current.
The temperature in the shade at noon was 62°.
We had some blacksmith-work to get executed,

94 DESCENT FROM ATHABASCA
provisions and sledges to take on board> and
other matters to arrange, which occupied the
time till sunset, when we set our sails to a light
southerly breeze. At no great distance we pass
ed a conflagration of the woods on the river
bank, which at one moment threw a long re
flected beam of light across the water, and, the
next, broke into a thousand quivering flashes on
the curling eddies.
At 2 o'clock the following morning we came
in view of a branch of the great Rocky Mountain
chain. The day was lovely, and I fed my eyes
with gazing on scenery so novel and romantic,
that forcibly recalled to mind my native high
lands. At noon we passed within a few miles
of the mountains, where they cause the river to
change its course from west to north. Their
summits were still streaked with snow, but on
the face of the cliffs we distinctly perceived the
stratification noticed by Sir John Franklin. At
midnight the men took in their oars, and we
drifted down the stream.
July 1. — When our labours were resumed at
5 tfclock, we found ourselves at the foot of " the
hill by the river side " ascended by that daunt
less traveller, Sir Alexander Mackenzie, in July
1789. A camp of Dog-ribs stood on the oppo
site bank: they were much alarmed, and were

TO THE POLAR SEA. 95
taking to flight, when we called out to them who
we were, upon which they instantly turned their
canoes towards us. They were in dread, they
said, of the Mountain Indians, and did not know
what to make of our noiseless approach. We
treated them to their favourite luxury, tobacco,
and fell in with many more of them during the
day. At 10 P. m. we reached Fort Norman, hav
ing travelled two hundred and fifty miles in
exactly forty-eight hours.
At this northerly spot, situated in lat. 64° 40',
a small quantity of green barley, and of potatoes,
almost as big as pigeon eggs, is now annually
raised. I was afterwards surprised to find this
vain attempt to vanquish nature made even at
Fort Good Hope, with turnips and radishes.
Next day our hunters cast up about noon. We
hired three Dog-ribs to guide and complete the
crew of the luggage-boat to Dease River, at the
north-eastern extremity of Great , Bear Lake,
where our winter quarters were to be established.
John Ritch, our boat-builder, was intrusted with
the execution of this most important duty, as
sisted by John Norquay and Laurent Cartiesr,
fishermen, and Francois Framond, a rough car
penter. Ritch's instructions were, to erect the
necessary buildings on a very small scale, agree
ably to a plan drawn by me, to establish a fishery

96 DESCENT FROM ATHABASCA.
in the best situation he could discover, and to
keep our Chipewyan hunters and the native
Indians employed in collecting the meat of the
reindeer and musk-ox against our return from the
coast. From the trading goods we selected such
articles as we considered most suitable for pre
sents to the Esquimaux ; the rest, together with
a small surplus of provisions, was to be deposited
at our new establishment. The stock of provisions
appropriated to our coasting voyage, and the long
retreat from the mouth of the Mackenzie to
winter quarters, was thirty bags of pemican, each
weighing ninety pounds, and ten hundred- weight
of Red River flour. This was an ample allow
ance for the whole season of open water ; and we
found that the union of flour with the pemican
produced a saving of one-third in the consump
tion. Three pounds of pemican alone form a
man's daily ration ; but, though the food is highly
nourishing, it soon becomes distasteful and
cloying. With the flour it makes an excellent,
and not unpalatable, soup, or rather " bergoo,"
which formed our own sustenance, as well as the
men's, and was relished by all. These victuals
were used by the crews without any restriction ;
and it was ascertained, at the end of the voyage,
that the average daily consumption had been
exactly two pounds per man. Our crews for

TO THE POLAR SEA. 97
the sea were composed of the following indivi
duals : —

James M'Kay,

Steersman, Highlander.*

George Sinclair,

Ditto, Half-breed.*

Francois Felix,

Bowman, Canadian.-j-

Pierre Morin,

Ditto, Ditto.

George Flett,

Middleman, Orkney sailor.

Charles Begg,

Ditto, Ditto.

William M'Donald,

Ditto, Highlander.

Hector Morrison,

Ditto, Ditto.

John M'Key,

Ditto, Canadian Highlander.

Peter Taylor,

Ditto, Half-breed*

Francois Boucher,

I Half-breed lads, fifteen or sixteen
J years of age.

Ferdinand Wentzel,

Everything being thus settled, we all took our
departure together at sunset.
After a splendid trial at the oar, which served
to shew the superiority of the little sea-boats, we
came in view of Bear Lake River, at 3 o'clock
on the morning of the 3rd. We landed a
short distance above it, where Ritch embarked
a supply of unctuous earth to whitewash our
intended residence, and he was directed to pro
cure some black chalk hear Port Franklin.
Wood-coal was in a state of combustion for
several miles on both sides of the Mackenzie,
and these natural fires seem to have spread con
siderably since last described by Dr. Richardson.
* Three of Back's crew in 1834.
f One of Franklin's men in 1826. H

98 DESCENT FROM ATHABASCA
The jets of smoke, issuing in many places from
the perpendicular face of the clayey cliffs, pre
sented a singular spectacle. The combustion
had in many places scorched the layers of unc
tuous earth that interstratify the coal formation,
and turned their surface to a lively red colour.
After spending some time ashore in the exami
nation of these curious phenomena, we parted
from our comrades with three hearty huzzas,
displaying the British ensigns as we launched
into the broad, swift stream. On either hand
rose the Rocky Mountains and the Eastern Hills,
now shadowed by floating clouds, now reflecting
from their snowy peaks the dazzling sunshine.
The scene was to me enchanting, and its excite
ment was increased by our rapid descent of the
river. We saw a few Indians during the day, from
whom we procured some of the fish called Back's
grayling, the " wing-like fin" of the Esquimaux.
Our progress was continued, as usual, all night.
Early the following morning, a light breeze filled
our sails for a while, but soon died away. We
breakfasted on the curious madrepore rocks above
" the Rapid," which we descended at noon. In
the evening we spoke a large camp of Hare In
dians, who were fishing in the eddies along The
Ramparts. That singular defile is well named ;
but its only garrison consisted of a legion of

TO THE POLAR SEA. 99
swallows that nestle in the summits of its rocky
precipices. These now echoed with the shouts of
the natives, who followed us, with their whole
pigmy fleet, to Fort Good Hope, which we
reached between 8 and 9 o'clock, and were joy
fully welcomed by Mr. Bell, who is son-in-law
to Mr. Dease.
The establishment is now placed on the right
bank of the river, opposite the upper Manitoo
Island, where it stood for several years. The
new situation is elevated ; a precaution rendered
necessary by the entire destruction, in June,
1836, of the former post, at the disruption of the
ice, which rushed down with such overwhelming
force as to sweep almost completely over the
island, though several miles in extent, cutting
down the timber, like grass before the scythe,
and burying the place under two fathoms water.
The terrified residents took to their boat, and
escaped, almost miraculously, into a small lake in
the centre of the island. There the ruins of the
overthrown wood averted the fury of the inunda
tion ; and in this place of refuge they remained,
with the ice tossed up in huge fragments, form
ing a gigantic wall around them, till the danger
was past. We found here five Loucheux, from
whom we learned the distressing fact, that three
of their tribe had been killed, and a fourth
H 2

100 DESCENT FROM ATHABASCA
desperately wounded, by the Esquimaux in the
preceding month. This unhappy quarrel pre
cluded the prosecution of a design, which we had
formed, of taking two of the Loucheux with us
to the coast as substitutes for Esquimaux inter
preters ; although the men who had been applied
to by Mr. Bell were desirous of accompanying us
at all risks. These people are distinguished from
every other Indian tribe with which we are ac
quainted by the frankness and candour of their
demeanour. Their bold countenances give ex
pression to their feelings, and a bloody intent
with them lurks not under a smile. Among the
aborigines of North America, the Loucheux
alone have never imbrued their hands in the
blood of the whites. They amused us during the
night with their dances, which abound in extra
vagant gestures, and demand violent exertion.
The Hare Indians afterwards exhibited theirs, in
which many of . the younger women joined ;
whilst the old ones got up a crying-match, at a
little distance, for some relative whom they had
recently lost.
On the 5th, we had a conference with the
Loucheux, in which we declined their reiterated
offers to send two, or more, of their number with
us along the sea-coast, assigning the late murders
as the cause of this resolution. At the same

TO THE POLAR SEA. 101
time we laboured to dissuade them from their
plans of retaliation and revenge. They expressed
their sorrow at our determination to expose the
lives of so small a party among such a treacherous
people as the Esquimaux ; earnestly cautioned us
to be on our guard in every meeting with these
perfidious savages, especially in the act of embark
ing, the moment they usually select for an attack ;
and declared, that if the latter injured us — whom,
in common with all the whites, they regarded as
their fathers and friends, — the whole tribe would
combine to exact a terrible vengeance. To this
comfortable assurance we replied, that we our
selves entertained no apprehensions, and therefore
enjoined them to banish all useless fears on our
account. It is but justice to the Esquimaux to
state, that, from our inquiries, the Loucheux ap
pear to have drawn the above chastisement upon
themselves. For several years they had exacted,
and received, a gift, as " blood-money," from the
former, on account of a Loucheux whom they
asserted to have died of his wounds in an old
encounter. On this last occasion three of the
Loucheux repeated the annual demand, with
which the Esquimaux were about to comply,
when unfortunately the very man, so long re
ported dead, made his appearance. On this, the
Esquimaux, after reviling the Loucheux for their

102 DESCENT FROM ATHABASCA
falsehood and extortion, fell upon them ; and, of
the four, one only escaped, wounded, by flying to
the woods. The traders have long been at gre&y
pains to effect a permanent reconciliation be
tween these hereditary enemies. For this pur
pose, in 1817, and again in 1819, Mr. Dease
gave considerable presents to the Loucheux
chief to negotiate a peace, which lasted for
several years.
We waited to obtain some observations, which
gave the lat. 66° 16' N, variation 44° 12' 3" E.
The temperature of the air was 72°. We then
took our final departure for the ocean, and soon
crossed the Arctic circle. At 9 P. m. we put
ashore for supper, and at 10 re-embarked.
The weather on the 6th was still warmer, the
thermometer in the shade standing at 77°, and
rising 30° higher when exposed to the sun in
the boat. The majestic river and its high banks
were steeped in a flood of light, and, except the
diminutive size of the wood, there was nothing
in the landscape to suggest the thought that we
had penetrated so far into the regions of the
north. At 5 p. m. we reached the spot where
Fort Good Hope stood during Sir John Frank
lin's last expedition, and landed to obtain the
variation ; after which we pursued our route
throughout the night.

TO THE POLAR SEA. 103
On the 7th the stunted woods were in several
places on fire. The river banks were lined with
straggling huts of the Loucheux, formed of green
branches. The inhabitants of these primitive
dwellings came off in numbers, in their canoes,
to visit us, and loud were their vociferations as
we came successively in sight of their little
camps. The aged hobbled after us along the
beach, the women whined and simpered after
their most attractive fashion, and the children,
" in puris naturalibus," crowded round our gaily
painted boats to see the wonders they contained.
Wherever we landed, logs were instantly carried
to the water's edge, to enable us to step ashore
dry-shod. A small present of tobacco to each of
the men, with a few beads or needles distri
buted among the women and children, satisfied
their modest desires; and, for a trifling remune
ration, they supplied us with as much fresh and
half-dried fish as we chose to take on board. We
remarked among them some knives and buttons,
apparently of Russian manufacture, obtained from
the Esquimaux during their intervals of amicable
intercourse. The deer-skin jackets of the men
have long flaps behind, reaching almost to the
ground, and shaped like a beaver's tail. Like
their neighbours of the sea, both sexes wear
breeches ; a distinctive costume from that of the

104 DESCENT FROM ATHABASCA
other northern tribes. In the afternoon we
passed through " the Narrows," where the Lou:-
cheux chief was encamped, like a brave gene*
ral protecting his frontier. We had given a pas
sage from Fort Good Hope to one of his young
men, who seemed to consider himself as not a
little honoured by our attentions; and he now
explained to the chief our intention not to take
any of his people to the coast. Yet such was
their confidence in or regard for us, that several
again volunteered their services. After thank
ing them, and acknowledging their kindness by
some small gifts, we re-embarked. We had pro
vided ourselves with an Esquimaux vocabulary,
which we hoped would serve our purpose in our
intercourse with that singular race ; but, to guard
more effectually against danger, we now issued
to each of the men a gun and ammunition, to
be used only at our express command. We
supped at Point Separation; and, as we passed
the mouth of Peel River, had the satisfaction,
new to most of the party, of beholding the sun
at midnight, more than his own diameter ele
vated above the horizon.
Just as our people were almost exhausted with
rowing and the merciless assaults of the musqui-
toes, a gentle northerly breeze sprang up in the
forenoon of the 8th, and for a while cleared the

TO THE POLAR SEA. 105
air of our tormentors. We saw, in the course of
the morning, two reindeer, and a female moose
followed by her fawns, but very few wild fowl.
Several fine views of the Rocky Mountains open
ed as we passed down the winding western
channel. Landing in the evening on an islet
in an expansion of the stream, we found a cache
of dried fish, wooden sledges shod with bone,
reindeer horns, and other articles left by the
Esquimaux. We disturbed nothing, but ap
pended to the stage a few trinkets, with a hie-
roglyphical letter carved on bark, intimating that
the donors were white men, in two boats, on
their way to the western sea. After supping we
resumed our nocturnal route.
On the morning of Sunday the 9th, a strong
southerly wind very opportunely arose, before
which we made rapid progress, keeping always
to the extreme left, in a narrow serpentine chan
nel washing the foot of the mountains. About
8 a. m., on turning a sharp point, we came sud
denly upon an Esquimaux oomiak, containing
four women and a couple of dogs. The ladies,
throwing off their coverings, leaped ashore, and
fled through the willows with the utmost pre
cipitation. We did not land, but passed on
under full sail. Finding that there was still no
appearance of the sea, we concluded from this

106 DESCENT FROM ATHABASCA
circumstance, and from the greater distance to
which the spruce-trees extended,* that we were
now following a more westerly branch of the
river than that by which Sir John Franklin de
scended. At 10 o'clock we landed to breakfast,
and to examine the circumjacent country. It
embraced rich and extensive meadows, enamelled
with flowers, intersected by the river channels,
and covered with deserted wooden huts of the
Esquimaux. This open tract seems much fre
quented in summer by moose and reindeer. One
of the former appeared at no great distance on
an island, and, after scanning us for an instant,
trotted off at a great rate. Scarcely had we
made these remarks, when we perceived a single
kayak gliding down the stream. Its conductor,
after indulging for a while in noise and gesti
culation, landed on the opposite bank, laid his
canoe on the beach, pulled off his boots and ha
biliments, and seemed incliued for a run. But
on our shouting the well-known " teyma," and
hoisting a flag, he changed his mind, and, re
suming his deer-skin shirt, paddled fearlessly
across. He was a good-looking, athletic, middle-
aged man, and soon gave us to understand,
by words helped out by signs, that he was
* They approach within thirty miles of the coast, including
the windings of the western channel.

TO THE POLAR SEA. 107
the chief who interfered to stop the plunder
of Sir John Franklin's party by his country
men at Pillage Point. He likewise told us that
it was his wives who, terrified by our sudden
appearance, abandoned the oomiak, which was
laden with reindeer meat. We presented our
new friend with an axe, a knife, and several
other articles, besides a liberal share of our re
past. But, notwithstanding our generosity, he
was immediately after detected in the act of
concealing, in the breast of his dress, a knife
and fork, having previously secreted a tin dish
among the willows, where on a search it was
discovered. He laughed at all this as a good
joke; and, when we re-embarked, he did the same,
declaring his resolution to accompany us, and
protect us from his ill-disposed brethren at the
mouth of the river. He persisted in his inten
tion for some time, holding on by one of the
boats, till the breeze freshening, and his canoe
being almost run under, we cast him off. Even
then so swiftly did he propel the light skin ves
sel with his broad two-bladed paddle, that we
should scarcely have dropped him, had not a
goose with her young brood upon the bank at
tracted his notice. We saw him no more. At
4 p. M. the Arctic Ocean burst into view. We
saluted it with joyous cheers, and, immediately

108 DESCENT TO THE POLAR SEA.
landing, found ourselves at the bottom of Shoal-
water Bay, the western point of Tent Island
bearing N. 16° E. (true), distant about six miles.
This then was that western channel which the
Esquimaux messengers exhorted Sir John Frank
lin to ascend in August 1826, to escape the pur
suit of the Mountain Indians. It is certainly
preferable to the one he followed, as we no
where found less than five feet water ; and, steer
ing straight out through the bay, there was a
depth of fully three feet. Upon the point stood
several old winter habitations of the Esquimaux ;
and, directing our glasses to Tent Island, we de
scried their summer camp. We halted for an
hour, during which the variation 49° 22' E. was
obtained, the thermometer indicating 78°; and
then stood out to sea.

109

CHAPTER V-
Voyage from Mackenzie River to Franklin's Return Reef. —
Adventures among Esquimaux and Ice. — Discovery of the
Franklin Mountains.
July 9th. — We had almost lost sight of Tent
Island when we discovered several kayaks pad
dling swiftly after us. As the wind was now
decreasing, the canoes, nineteen in number, soon
came up with us. It required little encourage
ment to bring the Esquimaux alongside, when
each man received a knife, a file, some rings,
beads, and awls. They then became importu
nate to trade for their bows and arrows, darts, lip-
ornaments, in fact, everything they had. We
had no desire to enter into this kind of traffic;
but, to quiet them, we traded for a few of those
articles. One lively youngster attracted our
notice by his activity in the noisy barter. He
shot his arrows and lance repeatedly on the
water, to shew us their excellence ; at the same
time shouting "Neittuke," and "Took-took" — the

110 FROM MACKENZIE RIVER
seal, and reindeer. On receiving a hatchet and
some other things for his weapons, he beat
upon his breast, laughed, whooped, and capered
in the utmost extravagance of animal joy. He
was afterwards employed by several of his less
adroit friends to exchange their goods. A fine-
looking young man, whose face was not dis
figured by the labrets, was remarkable for his
modesty, but did not fare the worse on that
account. There was only one old man of the
party. They appeared to us a stout, well-look
ing people, with complexions considerably fairer
than the Indian tribes. Having finished our
transactions with them, and satisfied our curiosity,
we told the strangers to return to their village ;
upon which they gave us to understand that
they wished to accompany us to our encamp
ment, and to spend the evening in our society.
To this, however, we had a decided objection.
Already had they made several unsuccessful at
tempts to pilfer out of the boats ; fresh num
bers would soon have joined them, stimulated
by the remembrance of former success; and we
had Escape Reef, and a shallow bad navigation,
before us. We therefore peremptorily ordered
them back, but to no purpose. Two or three
guns were shewn, which alarmed them a little.
They held up their hands deprecatingly, calling

TO FRANKLIN'S RETURN REEF. Ill
out "Caw -caw!" — but persisted in following at
a short distance, even after one or two blank
shots, till I fired with ball over them; upon
which they instantly ducked their heads, veered
round, and, after paddling out of reach, halted
to hold a consultation, — more canoes now appear
ing in the distance. Thus delivered, we con
tinued our course under sail, with a light close
wind, passing the reefs and shoals about four
miles from the land ; the weather dark and
threatening. At 10 o'clock a violent squall took
us, and it was with the utmost exertion that
we were able to gain the shore at midnight.
The tide rose here about one foot on the
morning of the 10th, bringing with it great
numbers of methy (lota maculosa), many of which
we speared with the Esquimaux lances. Before
we had time to take any rest, a heavy swell
came rolling in upon the beach, and compelled
us to look out for another harbour. After pull
ing for several hours along the steep mud-banks
that form the coast-line, we reached Shingle
Point, lying under the 69th parallel of latitude,
and there erected our tents, for the first time,
since our detention by wind at the head of
Mackenzie River. A north-west gale had now
commenced, and raged all day. We found at
this place a number of winter huts, and of

112 FROM MACKENZIE RIVER
graves covered with the implements used by
the deceased. There was also the frame of an
oomiak, twenty-four feet long; and a large sledge
with side-rails, well mortised, and strongly knit
with whalebone, so that our Canadians pro
nounced it made " comme a Montreal," — the
very superlative of commendation in their opin
ion.* We enjoyed a very cold bath in the sea.
The musquitoes had now finally abandoned us,
and there can be no stronger proof of the un
usual severity of this season along the coast ;
for Franklin, Beechey, and Richardson complain
of the attacks of these insects throughout their
Arctic voyages.
The wind having abated, we started on the
11th at 3 A. M. To seaward there were some
large icebergs in motion, but we proceeded
without interruption till 11, when we landed
to breakfast. A fog now enveloped every ob
ject, and already had the temperature fallen thirty
degrees since issuing from the Mackenzie. We
* French vanity has lost nothing of its point in the New
World. The largest sort of ducks in the interior are
called "Canards de France;" English tan-leather shoes,
" Souliers Francois;" the whites in general, "les Francois, "
as all Europeans of old were Franks ; and one old guide,
talking of the: place whence the Company's merchandize
came, took it for granted that it was from " la vieille France
de Londres ! "

TO FRANKLIN'S RETURN REEF. 113
soon came to the margin of the ice, which for
tunately was afloat near the shore. We twisted
and poled our way through it : the transparent
masses exhibiting every variety of fantastic
shapes, — altars, caverns, turrets, ships, crystal
fabrics, — which changed as we gazed upon them ;
and often rolling over or breaking down, with
a thundering noise, tossed our little boats on
the swell caused by their fall. In the small
open spaces, and on the floes, numberless seals
were sporting ; one of which would every now
and then follow for a while in our wake, rising
breast-high to gratify his curiosity, and then
giving place to another. I wounded one of the
largest size, but he escaped from us by getting
within the close ice. Point Kay was doubled
with much difficulty in the afternoon. Here
we had the mortification to find farther pro
gress impossible, for the ice blocked Phillips'
Bay. Our fires were scarcely lighted when we
perceived three Esquimaux approaching us along
the reef. They halted at a little distance to
reconnoitre, and then sat down, apparently afraid
to advance. Upon our calling to them, they
threw down their weapons, and approached us
with perfect confidence. One of them then went
away, and soon returned with the rest of the
party, consisting of five women, two lads, and
I

114 ADVENTURES AMONG
several children. They seemed poor, but were
lively in their demeanour, and, what recommended
them still more to us, in no way troublesome
or intrusive. Every individual, young and old,
was gratified with a suitable present ; and we
afterwards purchased from them some fresh her
ring-salmon (coregonus lucidus), and a bundle of
whalebone. They left us late in the evening.
During the whole of the 12th it blew strongly
from the northward, with a dense fog and cheer
less weather. Our Esquimaux neighbours paid
us another visit, and then took their departure,
probably to inform their friends at Herschel Is
land of our appearance on the coast. Next day
the ice was still more closely packed, and nu
merous masses were cast upon the beach. About
noon the gale abated, the thermometer rose as
high as 51°, and the latitude -69° 18' 19" was
obtained ; variation 49° East. We made ex
cursions upon the green hills, which were em
bellished with the brilliant tints of innume
rable flowers : specimens of these were gathered,
and some water-fowl were shot. A row of marks
was observed extending across the point, evi
dently designed to lead the reindeer to the edge of
the steep bank; over which, pursued by one party
of hunters, they dash into the sea, where they
fall an easy prey to another party, stationed in

ESQUIMAUX AND ICE. 115
canoes below. There were also a number of
old marmot snares set upon the slope, but none
of those curious little animals were to be seen.
The fog and cold returned in the evening, at
tended with a drizzling rain.
The morning of the 14th was calm, and we ob
served the first regular flow of the tide. At
8 o'clock it had risen eight inches, detaching
the heavy field-ice to seaward from the broken
ice in the bay, and opening a narrow passage to
the opposite land, of which we immediately took
advantage. It was, however, a work of labour
and some danger to force our way through in
many places, and it was noon before we reached
Point Stokes. At a stream issuing out of a
lake farther on, we found another small camp
of Esquimaux, whose conduct was similar to
that of the last party, and equally well rewarded.
We procured from them some fine salmon-trout,
taken in a seine of whalebone, which they
dragged ashore by means of several slender poles
spliced together to a great length. A tame
full-grown seal was playing in the water around
the tents, and, while we were there, came to the
brink to be fed. We found the strait between
Herschel Island and , the mainland open. While
passing through it, we were visited by three
men, and two oomiaks filled with women and

116 ADVENTURES AMONG
children. They received the usual presents, and
informed us that there were five more men of
their party hunting reindeer on the island. At
9 p. m. we landed on its extreme western point,
from whence the sea, except close in-shore,
appeared quite covered with ice. Clouds ob
scured the sky, and encircled the mountain tops ;
but from the north-west a golden gleam shot
down upon the icy horizon. On the beach were
found some bones of an enormous whale, pro
bably stranded here, of which the skull mea
sured eight feet in breadth. Another oomiak,
containing a man and his family, came to us
shortly after we quitted the island. The even
ing was mild, with a gentle easterly breeze,
before which we sailed all night, between the
margin of the ice and the land.
At 10 in the forenoon of the 15th we halted
to breakfast at Demarcation Point, where the
lat. 69° 40' 31" N, and the variation 48° 23' 10"
E., were observed. In the afternoon the breeze
freshened, and we made rapid progress along and
through the grounded ice ; fragments of which,
occasionally detaching themselves, plunged head
long into the sea with a noise rivalling the dis
charge of heavy artillery. Large flocks of white
and brown ducks flew past us ; many floes were
covered with the noisy " cacawees ;" while on

ESQUIMAUX AND ICE. 117
the plains between the British chain of moun
tains and Beaufort Bay browsed numerous herds
of reindeer. Farther on stood a camp of Esqui
maux, who, after shouting to us, pushed off in
their kayaks ; but the fast sailing of our boats,
and our disinclination to sacrifice the favourable
wind, prevented any communication with them.
The weather was cold and dark, and heavy
masses of clouds were hurrying rapidly towards
the west. The mountains were almost hidden
from view; but ever and anon their snow-capped
summits glared portentously through the cloudy
canopy, whose vagueness strangely magnified
their height. We supped at Point Humphreys'
and proceeded on till midnight, when our career
was arrested, at some distance from land, by ice
adhering to Point Griffin, and extending in every
direction beyond the reach of vision. With con
siderable difficulty we reached the shore at 2 a.m.
of the 16th, and encamped.
It was high-water at noon, the rise being nine
and a half inches. This insignificant tide did us
good service, in opening a lane along the shore,
into which we immediately launched. It blew
freshly from the east, and we ran among the ice
at a great rate, keeping of course a sharp look
out in our bows. The narrow, crooked openings
drew us out two miles to seaward, and at length

118 ADVENTURES AMONG
terminated abruptly, leaving us completely em
bayed in the ice, which was driving rapidly west
ward. Our only resource was to gain the land,
which, after much shoving and cutting, we ef
fected at 5 p. m., near Point Manning. The reef
bore numerous recent foot-prints of Esquimaux,
probably bound on their annual westward jour
ney to Barter Island. We had in the course of
the afternoon seen several people on the shore,
but they did not venture off. The lofty peaks
of the Romanzoff Mountains seemed to look
scornfully down upon the little party that now
sat at their humble evening meal. Finding a
fine open space of water within the reef, we car
ried the boats and cargoes across it, and again
set sail. Steering outside of Barter Island, we
saw on its western extremity a single tent, the
inmates of which were asleep ; while a large dog
stood sentinel, but let us pass without alarming
his friends within. The wind increased as we
stood across Camden Bay.
We sailed without material interruption till
between 2 and 3 a. m. of the 17th, when a great
pack of ice, stretching out to seaward, obliged
us to put in near a considerable camp of the na
tives. These soon visited us, to the number of
twenty men, and twice as many women, lads, and
children. A place was assigned, and a fire made

ESQUIMAUX AND ICE. 119
for them, at the distance of fifty or sixty paces
from our tents. A friendly communication was
immediately opened, in which our vocabularies
were summoned to play their part, to the great
amazement of the savages, who declared that the
books spoke to us. A valuable selection of pre
sents was then distributed among them, consist
ing of axes, trenches, knives, files, and fire-steels,
to the men; awls, needles, rings, beads, and
scissors, to the women and children. We next
traded for a number of pairs of their waterproof
boots, sufficient for ourselves and the crews ; like
wise for a few of their lip ornaments, on which
they set a high value, demanding a dagger or a
hatchet for each pair. Those purchased by us
were formed of very large blue beads, glued on
to pieces of ivory. We did not observe that this
kind of labret constituted any distinction of rank,
as remarked by Captain Beechey. The rest were
made of ivory only, and the boys wore them of a
smaller size. Three of the men were remark
able for their good looks, and a stature of from
five feet ten to six feet. We asked their names,
and wrote them down as follows : Kenaweye-
wangha, Koowoknoo, Kooyouwok-chena. Upon
observing what we were about, all the men, and
two or three of the old women, came forward
to get their names similarly honoured ; at the

120 ADVENTURES AMONG
same time inquiring and then repeating ours.*
One of the Highlanders' Gaelic appellation, Eachin
(i. e. Hector), happening to resemble some word
in their own language, called forth bursts of mer
riment. At our request, they gave us a speci
men of their dances, accompanied by a some
what monotonous chorus ; and we could not help
admiring their activity in leaping from side to
side, when imitating their manner of avoiding
the weapons of their enemies. In return for this
exhibition, four of our men danced a Scottish
reel in very spirited style, with which the stran
gers were highly delighted. When the women
and children and some of the men had with
drawn, the remainder were permitted to come to
our fire, and to satiate their curiosity by exa
mining the boats and the tents. This went on
very well for a while, but indulgence rendered
them troublesome ; and one fellow, who had re
ceived an axe, seeing a bright tin bason at the
tent-door, took a fancy to it, threw down his
axe, snatched up the dish, and was making off
with it, when he was seized by Mr. Dease, and,
some of our people at the same moment shew
ing their arms, the Esquimaux retired with many
protestations of good-will. We had only, how-
* The Indian, on the contrary, like Ossian's heroes, scorns
to tell his name.

ESQUIMAUX AND ICE. 121
ever, enjoyed about two hours' repose, when they
returned; but the check they had received seemed
to have cemented our friendship. There were
but few cases of ophthalmia among these people.
Most of the women wore their hair in lofty top
knots, ' as described by Franklin ; and they car
ried their infants between their reindeer-skin
jackets and their naked backs. Some of them
had light-coloured eyes and complexions, which,
if cleansed from grease, might have passed for
fair in most parts of Europe. It was high-water
at 1 p. m., the rise of the tide being eleven inches.
The weather, which had been very foggy since
the preceding evening, now cleared a little ; and,
from an adjoining eminence, we fancied we could
discern open water some distance to seaward.
We made for it without delay, through a nar
row lane extending outwards, and soon reached
its termination. At the same time the ice closed
rapidly upon us, before a strong north-east wind.
We turned about, but it was too late. The
boats were repeatedly squeezed ; and mine, which
was foremost, was only saved from entire de
struction by throwing out everything it contained
upon the floating masses. By means of portages
made from one fragment to another, — the oars
forming the perilous bridges, — and after repeated
risks of boats, men, and baggage being separated

122 ADVENTURES AMONG
by the motion of the ice, we at length succeeded,
with infinite labour, in collecting our whole equi
page upon a small floe ; which, being partially
covered with water, formed a sort of wet-dock.
There we hauled up our little vessels, and, mo
mentarily liable as we were to be overwhelmed
by the turning over of our icy support, trusted to
a gracious Providence for the event. We were
three miles from the land ; the fog again settled
round us, and the night was very inclement.
At 4 next morning, finding that the gale
had abated, and the ice relaxed a little around
our hazardous position, we pushed for a lane of
water that appeared at a short distance to sea
ward. After a considerable circuit it fortunately
led to the shore, about a league to the eastward
of our former situation. There, at the foot of a
green hill, near a stream, we encamped to await
the chances of time and tide. The tracks of
reindeer in the vicinity were innumerable. It
was high-water at half-past 1, the tide having
risen ten and a half inches. The evening was
calm, with a dense fog and drizzling rain.
The 19th was dark and cold, the temperature
at noon rising no higher than 39°. We were
favoured with another visit from a party of our
Esquimaux neighbours, apprized of our return
by one of their hunters, who chanced to pass

ESQUIMAUX AND ICE. 123
near our camp. As a mark of confidence, they
laid down their bows and arrows, and long Rus
sian knives, as they approached us; but were
with difficulty prevented from encroaching on a
line of separation marked out upon the beach.
At their earnest desire we purchased a few
more articles from them. Their weapons are
the same as those often described by other tra
vellers : viz. two sorts of bows ; arrows pointed
with iron, flint, and bone, or blunt for birds ; a
dart with throwing-board for seals ; a spear
headed with iron or copper, the handle about six
feet long ; and formidable iron knives, equally
adapted for throwing, cutting, or stabbing. Two
irregular tides were this day observed : the
first, of six inches, at 1 in the morning; the
other, of eight, about 2 in the afternoon. In
both cases the flow appeared to come from the
westward. The weather cleared a little as it
grew late; and, for the first time since we
reached the coast, we had the pleasure of seeing
the sun at midnight, about twice his own dia
meter above the horizon. His level rays glanced
upon a watery space to seaward ; and, hailing the
glad prospect, we instantly embarked.
Favoured by a fresh easterly breeze, we round
ed the icy pack at the distance of about four
miles from the shore. The fog returned; but

124 ADVENTURES AMONG
we steered by compass for Flaxman Island, which
we reached at 5 A. m. on the 20th. In crossing
the mouth of Canning River, such was the
strength of the current it emitted that the boat
nearest the shore was turned almost round be
fore the steersman had time to be on his guard.
At the entrance of the bay which receives
Staines' River we could distinguish through the
haze a very large Esquimaux camp, being, in all
probability, the western traders, on their way to
meet the various parties we had passed. The
ice was closely packed on the north side of Flax-
man Island, but we passed unobserved by the
natives through the channel that divides it from
the mainland. Almost benumbed with cold, we
landed to breakfast near Point Bullen. The
weather again cleared up a little ; and Mount
Coplestone, the western termination of the Ro-
manzoff chain, appeared through its robe of
clouds. The ice became heavier as we advanced,
obliging us to keep within the Lion and Reliance
reefs ; and at 1 p. m. it entirely arrested our pro
gress in Foggy Island Bay. We had scarcely
landed, and secured the boats, when a violent
north-east gale commenced, overspreading the
sky with lurid clouds, and tossing the icy masses
like foam upon the waves. The atmosphere
cleared in the evening, but it continued to

ESQUIMAUX AND ICE. 125
blow with great fury. An immense herd of rein
deer had recently passed, and we saw fresh foot
prints of the natives in pursuit. The country
is a grassy flat, interspersed with little lakes
well stocked with wild fowl. As on the burning
sands of Egypt, the mirage sometimes converted
the whole plain into the semblance of one vast
sheet of water. The portion of the Rocky Moun
tains visible from the coast does not terminate,
as conjectured by Sir John Franklin, with the
Romanzoff chain. After a brief interval, another
chain commences, less lofty perhaps, but equally
picturesque ; which, in honour of the distinguish
ed officer whose discoveries we were following
up, we named the Franklin Range.
On the 21st the storm raged fiercely, but we
bore with patience the detention on witnessing
the havoc made among the landward ice. A few
miles out to sea, a continuous white line pro
claimed it still unbroken. The beach was strew
ed with sea-wrack, amongst which we picked
up some pieces of delicate branched sponge. An
incredible number of seals were seen on the
shores of this bay.
The gale continued during the 22nd, but with
less violence. The morning was darkened by
fog, and it was bitterly cold. At 7 we stood
out, under close-reefed sails, for Point Anxiety.

126 DISCOVERY OF
When we had neared it, by our reckoning, we
found ourselves barred from the land by a broad
stream of heavy ice, extending out to seaward,
and lashed by a strong swell. The fog was so
thick that we were in the danger ere we knew
of it, and my boat was driven against the ice.
With violent exertion she was fended off till
the sails filled, and away she dashed upon the
other tack. After a few hours' cruise and a
thorough drenching we made the shore in the
bottom of the bay, about three miles to the west
ward of our former position. At noon, the lat.
70° 9' 48" N., variation 45° E., were ascertained.
The longitude, reduced from Foggy Island, was
147° 30' W.
In the afternoon we enjoyed a distinct view
of the Franklin Mountains, extending from S. E.
to S.W. by S. (true), the central and highest
peak bearing S. by E. about twenty miles distant.
They were still partially covered with snow ; and
the whole range presents a precipitous front to
the coast. The storm again increased during
the evening, and the hardiest among us were
glad to assume the warm dresses provided against
a winter residence on the shores of the Polar
Sea. Sunday, 23rd. — The weather moderated as the
morning advanced, and at 10 we once more set

THE FRANKLIN MOUNTAINS. 127
sail for Point Anxiety. The ice again prevented
our approaching it, and let us far to seaward,
till, in passing Yarborough Inlet, the low coast
was only visible from the mast-head, distant
about six miles. The ice, to our great joy,
then turned abruptly in towards Return Reef,
which we reached at 9 in the evening. I may
here mention that our early arrival at the point
where our discoveries were to commence, is,
under Providence, mainly attributable to our
inflexible perseverance in doubling these great
icy packs, any of which might have confined us
a fortnight to the beach, had we chosen to wait
for its dispersion, or even till its extent could
have been ascertained. Our humble thanks were
offered to the Omnipotent Being whose arm had
guarded us thus far, and we fervently implored
a continuance of His gracious protection. Some
Esquimaux had been, not long before, engaged
in plundering the eggs of the ducks hatching
upon the reefs. After supper we resumed our
route, and the regular survey began.

128 DISCOVERIES FROM RETURN REEF

CHAPTER VI.
Discoveries on the Coast from Return Reef up to Boat
Extreme.
July 24th. — We coasted along Gwydyr Bay,
which proved less extensive than we supposed
on entering it. The extreme lowness of the
land on this part of the coast is very deceptive
to the eye when viewed from any distance, and
a highly refracting atmosphere increases the il
lusion. We applied the names of Point Back
and Point Beechey to the projections agreeing
nearest with the hummocks of land seen by
Franklin. I must, however, remark that the
bearings are different ; and that Point Beechey,
distant twelve miles* from Return Reef, is cer
tainly invisible from thence in any state of the
atmosphere. The whole bay is protected from
the sea by a chain of gravel reefs, on the out
side of which the ice lay hard aground. The
* All the coasting distances throughout the journal are
given in geographical miles.

TO BOAT EXTREME. 129
soundings within varied from a quarter to one
fathom — a sufficient depth of water for such light
craft as ours.
Opposite to Point Beechey, and at the dis
tance of a mile to seaward, the gravel reefs are
succeeded by a range of low islands, eight miles
in length, to which we attached the name of the
Rev. David T. Jones, the faithful and eloquent
minister at Red River. From Point Milne we en
joyed a transient prospect of another magnificent
mountain range, about fifty miles to the west
ward. In honour of the public-spirited Governor
of the Hudson's Bay Company, this chain was
called Pelly's Mountains. The coast from Point
Beechey has a westerly trending, for twelve
miles, to Point Berens, so named after one of
the Company's Directors ; which proved to be the
commencement of a very extensive bay, the land
from thence turning off to the south-west. Coast
ing along it for eight miles, the beach preserved
the same low character, consisting of mud and
gravel ; the soundings nowhere exceeding seven
or eight feet on a bottom of gravel and sand.
At length, at 9 a. m., the water shoaled to from
one to two feet, and, after seeking in vain for
a deeper channel, we were obliged to stand out
to sea. We, however, had the satisfaction of
tracing the land to the bottom of the bay, into
K

130 DISCOVERIES FROM RETURN REEF
which a very large river falls; for the water,
even at the distance of three leagues to seaward,
was perfectly fresh. We called it Colvile River,
as a mark of our respect for Andrew Colvile,
Esquire, of the Hudson's Bay Company. The
wind now freshened, and with it came a dense
cold fog that immediately concealed the land.
We had great difficulty in extricating ourselves
from the shallows formed by the alluvial deposits
of the Colvile ; and, after steering fourteen miles
north and north-west, till we approached the
edge of the ice, found only seven feet water.
We then tacked, and steered south-west ; in which
direction a stretch of sixteen miles brought us
near to, but not within view of, the shore. We
followed along it for four miles, keeping close
in among the shoals ; the water still quite fresh.
Tired of such tedious progress, and being utter
ly unable to distinguish the beach, though we
reckoned it to be no more than half a mile
distant, we again stood out, for seventeen miles,
to the north and north-west ; the greatest depth
during this run being one and a half fathoms, and
the water salt. The wind had now veered to the
northward, driving the ice down upon us; we
had not seen land since the morning, and were
quite uncertain what direction it might take.
We steered westward at a venture, and, after

TO BOAT EXTREME. 131
sailing five miles, at length made the shore at
midnight. It was with difficulty we found a
landing-place on a large fragment of ice, upon
which the boats were hauled up. Having fasted
for twenty-five hours, and being moreover be
numbed with cold, it will readily be believed
that we eagerly set about collecting wood and
making a fire to cook our supper, to which, of
course, we did ample justice. In gratitude for
these seasonable enjoyments, this spot was de
nominated Point Comfort. Most of the party
had caught severe colds from the constant ex
posure and unhealthy fogs ; and all would have
been incapacitated for wading through the ice-
cold water, had it not been for the seal-skin boots
procured from the Esquimaux — an invaluable
acquisition on such service. Tracks of deer, and
of a man and dog, were fresh upon the beach.
During the whole of the 25th it blew strongly
from the north-east ; which being right a-head,
with the flats around us, and a dense fog shroud
ing everything, we were unable to quit our po^
.sitiom. That was now bleak and cheerless, the
thermometer standing ait the freezing point, and
little or no wood to be found. I took advan
tage of a few glimpses of sunshine to obtain
the lat. 70° 43' N., long. 152° 14' W., variation
43° 8.^' E. It was most satisfactory to find, that
K 2

132 DISCOVERIES FROM RETURN REEF
in one extraordinary run we had thus made good
three degrees, twenty-two minutes, of westing,
or nearly half the distance between Return Reef
and Point Barrow. I ought here to remark, that
we were not provided by the Company with chro
nometers, but that the want was efficiently sup
plied by a very valuable watch, generously lent
to the expedition by Chief Factor Smith. While
in search of wood, a mile or two from the en
campment, some of our people had another view
of Pelly's Mountains, now south-east of us, and
not more than twenty miles distant. The in
tervening country consists of plains clothed with
very short grass and moss, the favourite pasture
of the reindeer, of which some large herds were
seen. The immediate coast-line is formed of
frozen mud-banks, from ten to fifteen feet high.
About a mile to the northward we discovered
another splendid river, flowing from the south
west, and named it after Nicholas Garry, Esquire,
whose name has long been associated with Arctic
research. It was high-water on the 26th at 6 in the
morning; the wind having raised the tide about
two feet, which enabled us safely to cross the
shoals. The weather had become clear and in
tolerably cold. We found the mouth of the
Garry one mile wide, and its banks thickly co-

TO BOAT EXTREME. 133
vered with drift timber, evidently brought down
by the stream. Though now full tide, the water
tasted fresh for several miles. From thence the
land trended north-east, for eight miles, to a
small island, separated from the mainland by
a channel too shallow for boats. This island ap
peared to be a favourite resort of the natives
in the spring, for we found a spot where baidars
had been built, and picked up an antler cut
asunder with a saw. There is little question
but these were some of the people whose camp
we saw on the 20th near Flaxman Island. The
lat. 70° 47' 45" N., long. 151° 55' 30" W.,
were here observed ; and this remarkable point
was named Cape Halkett, in compliment to one
of the Company's Directors. It terminates the
great bay, which, from Point Berens, is forty-
three geographical, or fifty statute miles, in
breadth. On this spacious basin, which receives
the waters of two noble rivers, we conferred the
name of Harrison Bay, in honour of the Deputy
Governor of the Company, whose attention has
long been sedulously directed to the moral and
religious improvement of the natives of the In
dian country. From Cape Halkett the coast
resumes its westerly trending, and for fifteen
miles presents to the eye nought but a succession
of low banks of frozen mud. The substratum

134 DISCOVERIES FROM RETURN REEF
consists of a yellow clay, thinly covered with
vegetable soil, which nourishes short grass and
a variety of mosses. Many reindeer were seen
as we coasted along. These swift-footed crea
tures came to the bank in small herds, gazed
at us for a moment, and then bounded out of
sight. We could not spare time for the chase.
The ice was very heavy all along this part of
the coast, and but very recently detached from
the beach. We made tolerable progress through
the narrow and intricate channels, the soundings
averaging one fathom, on a sandy bottom. After
rounding a point, distinguished by the name of
the Right Honourable Edward Ellice, the mud-
banks are succeeded by gravel reefs ; which, at
a short distance, are intersected by the mouths
of a considerable river, named after William
Smith, Esquire, Secretary to the Hudson's Bay
Company. For ten miles the external line is
formed by these reefs, on which large mounds
of mud and shingle have been raised by the
tremendous pressure of the ice. Several shal
low channels appeared within, but they were not
navigable. Point Pitt, the northernmost spot passed during
this day's march, is situated in lat. 70° 53', long.
152° 54'. A few miles on either side of it,
we observed a stream of discoloured fresh water

TO BOAT EXTREME. 135
rushing through the reefs, probably from a con
siderable lake, but the atmosphere was too hazy
for ascertaining the fact. At the last of these
streams the mud-banks recommenced. The
water becoming much shallower, with numerous
sunken masses of ice, we were obliged to stand
out from the shore. A fog-bank, looking at
first very like land, now came driving on us be
fore a strong northeast wind. After sailing some
distance to seaward, we found ourselves em
bayed in the ice ; and, on wearing round, one of
the rudders gave way. The weather was dark,
stormy, and so cold that the boats were in-
crusted with ice. We, however, espaped from
this dangerous situation without further damage ;
and after a hard tug at the oars, in the teeth of
the wind, we effected a landing at midnight on
one of the numerous blocks of ice adhering to
the shore. The men had to search for wood a
good way off, and while so employed fell in with
a herd of deer ; but, though our three best marks
men started in pursuit, they returned in the
morning without success.
27th. — On examining the vicinity, we disco
vered a large reindeer pound, simply contrived
with double rows of turf set up to represent
men, and inclosing a space of ground lower than
the rest. The inclosure was two miles broad at

136 DISCOVERIES FROM RETURN REEF
the beach, and narrowed towards a lake of some
extent, where the unsuspecting animals are sur
rounded and speared in the water. On the
shore were the remains of an Esquimaux camp.
The earth was impenetrably frozen at the depth
of four inches, so that our tent-pegs could not
be driven home. Even this miserable soil pro
duced a few flowers, but nothing new to add to
our collection ; and, since entering on new ground,
not a rock in situ, or even a boulder-stone, had
yet been found. The point of our encampment
was about twenty feet high ; and across the deer-
pound, at the distance of four miles, the land
formed another point of equal elevation. These
two points we named after Messrs. A. R. M'Leod
and M. M'Pherson, two gentlemen to whose
good offices the expedition is under great obli
gations. About noon we observed, with plea
sure, the ice beginning to open, and at 2
discovered a narrow lane of water leading out
from the land, and apparently turning again in
wards a few miles farther on. It blew a cutting:
blast from the north-east, and the spray froze
upon the oars and rigging. Yet were we now
in the midst of the Dog-days, that pre-eminent
season of sunshine and beauty in more favoured
lands ! Having made our way, with consider
able risk, amongst the ice, for seven miles, we

TO BOAT EXTREME. 137
reached a point, named after Richard Drew,
Esquire, of the Hudson's Bay Company, where
the land turned suddenly off at a right angle to
the southward. We now found ourselves in a
large and very shallow bay, which we had much
pleasure in naming after our worthy friend Chief
Factor Smith, to whose unwearied aid in pre
paring the expedition for sea we were so deeply
indebted. Near the middle of this bay a con
cealed reef ran far out, upon which lay a stream
of floating ice, lashed by the breakers. We were
at the same time partially enveloped in fog,
but after an hour of hazardous labour we forced
our way through the narrowest part of the bar
rier. Though the boats received repeated con
cussions, and took in much water among the
surf, we were delighted to find that, after baling,
they continued perfectly tight. We now made
the best of our way, north-west and north, through
the flats, sailing, poling, or pulling, in the verge
of the ice, as wind and water served. Though
we kept a vigilant look-out, my boat struck its
stem forcibly against a piece of ice, the shock
starting the iron fastenings of the foremast thaft,
fortunately without doing any other injury. Far
ther out in the bay the ice lay smooth and solid,
as in the depth of a sunless winter. So un
broken was its appearance, that some among

138 DISCOVERIES FROM RETURN REEF
the party longed for horses and carioles, to drive
at once to Point Barrow ! Upon the flat shore
were seen countless herds of deer. At length,
at midnight, as we drew near a sharp projecting
point, the crews declared that it was covered
with white tents ; which, upon a closer approach,
proved to be a cluster of tall icebergs, towering
over the point on the northern side. A dense wet
fog setting in, we encamped on the extremity
of this well-defined point, which, as a testimony
of sincere respect and regard for the able and
indefatigable Governor of all the Company's
territories, we named Cape George Simpson. It
is situated in lat. 70° 59' N, long. 154° 21' W.,
and bore traces of Esquimaux.
High-water took place at 10 a.m. on the 28th,
the rise of the tide being ten inches. It widened
the narrow passage between the icebergs and the
shore, and enabled us to double the cape ; but we
had only proceeded between two and three miles
when our further progress was arrested by an
impenetrable body of ice, extending, as we found
in the course of the day, all along the coast.
We were, therefore, compelled once more to
encamp. The ground was spongy and wet ; the
fog had turned into sleet; and the few pieces
of pine and poplar we collected were saturated
with the salt-water. These uncomfortable cir

TO BOAT EXTREME. 139
cumstances greatly aggravated the sore-throats
and severe colds with which most of the party
were afflicted. We had spared no pains to pro
vide for the health of our people. Each boat's
crew was furnished with a tent and oilcloth ; and
the men were strictly enjoined to carry with
them to the sea a sufficiency of blankets and
warm clothing to protect them even amidst the
rigours of a Polar winter, which, happily, we
were not doomed to sustain on this desolate and
inhospitable coast.
The fog and cold continued next day. Nu
merous flocks of white-backed ducks flew near
the shore, on their autumnal migration to the
westward. A few of us took our station upon
hummocks of ice, and shot above a hundred of
these large birds. They formed an acceptable
change of diet, being fat, and good eating, though
rather oily. At various times we saw along the
coast, but in comparatively small numbers,
Canada, laughing, and Hutchin's* geese, large
dun-coloured ducks, golden and red-breasted
plovers, boatswains, gulls, northern divers, snow
buntings, and ptarmigan. The claw of a middle-
sized Polar bear was here picked up ; likewise
* Called " braillards" by the voyageurs, from their com
plaining cry.

140 DISCOVERIES FROM RETURN REEF
some small scattered pieces of light-coloured
granite, blueish-green slate, and red sand-stone.
Sunday, 30th. — At mid-day the temperature
rose as high as 46°, and the fog partially cleared
off for about three hours. This interval was em
ployed in astronomical observations, which placed
our encampment in lat. 71° 1' 44" N., long.
154° 22' 53" W., variation 42° 36' 18" E. Little
or no change was perceptible in the ice. Just at
midnight the opaque misty veil was drawn aside,
as if by magic, and revealed to view a party-
coloured sky in the north, richly illuminated by
the rays of the sun, now almost touching the
horizon. The effect was as beautiful as novel to
us; but it was evanescent, and only served to
aggravate the deep and settled gloom which
soon involved that bright vision and everything
besides. The ice appearing somewhat loosened on the
morning of the 31st, we embarked at 9, and
forced our way through the crowded masses for
about two miles, with serious risk to the boats.
In this sort of progress, to which we so frequently
had recourse, it must be understood that, except
the bowman or steersman, all the crew were out
upon the ice, with poles, pushing aside and fend
ing off the successive fragments. The advance
thus effected was always slow, painful, and pre-

TO BOAT EXTREME. 141
carious ; and we considered ourselves particularly
fortunate whenever we found a natural channel
through the ice wide enough to admit our little
boats. These narrow channels were generally
very crooked ; and, when carrying sail, it required
the utmost tact on the part of the steersman,
aided by the look-out in the bows, and men on
either side standing ready with poles, to avoid
the innumerable floating rocks — if I may use the
expression — that endangered this intricate navi
gation. Again were we stopped, and compelled
to encamp.
From the extreme coldness of the weather, and
the interminable ice, the farther advance of our
boats appeared hopeless. In four days we had
only made good as many miles ; and, in the event
of a late return to the Mackenzie, we had every
reason to apprehend being set fast in Bear Lake
River, or, at least, at Fort Franklin, which would
have been ruinous to our future plans. I there
fore lost no time in imparting to Mr. Dease my
desire of exploring the remainder of the coast to
Point Barrow on foot. In order to secure the
safe retreat of the party, he handsomely con
sented to remain with the boats ; and, as Point
Barrow was still distant only two degrees of lon
gitude, ten or twelve days were considered suffi
cient for my return, making every allowance for

142 DISCOVERIES TO BOAT EXTREME.
bays, inlets, and other irregularities of the coast.
The men having, to "their credit, unanimously
volunteered to accompany me, I selected five,
M'Kay, Taylor, Morrison, Felix, and Morin, who
were directed to hold themselves in readiness the
following morning.

143

CHAPTER VII.

Journey on foot, and in an Esquimaux canoe, to Point
Barrow. — Conduct of the Natives.

August 1st. — My little party quitted Boat
Extreme on foot at 8 a.m. Our provisions con
sisted of pemican and flour ; besides which, each
man carried his blanket, spare shoes, gun, and
ammunition. A single kettle and a couple of
axes sufficed for us all ; and a few trinkets were
added for the natives. I carried a sextant and
artificial horizon ; and one man was charged with
a canvass canoe, stretched on its. wooden frame,
which proved not the least important part of our
arrangements. The whole amounted to forty or
fifty pounds per man — about a quarter of the
weight carried by the voyageurs across the portages
of the interior. The day was dark and dismal in
the extreme, a cutting north wind bearing on its
wings a fog that hid every object at the distance
of a hundred yards. We were, therefore, under
the necessity of closely following the coast-line,

144 JOURNEY TO POINT BARROW.
which much increased the distance and fatigue.
The land is very low, and intersected by innu
merable salt creeks. In fording these we were
constantly wet to the waist, and the water was
dreadfully cold. We crossed a strong deep river,
and a shallow inlet, half a mile broad, in our
portable canoe, which transported us all at two
trips. The former was subsequently ascertained
by Sinclair, after whom I called it, to issue from
a large brackish body of water about five miles
from our ferry. The latter, to which I gave the
name of our other guide, M'Kay, receives a
stream at no great distance from where we
crossed it, for its waters flowed gently towards
the sea, and were nearly fresh. Our route was
tortuous in the extreme, and we had ascended
M'Kay's inlet for several miles before we could
distinguish the opposite shore. We passed
during the day many large Esquimaux sledges,
exceedingly well put together, and stoutly shod
with horn. These vehicles were, in all proba
bility, left here by the people of the great camp
at Staines' River, on their eastward journey, to
be resumed on their return when winter sets in.
We also saw innumerable tracks of reindeer, and
the trail of two hunters. Several Canada geese,
with their young brood, ran across our path, but I
did not allow them to be fired at. The snow

JOURNEY TO POINT BARROW. 145
geese (anser hyperboreus) do not appear to fre
quent this coast, being replaced by the large
white-backed ducks already mentioned. The
former retire, in the autumn, south and south
east, by Athabasca and Hudson's Bay; the
latter direct their flight towards Behring's Strait.
Having accomplished twenty miles at 7 p.m., we
found a grassy plat, with a few pieces of wood.
Little or none of that essential article had been
seen during the day, this part of the coast being
shut out from the action of the sea by a chain of
reefs. Here then we encamped, half-congealed
by the cold wet fog and wind, which incrusted
our clothes with hoar-frost and ice, as in the
severity of winter. Unfortunately, the spot
where we halted was wet beneath the deceitful
surface ; and, being quite exposed to the weather,
we passed a miserable night.
When our march was resumed next morning,
the weather had sensibly improved. A dull rain
bow spanned the wet fog, which soon cleared off,
and we enjoyed some hours of pleasant sunshine.
The land, which so far had led north-westerly,
soon turned sharply off to S.S.W., forming an
acute angle, well termed Point Tangent. The
gravel reefs here separate from the muddy beach,
and stretch, as I found on our return, in a direct
line of eleven miles to Boat Extreme, enclosing L

146 JOURNEY TO POINT BARROW.
the singularly shaped bay, of which we had now
completed the tedious circuit, and on which I
conferred the appropriate title of Fatigue Bay.
After turning Point Tangent, I obtained a meri
dian altitude of the sun, which determined the
latitude to be 71° 9' 45" N. ; longitude, by the
reckoning, 154° 52' W. We immediately after
traversed an inlet, a quarter of a mile wide, in our
portable canoe. On the bank three Arctic foxes
were sporting, and allowed us to approach pretty
near before they ran into their holes. We, saw
many tracks of reindeer, still pursued by the two
hunters, who had very lately been successful,
for we found the remains of a fire, beside which
lay the head and antlers of a deer. After tra
velling about ten miles, and wading through
many a salt creek, the waters of which were at
the freezing temperature, the, land, to our dis
may, turned off to the eastward of south, and a
boundless inlet lay before us. Almost at the
same instant, to our inexpressible joy, we descried
four Esquimaux tents, at no great distance, with
figures running about. We immediately directed
our steps towards them ; but, on our approach,
the women and children threw themselves into
their canoes, and pushed off from the shore. I
shouted " Kabloonan teyma Inueet," meaning,
" We are white men, friendly to the Esquimaux ;"

CONDUCT OF THE NATIVES. 147
upon which glad news the whole party hurried
ashore, and almost overpowered us with caresses.
The men were absent, hunting, with the ex
ception of one infirm individual, who, sitting
under a reversed canoe, was tranquilly engaged
in weaving a fine whalebone net. Being unable
to make his escape with the rest, he was in an
agony of fear ; and, when I first went up to him,
with impotent hand he made a thrust at me with
his long knife. He was, however, soon convinced
of our good intentions ; and his first request was
for tobacco, of which we found men, women, and
even children inordinately fond. This taste they
have, of course, acquired in their indirect inter
course with the Russians ; for the Esquimaux we
had last parted with were ignorant of the luxury.
Our new friends forthwith brought us some fresh
venison; and, concluding, not without reason,
that we were very hungry, they presented, as a
particular delicacy, a savoury dish of choice
pieces steeped in seal-oil. Great was their sur
prise when we declined their favourite mess ; and
their curiosity in scrutinizing the dress, persons,
and complexions of the first white men they had
ever beheld, seemed insatiable. They shewed us,
with evident satisfaction, their winter store of oil,
secured in seal-skin bags buried in the frozen earth.
Some of their reindeer robes, ivory dishes, and
L %

148 JOURNEY TO POINT BARROW.
other trifles were purchased ; and I exchanged
the tin pan, which constituted my whole table
service, for a platter made out of a mammoth
tusk ! This relic of an antediluvian world con
tained my two daily messes of pemican through
out the remainder of the journey. It is seven
inches long, four wide, and two deep ; and is ex
actly similar to one figured by Captain Beechey
at Escholtz Bay, only the handle is broken off.
Confidence being now fully established, I told
them that I required one of their oomiaks, or
large family canoes, to take us two or three days'
journey — or sleeps, as they term it — to the west
ward ; after which we should return. These skin
boats float in half a foot of water. No ice was
visible from the tents ; and, from the trending of
the coast, it was more than doubtful that our
journey could have been accomplished in any
reasonable time on foot. They acceded to my
demand, without a scruple. We selected the
best of three oomiaks ; obtained four of their
slender oars, which they used as tent-poles, be
sides a couple of paddles ; fitted the oars with
lashings ; and arranged our strange vessel so well
that the ladies were in raptures, declaring us to
be genuine Esquimaux, and not poor white men.
Whilst my companions were thus employed, I
procured, from the most intelligent of the wo-

CONDUCT OF THE NATIVES. 149
men, a sketch of the inlet before us, and of the
coast to the westward, as far as her knowledge
extended. She represented the inlet as very
deep ; that they make many encampments in
travelling round it ; but that it receives no river.
She also drew a bay of some size to the west
ward ; and the old man added a long and very
narrow projection, covered with tents, which I
could not doubt to mean Point Barrow. The
first and only rock seen in the whole extent of
our discoveries — an angular mass of dark-coloured
granite— lay off the point without the tents. We
were just embarking when the hunters arrived.
After exchanging a brief greeting, we gave each
a piece of tobacco, distributed some rings and
beads among the women and children, and took
our departure. Scarcely had we left the shore
when a strong north-east wind sprung up from
seaward, bringing back the cold dense fog. We
could not see a hundred yards ahead, but steered
due west, by compass, across the inlet, which at
this narrowest part proved to be five miles wide.
I had much gratification in naming it Dease
Inlet, as a mark of true esteem for my worthy
colleague. The waves ran high on the passage,
but our new craft surmounted them with won
derful buoyancy. The coast we attained was
from ten to fifteen feet high, and the ground was

150 JOURNEY TO POINT BARROW.
solidly frozen within two inches of the surface.
Not a morsel of drift wood was to be found in
this land of desolation ; but we followed the
example of the natives, and made our tiny fire
of the roots of the dwarf willow, between three
upright pieces of turf. Our oomiak turned to
windward, and propped up with the paddles,
formed a good shelter; and under it we stowed
ourselves snugly away for the night.
The weather clearing a little, we set off at 8 a.m.
on the 3rd. We found the ice close-jammed along
the shore, which ran out for five miles to the north
ward. The wind blew bitterly from the east ; and,
as we had to weather the pack, we were exposed
to a heavy breaking swell, which soon drenched us
to the skin, and, notwithstanding the admirable
qualities of our boat, half filled it with water.
Halting to bale out the intrusive element in the
lee of a mass of ice, we found, to our surprise, that
the muddy bottom was still impenetrably frozen.
We breakfasted at the northern point of land, on
a gravel reef, where some drift wood had been
washed up. Here I obtained an observation,
placing us in lat. 71° 12' 36" N. ; long., by ac
count, 155° 18' W. It afforded me unfeigned
pleasure to call this point after Chief Factor
Christie, a warm personal friend, and also a
zealous promoter of the interests of the expe-

CONDUCT OF THE NATIVES. 151
dition. Lofty icebergs appeared to seaward;
dark-coloured seals were sporting among the
masses in-shore ; and one of those gelatinous sub
stances called by sailors " sea-blubber" was, for the
first time, seen floating in Dease Inlet. From
Point Christie the low coast, consisting of mud
and sand, with a facing of ice, again turns west
ward for eight miles. We proceeded through
the shallow openings between the detached ice
and the shore, passing Point Charles and Point
Rowand, and crossing Ross Bay, so named in
compliment to three valued friends, partners in
the fur trade. A dense fog again enshrouded
us ; and, on doubling Point Rowand, an opening,
of which we could not discover the extent, led
away to the southward. I therefore put ashore
at 5 p. m. to sup, and examine the country.
The soil consisted of hard dry clay, bearing
patches of very short grass, and imbedding some
splinters of granite, slate, and sand-stone. Of
these I gathered specimens ; but they were un
luckily lost, together with a collection of pebbles
from Point Barrow, through the ignorance of my
men in emptying the canoe on our return. In
about two hours a bright opening appeared in
the east, which speedily extended athwart the
heavens ; and at length the sun shone out with
cheerful radiance, dispelling the detestable fogs,

152 JOURNEY TO POINT BARROW.
and restoring us to the light of day. I now dis
covered that we were in the mouth of a semi
circular bay, four miles in diameter, which I
named after Chief Factor Roderick Mackenzie.
It was soon traversed ; and its depth midway was
found to be one and a half fathoms, on a sandy
bottom. The coast then trended W.N.W., ex
hibiting a dismal succession of frozen mud-banks,
varying from ten to fifteen feet high. We had
not gone far when we came to a compact body
of ice, extending beyond the reach of vision.
Carrying our light vessel across a corner of this
barrier, we pursued our way through the little
channels between it and the shore. It was now
calm ; the ducks flew westward in immensely
long files, and young ice had formed on every
open space, — a timely warning to travellers who
adventure far into these regions of frost. But
we were fast approaching the goal that was to
crown our enterprise, and disregarded all impedi
ments. Seven miles beyond Point Scott we
crossed the mouth of a fine deep river, a quarter
of a mile wide, which I called the Bellevue.
Landing beyond it I saw, with indescribable
emotions, Point Barrow, stretching out to the
northward, and enclosing Elson Bay, near the
bottom of which we now were.
The sun was just reappearing, a little before

CONDUCT OF THE NATIVES. 153
1 in the morning of the 4th, when this joy
ful sight met my eyes. His early rays decked
the clouds in splendour as I poured forth my
grateful orisons to the Father of Light, who had
guided our steps securely through every difficulty
and danger. We had now only to pass Elson Bay,
which is for the most part shallow. It was co
vered with a tough coat of young ice, through
which we broke a passage ; and then forced our
way amid a heavy pack, nearly half a mile broad,
that rested upon the shore. On reaching it, and
seeing the ocean spreading far and wide to the
south-west, we unfurled our flag, and with three
enthusiastic cheers took possession of our disco
veries in his Majesty's name.
Point Barrow is a long low spit, composed of
gravel and coarse sand, forced up by the pres
sure of the ice into numerous mounds, that,
viewed from a distance, might be mistaken for
gigantic boulders. At the spot where we landed
it is only a quarter of a mile across, but is con
siderably wider towards its termination, where it
subsides into a reef running for some distance
in an easterly direction, and partly covered by
the sea. One of the first objects that presented
itself, on looking around, was an immense ce
metery. There the miserable remnants of hu
manity lay on the ground, in the seal-skin dresses

154 JOURNEY TO POINT BARROW.
worn while alive. A few were covered with an
old sledge or some pieces of wood, but far the
greater number were entirely exposed to the vo
racity of dogs and wild animals. The bodies here
lay with the heads turned north-east, towards the
extremity of the point ; and many of them ap
peared so fresh, that my followers caught the
alarm that the cholera or some other dire dis
ease was raging among the Esquimaux. We
had landed half-way between a winter village
and a summer camp of these people, situated
about three miles asunder; and, as it was very
early in the morning, they were, perhaps, roused
from their slumbers by our shouts when the Bri
tish standard was first planted on their shores.
It will be remembered by those conversant in
northern voyages, that, in August 1826, Mr. El
son, who commanded the Blossom's barge, judged
it imprudent, from the hostile demeanour of the
natives, to land on this point, and that his obser
vations were taken on an iceberg near the shore.
On the present occasion, whether from astonish
ment or suspicion, none of the Esquimaux ven
tured towards us. Trusting to the superiority of
our arms, and the effect of a frank and confident
bearing, I resolved to anticipate the meeting.
The yourls near the extremity of the point ap
peared very numerous, but I could not, through

CONDUCT OF THE NATIVES. 155
the hazy atmosphere, discover whether they were
inhabited ; I therefore proceeded towards the tents
on the other side, leaving a sentinel at our canoe?
with orders to suffer no one to approach it. To
prevent surprise, we marched along the highest
shingle ridge ; and, on drawing near the tents,
could see the men, armed with bows and arrows,
conceal themselves behind the mounds already
described. As soon as we got within hearing, I
stepped forward, and called out that our visit was
a friendly one ; upon which our antagonists im
mediately started up, and advanced to meet us
with loud acclamations. We were not, however,
either upon this or any other occasion, favoured
with the kooniks or nose-rubbing salutations,
that have so annoyed other travellers. The
women and children now issued from their tents,
and a brisk traffic opened ; but, as I felt anxious
about our canoe, I signified my intention of im
mediately returning to the landing-place. The
whole party accompanied us; their patriarch
headed the grotesque procession, carrying our
flag upon a long fish-spear ; and every article
we had purchased found a willing bearer. We
had scarcely established a boundary line on the
beach, when the inhabitants of the other village,
who had been watching our motions, swelled the
throng, and welcomed us with an equal show of

156 JOURNEY TO POINT BARROW.
pleasure. I explained how we happened to be in
possession of a vessel so familiar to them ; and I
believe that its evident emptiness rendered them
much less troublesome than they would have
been had our riches appeared greater. All were
eager to trade; and we were soon loaded with
seal-skin boots, kamleikas, or water-proof shirts,*
weapons, and gimcracks, some of which had
figures of marine animals rudely carved in ivory.
But what most attracted our curiosity was an
ingenious and novel contrivance for capturing
wild fowl. It consists of six or eight small per
forated ivory balls, attached separately to cords
of sinew three feet long ; the ends of which being-
tied together, an expanding or radiating sling
is thus framed, which, dexterously thrown at
the birds as they fly past, entangles and brings
them to the ground. During our stay we re
peatedly saw these simple inventions effectively
used. I likewise remarked some ponds on the
point, set round with whalebone nooses, to en
snare the fowl when they come to peck the fine
gravel carefully exposed to attract them. The
grand article in demand here was tobacco, which,
as in Dease Inlet, they call tawac, or tawacah, a
name acquired of course from the Russian traders.
Not content with chewing and smoking it, they
* Made of the entrails of seals, &c.

CONDUCT OF THE NATIVES. 157
swallowed the fumes till they became sick, and
seemed to revel in a momentary intoxication.
Beads, rings, buttons, fire-steels, everything we
had, were regarded as inferior to tobacco, a sin
gle inch of which was an acceptable equivalent
for the most valuable article they possessed.
When in the course of this barter some of the
younger people became forward and troublesome,
the seniors more than once restrained them; using
an expression which, to our ears, sounded exactly
like the French words " C'est assez," and which,
like tawac, they may also have borrowed from
the Russians. Meanwhile the old flag-bearer,
whom my fellows nicknamed Mallette, paraded
a roll of raw meat, fashioned like a huge sausage,
severing therefrom sundry slices, or rather junks,
which he imparted most liberally to every one
who chose to partake of his good cheer! The
whole band were well clothed in seal and rein
deer skins. All the men wore labrets, and the
tonsure on the crown of the head was universal
among both men and boys. The women had
their chins tattooed, but did not display the pre
posterous topknots of hair so fashionable to the
eastward. There was nothing else, either in
their manners or habits, remarked as differing
from the well-known characteristics of the tribe.
I could not learn whether there had been any

158 JOURNEY TO POINT BARROW.
unusual mortality among them, and am of opi
nion that the concourse of natives who inhabit
Point Barrow at all seasons, together with the
frigid climate, sufficiently accounts for the num
ber and appearance of the remains already no
ticed. When the means of buyers and sellers
were at length exhausted, some of the women
and girls ranged themselves in a circle, to gra
tify us with an exhibition of their national
dances. Each of the damsels successively figured
in the midst ; while the remainder, joining hands,
danced round her and sung in unison, some of
their airs being by no means unmusical. The
lady in the centre who performed most extrava
gantly elicited the highest applause ; and one
bold dame imitated, with great success, the vio
lent gestures of the men when encountering
their enemies, or when engaged in mortal com
bat with the monsters of the deep. As they
waxed warm in this exercise, the whole of the
fair dancers doffed their upper garments, retain
ing only their deer-skin breeches, and thus disen
cumbered these land mermaids renewed their
amusement. While all were thus pleasantly oc
cupied, I walked across the point, to obtain the
requisite bearings. The day was unusually fine.
To the northward a multitude of icebergs co
vered the ocean, in the east nothing but ice was

CONDUCT OF THE NATIVES. 159
visible, but on the western side a broad lane of
water stretched away towards Cape Smyth. So
inviting was the prospect in that direction, that
I would not have hesitated a moment to pro
secute the voyage to Behring's Strait, and the
Russian settlements, in my skin canoe. I could
scarcely, in fact, suppress an indefinite feeling of
regret that all was already done.
That eloquent and philosophical historian, Doc
tor Robertson, has all but demonstrated that
America was first peopled from Asia by Beh
ring's Strait. The Esquimaux inhabiting all
the Arctic shores of America have doubtless ori
ginally spread from Greenland, which was peopled
from northern Europe ; but their neighbours,
the Loucheux of Mackenzie River, have a clear
tradition that their ancestors migrated from the
westward, and crossed an arm of the sea. The
language of the latter is entirely different from
that of the other known tribes who possess the
vast region to the northward of a line drawn
from Churchill, on Hudson's Bay, across the
Rocky Mountains, to New Caledonia. These,
comprehending the Chipewyans, the Copper In
dians, the Beaver Indians of Peace River, the
Dog-ribs and Hare Indians of Mackenzie River
and Great Bear Lake, the Thcecanies, Nahanies,
and Dahadinnehs of the Mountains, and the

160 JOURNEY TO POINT BARROW.
Carriers of New Caeldonia, all speak dialects
of the same original tongue. Next to them suc
ceed the Crees, speaking another distinct lan
guage, and occupying another great section of
the continent, extending from Lesser Slave
Lake through the woody country on the north
side of the Saskatchewan River, by Lake Wi-
nipeg to York Factory, and from thence round
the shores of Hudson and James bays. South
of the fiftieth parallel, the circles of affinity con
tract, but are still easily traced. The Carriers
of New Caledonia, like the people of Hindostan,
used till lately to burn their dead ; a ceremony
in which the widow of the deceased, though not
sacrificed as in the latter country, was compelled
to continue beating with her hands upon the
breast of the corpse while it slowly consumed
on the funeral pile, in which cruel duty she was
often severely scorched .*
My old banner-man informed me that whales
were, in some seasons, seen without the point,
* Instead of being burnt, the New Caledonian widow (till
the custom was abolished by the Company) was obliged to
serve, as a slave, the relatives of her deceased husband for
a term of one, two, or three years, during which she wore round
her neck a small bag containing part of the bones or ashes
of her former husband : at the end of the allotted term a feast
was made, and she was declared at liberty to cast off her
weeds and wed again.

CONDUCT OF THE NATIVES. 161
and troops of seals were now sporting amongst
the ice. The Esquimaux of Point Barrow have
unquestionably an indirect trade with the Rus
sians, whom they call " Noonatagmun." The
old man readily took charge of, and promised
to convey, a letter which I addressed to them,
or to any other whites on the western coast,
containing a brief notice of the success of
the expedition ; and I made him a small pre
sent to confirm his seeming good-will. We had
no other means of marking our visit, the coast
being destitute of wood or stone for the con
struction of a pillar on the shifting gravel ; not
to mention the inutility, perhaps danger, of the
attempt, in the presence of more than a hundred
savages, whose apparent friendship was, I be
lieve, greatly owing to our being never off our
guard. The configuration of Point Barrow af
forded me a decisive opportunity of ascertaining
the direction of the flood and ebb tides. Both
were equally strong : the former coming from
the south-west, and sweeping round the point;
the latter retiring in the reverse direction. When
we arrived, the morning tide had just turned,
and the fall was fourteen inches. The moon
being then three days old, the time of high-
water at full and change will be noon. The af
ternoon tide was still rising when we took our
M

162 JOURNEY TO POINT BARROW.
departure at 1 p.m., and I could not help re
marking that the velocity of both ebb and flow
was far greater than the inconsiderable rise and
fall would have led me to expect. I likewise
obtained astronomical observations, which de
termine the position of our landing-place to be
71° 23' 33" north lat., 156° 20' 0" west long.
Our Esquimaux friends assisted in gathering
some chips of wood to cook our breakfast, and
stood amazed at seeing me light a piece of touch
wood with a burning-glass. Their own clumsy
method of producing fire is by friction, with two
pieces of dry wood in the manner of a drill.
They seemed astonished when I used the sextant,
but their wonder changed into terror on my ap
plying the watch to their ears. They certainly
took it for a " tornga," or familiar spirit, holding
some sort of mysterious communication with my
" speaking book." They were very solicitous for
a few grains of shot, which they suspended round
their necks as an amulet; and they held our
fire-arms in great respect. We were neverthe
less obliged to keep a strict watch over our
things; and, when about to embark, our paddles
were missing. As these implements were es
sential to us, and could be of little value to the
thieves, I insisted upon their being restored.
After some hesitation, one of the men, stepping

CONDUCT OF THE NATIVES. 163
aside, laughingly dug them out of the sand ;
and we bade them farewell. No sooner had we
pushed off, than the men crowded together, as
if to hold a consultation. Their countenances
grew dark; and they called out to us to keep
along shore, towards the extremity of the point.
This could only have been intended to deceive,
for we were at the very narrowest part of the
icy bar, where alone it was practicable to reach
open water. We therefore disregarded their in
sidious advice, recollecting the warning of the
Loucheux ; and, if evil was meant, were soon out
of their power. With great labour, and some
damage to our canoe, we forced our way again
through and over the heavy pack of ice, which
had considerably increased in breadth. Then, re-
crossing Elson Bay, we continued on through
the narrow channels leading along the shore, till,
on rounding Point Rose, the ice became so closely
locked that farther progress was impossible, and
we encamped to enjoy some rest, having had
none the previous night, The evening was calm
and fine, but new ice formed on the beach.
5th. — An easterly wind most seasonably loosen
ed the pack of ice this morning ; and, taking an
early breakfast, we re-embarked. The day was
clear and serene ; and I took advantage of it, as
we coasted back, to correct the bearings of the
M 2

164 JOURNEY TO POINT BARROW.
land, which had been obscured by fog on the
outward journey. The reindeer seemed ani
mated by the unwonted fineness of the weather,
and were grazing in great numbers near the
shore. In Dease Inlet three noble bucks stood
so nigh the bank, that I landed with Taylor to
get a shot. The deer could not see us ; but we
had not crawled far towards them, when, warned
by their acute sense of smell, they tossed up
their antlers, whose tips guided our approach,
and started off as if impelled by wings across
the plain. The ebbing tide ran strongly out of
the inlet as we traversed it in the evening. The
depth midway was two fathoms, on a bottom
of mud. Our Esquimaux friends seemed over
joyed at our return, and would fain have de
tained us all night: but, not choosing to lose
the fine weather, I told them we must be off
immediately ; and, as we still stood in need of
their valuable canoe, I invited some of the men
to accompany us to Boat Extreme, where they
should be liberally recompensed. Four of them
accordingly embarked in their kayaks ; of whose
speed, with their mode of shooting their arrows
and darting their lances, they gave us an ample
exhibition. We ourselves struck up some French
and Highland boat-songs, which probably for
the first time resounded from an Esquimaux

CONDUCT OF THE NATIVES. 165
baidar, and undoubtedly for the first time as
sailed the ears of our auditory. These evinced
their love of harmony, indifferent as it was, by
instantly relinquishing their sports, bending their
heads down to the water, and beating on their
breasts, whilst their little sparkling eyes shewed
the gratification they felt. The Loucheux pos
sess the same sensibility, and have often en
treated Mr. Dease to entertain them with his
violin. The morose Chipewyans, on the other
hand, seemed almost devoid of this taste, and
their only attempts at singing are borrowed from
the Crees. We landed for supper beside a brook
of fresh water ; a very unfrequent object on this
frozen, mud-walled coast, where our drink was
usually drawn from the icebergs. Our savage
companions were in high spirits, and repeated
to me a number of their words, most of which
correspond with those given in the journal of
Sir Edward Parry's second voyage, or vary only
in the termination ; but a few are entirely dif
ferent. The sun set at a quarter to 11.
Sunday, 6th. — Our route was resumed a few
minutes after midnight, much against the in
clination of the Esquimaux, who wanted to sleep.
At Point Tangent we found two other lodges,
which had sprung up since we passed on foot.
The inmates had evidently been at our boats,

166 JOURNEY TO POINT BARROW.
for they wore some of our cast-away moccassins.
Our escort here declined going any farther, and
demanded an axe for their canoe, the very price
paid for one by Mr. Elson on the other side
of Point Barrow. I immediately gave them one
of our axes, together with all the tobacco we
had left ; and my bowman was in the act of
shoving off, when the strangers, nine in number,
seized the canoe, with the intention of dragging
it ashore. On my pointing my gun at them they
desisted ; but quick as thought they snatched their
bows and quivers, expecting to take us by sur
prise. When, however, they saw the whole
crew ready for the combat, they lowered their
tone of defiance ; and I remarked with a smile,
that, as sometimes happens in more civilized
communities, the most blustering, turbulent fel
low was the first to shew the white feather.
The rascal's copper physiognomy fairly blanched,
and his trembling hand refused to lay the " cloth-
yard shaft " to the bowstring, . as the others had
done. When the threatened fray was blown
over, I explained, as well I could, to the ag
gressors, that the visit and intentions of the
whites were altogether friendly ; but we parted
in mutual distrust. We followed the outside
of the reefs enclosing Fatigue Bay. - They are
intersected by several broad deep channels, that

CONDUCT OF THE NATIVES. 167
allow egress to the waters of the rivers and
creeks crossed on our outward journey. The
tide being in, we found a sufficient passage for
our small vessel between the reefs and the heavy
ice. The morning was bright and lovely, and
the rapid dash of our light oars proved that we
felt its exhilarating influence. At 5 a.m. we
aroused our still slumbering comrades at Boat
Extreme, and received their warm congratula
tions on the early and successful termination of
our discoveries. I now learned from Mr. Dease
that the natives at the last tents had left him
two days before ; and, on departing, had helped
themselves to some silver tea-spoons, and one
or two other articles, out of his travelling-case,
while he lay asleep in his tent. Their dread of
pursuit or punishment must therefore have been
the cause of their dissuading our four compa
nions from proceeding farther, and of their united
attempt upon our canoe, which so nearly led to
a fatal conflict. This was the only successful
theft that occurred on the whole voyage. Mr.
Dease had observed a pretty regular semi-diurnal
tide, which rose on an average fifteen inches,
and came along the reefs from the north-west.
This coincides with my own remarks at Point
Barrow, except that there the tide flows from
the south-west, because such is the trending of

168 JOURNEY TO POINT BARROW.
the land to Behring's Straits. There can, there
fore, remain no doubt that this western part of
the Arctic Sea receives its tides from the Pacific.
I obtained astronomical observations, placing
Boat Extreme in lat. 71° 3' 24" N., long. 154°
26' 30" W. ; and it gave me peculiar pleasure
to find that, since the 30th July, notwithstand
ing all the walking and exposure, my excellent
watch had altered only one and a half seconds
from mean time. As we no longer required the
canoe, which had rendered us such inestimable
service, it was laid up securely on the beach for
its former owners, who, we were certain, would
before long repair to our deserted encampment.

169

CHAPTER VIII.
Return of the Expedition from Boat Extreme to the Macken
zie. — Ascent of that river. — Boisterous passage of Great
Bear Lake. — Arrival at Winter-quarters.
August 6. — Shortly after noon, the expedi
tion, now happily reunited, commenced its return
to Mackenzie River. Being favoured by a light
wind, and a comparatively clear sea, we steered
straight across Smith Bay. In Boat Creek, be
hind Point M'Pherson, which we entered to sup,
we found abundance of drift wood and traces of
Esquimaux. Re-embarking, we continued our
course all night, under easy sail, along the land.
At 11 next day we reached Cape Halkett,
where we breakfasted, and halted for some time.
The weather was unsettled, and several smart
showers of rain fell. The wind was light, and
now right ahead for crossing Harrison Bay,
which, however, we resolved to attempt. After
proceeding eleven miles in a direct course for
Point Berens, the rapid driving of the clouds
seemed to indicate an approaching gale off the

170 RETURN FROM BOAT EXTREME
land. We were at this time " spelling it," as
voyageurs say, under the lee of an iceberg close
to the great body of the ice. The depth here
was three fathoms, on sand; being the greatest
met with in the whole range of our western dis
coveries. To avoid the risk of being blown too
far out, we shaped our course more into the
bay, and had scarcely got sight of the land,
whose continuity I was now fully able to trace,
when a westerly gale sprang up, before which we
ran all night under close-reefed sails. The boats
shipped a great deal of water, particularly in
crossing the flats off Colvile River, but proved
themselves worthy of our good opinion ; and,
drenched and shivering though we were, all hands
were overjoyed in the prospect of a rapid return.
I must not omit to mention, that, during this
stormy run, we fell in with a small island, about a
league from the main shore, and not seen on the
outward voyage. On landing upon it, we found
numerous vestiges of Esquimaux, and a quantity
of drift wood brought down by the Colvile, from
which it is twelve miles distant. The water be
tween Esquimaux Island, as it was called, and
the mainland, was fresh. The actual mouth of
the Colvile appeared fully two miles wide; and
with such force does its powerful stream issue,
that Mr. Dease's boat, in crossing it, four miles

TO THE MACKENZIE RIVER. 171
out in the bay, became almost unmanageable.
From these circumstances, and its relative po
sition to Return Reef, it is evident that this is
the opening described to Augustus, Sir John
Franklin's interpreter, by his countrymen in
1826, and of which Franklin himself remarks,
" I am inclined to think that it is the estuary
of a large river, flowing to the west of the Rocky
Mountains, obstructed by sandbanks, like the
mouth of the Mackenzie." This is another proof
of the accurate information to be obtained from
the Esquimaux ; and we could only regret that
we were precluded, by the want of an interpreter,
from acquiring some knowledge of the internal
communication between Harrison Bay and Cook's
Inlet, which the Colvile probably affords.
The party with whom we spent some time in
Camden Bay were in possession of iron kettles,
which they said they procured from the west
ward for two skins of the wolverene or glutton.
Captain Beechey's officers saw only copper kettles
beyond Point Barrow, where the trade is proba
bly conducted in a different manner. The Col
vile separates the Franklin and Pelly Mountains,
the last seen by us ; and probably flows in a long
course through a rich fur country, and unknown
tribes, on the west side of the grand Rocky
Mountain chain, the melting of whose accumu-

172 RETURN FROM BOAT EXTREME
lated snows causes the extraordinary increase and
agitation of the waters spoken of by the Esqui
maux. It was a subject of unavailing regret
that the great distance of our wintering ground
rendered it impossible to spare a few days for
the examination of this interesting and magnifi
cent stream. Mr. Robert Campbell has been
lately employed by the Company — as successor
to that enterprising traveller, Chief Trader John
M'Leod, — to establish a post among the stupen
dous fastnesses of the Rocky Mountains, on the
sources of the impetuous Liard River, in lat. 57°
or 58°, and to explore the streams flowing thence
towards the Pacific. This young and active tra
veller met, on the banks of a river called the
Stikine, discovered by his predecessor in 1834,
a great concourse of Nahanie Indians assembled
round a party of Russians. The latter ascend
the river in boats to a cataract far within the
British lines, at the foot of which there is a
splendid salmon fishery. There were a number
of men, commanded by four ragged, drunken
officers, who spoke a few broken words of Eng
lish. Campbell afterwards received accounts from
the natives of a much larger river, that also
takes its rise on the west side of the mountains
in a great lake to the northward of the Stikine.
From the description I sent him of the Colvile,

TO THE MACKENZIE RIVER. 173
he thinks that it must be the same ; an opinion
which corroborates my own preconceived ideas.
Should this conjecture prove correct, this river
traverses, in its course to the Frozen Ocean,
about twenty degrees of longitude and more than
twelve of latitude ; and the distance of its mouth
from its source exceeds one thousand English
miles.* After clearing Harrison Bay, the violence of
the gale increased. Under treble-reefed sails, and
* Subsequently to this (in April 1839), Campbell's post
was plundered and destroyed by a band of about a hundred
Nahanies, who, painted in the most horrid manner, and utter
ing frightful yells, fired into the houses, and would have in
stantly massacred Campbell and his comrades, already greatly
reduced by starvation, had not the grand chieftainess inter
posed to save their lives ; but, with a refinement in ferocity,
these savages would not permit a few friendly Indians to relieve
their famine. Three men perished ; and, after incredible suf
ferings, Campbell, with the few survivors, escaped to Fort
Halkett, several hundred miles down the river. An arrange
ment entered into by Governor Simpson with Baron Wrangel,
to lease the whole Russian line of American coast as far
north as Cape Spencer, will, it is to be hoped, prevent a repe
tition of such dreadful scenes as the above, which there is too
much reason to suspect was instigated by the jealousy of the
Russian traders on the Stikine. All the principal men among
the Nahanies have a number of slaves, who act as beasts of
burden, and are treated by their inhuman masters in the most
brutal manner. The new arrangement will, I have no doubt,
effect a gradual improvement in the condition of these un
happy beings.

174 RETURN FROM BOAT EXTREME
protected by Jones Islands, our little vessels flew
through the foaming waves, which often broke
over them from stem to stern. At 3 P. M. on the
8th we saw Return Reef, and ran safely into a
cove scooped out by a small river in the contigu
ous mainland. The wind shifted to the north
west, and blew intensely cold. A large herd of
deer appeared in the vicinity of our encampment,
and one of our half-breed lads, enveloped in a
deer-skin robe, approached close to them, but
from over-eagerness missed his mark. In the
evening a little fawn came to the tents, and was
suffered to retreat unmolested ; an incident that
furnished a name for the streamlet.
9th. — With the morning the weather mitigated,
the sun shone out, and the cargoes were exposed
to dry. Some good observations were obtained,
which placed Fawn River in lat. 70° 25' 3" N.,
long. 148° 24' 45" W. Return Reef bore E. N. E.
about two miles distant. From this it would
appear that my latitude agrees exactly with Sir
John Franklin's, but that the" longitude is about
half a degree or ten miles more to the east; a
difference for which I am at a loss to account,
as the longitudes of my extreme points of com
parison — Tent Island, at the mouth of the Mac
kenzie, and Point Barrow, — perfectly correspond
with the prior determinations of Franklin and

TO THE MACKENZIE RIVER. 175
Elson. We resumed our route early in the after
noon ; and, it having fallen nearly calm, we made
slow progress compared with yesterday's boiste
rous career. The reefs were denuded of the ice
from which we had incurred so many risks be
fore ; and the water on the shallows was but
slightly brackish, in consequence either of the
melting of so large a body of ice, or, what is
more probable, from the influx of a river of some
magnitude in Yarborough Inlet. At a quarter
to 10, just as the sun was sinking below the
horizon, we landed near Point Anxiety. Nu
merous boulders of granite strewed the beach.
On the level of the plain the ground was rent
into enormous fissures by the frost, and large
portions of the banks seemed to be constantly
falling into the sea and adding to the shallows.
Two large buck deer galloped past us, looking
in the twilight, with their huge antlers, like gob
lin huntsmen on horseback. A westerly breeze
opportunely springing up, we set our sails, and
pursued our voyage all night.
10th. — The wind increased, and we ran along
rapidly; passing outside the Lion and Reliance
Reefs, and inside of Flaxman Island, where we
again encountered the ice. At 11 we landed
to breakfast on a reef opposite Mount Cople-
stone, where the lat. 70° 9' 8" was observed.

176 RETURN FROM BOAT EXTREME
The Romanzoff Mountains were visible in all
their grandeur, the loftier peaks being freshly
wrapped in snow. We next shaped our course
across Camden Bay, steering among the ice under
reefed foresails only, till we had passed the scene
of our former adventures, when, finding a clearer
sea, we set the mainsails, and scudded along at
the rate of seven knots an hour. The wind still
augmented, a sprinkling of snow fell, and it was
bitterly cold. The setting sun glared through
angry clouds as we landed on Barter Island,
where we regaled ourselves before immense fires
of drift timber. Before midnight we re-embark
ed, and, steering within the reefs for some time,
enjoyed a smooth run.
We had no sooner lost the shelter of the reefs
than we became exposed to a huge rolling sea,
and, as we shot from the crests of the waves into
the trough beneath, the gallant little consorts
fairly lost sight of each other, till they rose again
bounding over the billows.
At 7 in the morning of the 11th we reached
Beaufort Bay, where we regained the protec
tion of the seaward ice. It was piercingly cold ;
the water froze in the kegs ; several light snow-
showers fell, and the British range of mountains
had assumed the livery of another winter. We
passed a small camp of Esquimaux without no-

TO THE MACKENZIE RIVER. 177
ticing the signals they made us from the tops
of their wooden huts ; but, while at breakfast at
Demarcation Point, five of the men joined us.
After advancing about two hours longer, a heavy
body of ice, which came driving eastward with
great velocity, made us seek the shore and en
camp. I strolled for several miles upon the
grassy plains stretching to the base of the moun
tains, but saw no objects of natural history worth
collecting, except some great snowy owls, that,
perched with half-closed eyes upon little knolls,
were too wary to allow of my approach within
gunshot. After some time, the men we had seen
at Demarcation Point, and several others, among
whom were our handsome acquaintances of Cam
den Bay, arrived with their families, and, pitch
ing their tents near us, pestered us as usual
with their trade. We learned from them that
they had concluded their barter with the West
ern Esquimaux and Mountain Indians; and they
shewed us the iron kettles, knives, and other
things obtained through these channels from
the distant Kabloonan, or white men. They
knew at once that we had been among the far
west Esquimaux from the boots we wore, which
were of a wider and clumsier shape than their
own. It is easy to account for not meeting on
our return with the people of the large camp
N

178 RETURN FROM BOAT EXTREME
in Staines' River, as we travelled during the
night, and often out of sight of land, and they
were perhaps dispersed along the lakes and in
lets, to hunt the reindeer, after ending the trade
with their eastern brethren. In the evening the
Esquimaux had a leaping-match with our people,
in which one of the former bore away the palm.
A guard was set during the night. It was high-
water about 4 o'clock, both p. m. and a. m. ; rise
of the tide six inches.
The wind having fallen and the ice relaxed
in the forenoon of the 12th, we pushed out
through it to gain clear water. The day was
bright and fine. The mountains stood forth
in all the rugged boldness of their outline, dis
playing their naked rocky peaks and steep de
scents with such marvellous distinctness that they
seemed to touch the coast of which they form
the bulwarks. The swell being with us, as long
as the calm continued we made some progress
with the oars ; but a northerly breeze springing
up raised such a cross sea that we were in
imminent danger of foundering, when we pro
videntially discovered an opening through the
ice, leading into the mouth of a small stream —
between Backhouse and Malcolm rivers — flow
ing from an inner basin, where we found a se
cure and pleasant harbour. It was now 3 p. m.;

TO THE MACKENZIE RIVER. 179
and, incited by the beauty of the weather, I
ascended the nearest hill, six or seven miles dis
tant, whence I enjoyed a truly sublime prospect.
On either hand arose the British and Buckland
Mountains, exhibiting an infinite diversity of
shade and form; in front lay the blue boundless
ocean strongly contrasted with its broad glittering
girdle of ice ; beneath yawned ravines a thou
sand feet in depth, through which brawled and
sparkled the clear alpine streams ; while the sun,
still high in the west, shed his softened beams
through a rich veil of saffron-coloured clouds
that overcanopied the gorgeous scene. Bands of
reindeer, browsing on the rich pasture in the
valleys and along the brooks, imparted life and
animation to the picture. Reluctantly I returned
to the camp at sunset.
We were detained next day by the ice and
a contrary wind. The latitude 69° 35' 29" was
observed, and the thermometer rose to 48°. The
sun set brightly at a quarter past 9.
The 14th was likewise fine, but the east-wind
blew too strongly, and the ice was in too violent
motion for the prosecution of our voyage. We
made the most of the detention by rambling
about the skirt of the mountains, where two fine
does were shot ; and I almost envied the Indians
and Esquimaux, who, dispersed along the rivers
N 2

180 RETURN FROM BOAT EXTREME
and in the valleys, were now enjoying the brief
season with that zest which perfect freedom
alone can give. A few stars were visible to
night ; the aurora also made its first appearance.
15th. — The wind fell, and at 5 a. m. we em
barked. It was one of those glorious mornings
whose enlivening power all nature acknowledges.
A copious dew had fallen, the air breathed
light and balmy, and the deer bounded across
the plains. As we advanced, the mirage played
some strange antics on the water, which it
elevated on the north and west sides into the
similitude of two highly inclined planes, gar
nished with innumerable icebergs, apparently
ready to topple over upon us as we rowed
through this mimic valley.
The high land of Herschel Island assumed
distorted and varying shapes, and it was not
till 5 in the afternoon that we reached the
strait separating it from the main shore. After
passing this channel, we encountered a rolling
swell that much retarded our progress. A good
many natives were seen as we coasted along,
some of whom came alongside, welcomed us
back from afar (awank), inquired about the
last camps of their countrymen we had seen,
and were no less delighted than astonished when
we read the names of some of them from our

TO THE MACKENZIE RIVER. 181
note-books. At 10 p. m. the moon, now at the
full, and seen for the first time since our leav
ing Athabasca, arose, and, after lowly circling
over the eminences next the coast, set again
long before the reappearance of the sun.
At 1 next morning we reached Point Stokes,
where we supped, and were soon visited by the
women and junior branches of several Esqui
maux families, who told us that the men were
all hunting in the interior. We asked one or
two of the young lads to accompany us, with
a view of training them as interpreters for the
eastern voyage; but they peremptorily refused.
Resuming our route, we at 6 reached Point
Kay, where we halted till the afternoon to
rest and refresh our wearied men. During this
i nterval the thermometer ascended to 54°, and
a sea-bath was a real luxury.
Several native families visited us. They con
firmed what the remarkable clearness of the
atmosphere had discovered to us ; that the Bab-
bage is at this time of year an insignificant
stream, but swells into a torrent in the spring
when the mountain snows dissolve. This great
reduction in the volume of water discharged
into the sea accounts for the fact, that some
deep channels in the reefs, through which our
boats entered on the outward voyage, were

182 RETURN FROM BOAT EXTREME
now completely filled up. Among the gravel
two pieces of pitch-coal were found. One of
the young half-breeds killed a brace of ducks
at a shot, much to the amazement of the Es
quimaux, who begged for the birds as a great
curiosity. As the twilight drew on, numerous
fires blazed along the beach, round which groups
of natives were collected, many of whom came
off to us. Near Point King we had eleven
fathoms' water, with a clear sandy bottom, and
four small whales were seen in the offing. At
midnight we once more landed on Shingle Point,
where we were much harassed, during the few
hours we stayed, by a large and motley party
of Esquimaux. While the men slept in the
boats, Mr. Dease and I kept guard on the beach,
but had the utmost difficulty in preventing pil
fering, though we had made our unwelcome
visitants the usual presents. One hideous dwarf
ish creature was particularly troublesome, and, in
spite of our precautions, a frying-pan was miss
ing out of the bow of my boat in the morn
ing. Upon my demanding restitution, the of
fender was pointed out; and I was in the act
of going up to him, when he drew his long
knife upon me, and at the same moment M'Kay
called out that one of his accomplices was bend
ing his bow to transfix me through the back.

TO THE MACKENZIE RIVER. 183
I turned round in time to prevent the treach
erous design, and, as our people were prepared
to support us, the Esquimaux were glad to
submit; and an old man produced the bone of
contention from under a pile of drift wood.*
I may here remark, that, except at Point Bar
row, we invariably found the arrogance of the
natives to increase in due proportion with their
numbers. The moderation and forbearance of
the whites are, in their savage minds, ascribed
to weakness or pusillanimity; while the fierce
ness of the Loucheux and Mountain Indians
inspires terror. Notwithstanding the deceitful
good-humour of the Esquimaux, I have no
hesitation in asserting, that, were they in pos
session of fire-arms, it would require a stronger
force than ours to navigate their coasts.
We gladly re-embarked at 5 in the morning
of the 17th. The weather was delightful, but
the wind adverse, and our progress consequently
slow. The hills still clothed in verdure charmed
the eye, and indicated our near approach to the
milder climate of the Mackenzie. After several
hours' labour in passing the flats of Shoalwater
Bay, with the ebbing evening tide, we entered
* M'Kay afterwards told me that he thrice had his finger
on the trigger of his gun, to be beforehand with the fellow who
was taking aim at me behind.

184 RETURN FROM BOAT EXTREME
the western mouth of the river, and there en
camped. With the telescope we discovered that
the village on Tent Island was abandoned ; from
which we inferred that a narration about guns
and cutting of throats, with which some of the
Esquimaux had entertained us as we came along
to-day, referred to an actual or apprehended at
tack of the Loucheux to avenge their slaugh
tered friends, and not to a scheme of the Moun
tain Indians to waylay us, as we at the time
imagined. I here had the satisfaction of obtain
ing a set of lunar distances, which gave for the
longitude 136° 36' 45" W. ; the latitude, by the
moon's meridian altitude, being 68° 49' 23" N.
The longitudes assigned to the various points in
our discoveries have been corrected and reduced
back from hence by the watch ; and the results
are highly satisfactory, our expeditious return in
thirteen days from Point Barrow yielding in
deed little scope for error. Mr. Dease and I
watched while the men slept. The night was
serene, and not a sound broke upon the solemn
stillness, save the occasional notes of swans and
geese calling to their mates, and the early crow
ing of the willow partridge, as the soft twilight
melted into the blush of dawn.
Our ascent of the Mackenzie was performed
almost exclusively by towing, at the rate of from

TO THE MACKENZIE RIVER. 185
thirty to forty miles a day. The crews were
divided into two parties, who relieved each other
every hour, and were thus spared all unnecessary
fatigue. The weather continued calm and fine;
the sultry heats of the short summer were past ;
the nights were cool, and no musquitoes dis
turbed our rest, or assailed us in our woodland
rambles. The waters were considerably abated,
and large portions of the high mud-banks, un
dermined by their action, were constantly tum
bling down, with a crash that, in the silence of
evening, was heard for miles.
Up to Point Separation, where we encamped
on the 21st, moose-deer were numerous, for
there were neither Esquimaux nor Indians to
disturb their favourite haunts. Next day we fell
in with several parties of Loucheux, whose un
obtrusive manners were pleasingly contrasted
with the importunate and annoying behaviour of
the Esquimaux. We were glad to learn that
their tribe had had no hostile meeting with the
latter during our absence, In the evening there
arose a sudden storm of wind and rain. During
the two following days we continued to meet
the Loucheux, on their return from Fort Good
Hope. The women, children, and baggage
were descending the stream, on rafts formed of
two large logs joined by a cross bar thus, A .

186 ASCENT OF
On the fore part rested a raised platform, where
the passengers sat; and the men escorted these
primitive vessels in their bark canoes, which,
when they choose, are conveniently secured be
tween the projecting arms of the after-part of
the rafts. Among these people was the lame
man whom Franklin saw in Peel River. From
the course of the latter stream through the rich
beaver country that borders on the mountains,
it appeared to us well worthy of the Company's
attention, and was three years after settled by
Mr. Bell.
The sun disappeared on the 23rd for about
eight hours, a rapid change from constant day !
On the 24th we encamped a mile above old
Fort Good Hope, on the opposite side of the
river, under a high cliff of crumbling slaty rock,
strongly impregnated with iron, and containing a
great deal of sulphur. There was some thunder
with lightning and rain during the night. The
navigation became more obstructed by shoals and
sandbanks as we ascended. One of the boats
struck, and half filled with water, which caused
the loss of part of a day to dry the soaked cargo
and repair the damage. We saw a good many
Hare Indians, who supplied us with fresh fish ;
and a couple of Loucheux, on their way to Fort

THE MACKENZIE RIVER. 187
Good Hope, kept company with us for two days,
at the end of which they fell behind, being un
able to bear the fatigue of our long hours — from
4 in the morning to 8 or 9 at night.
On the evening of the 26th there was a bril
liant display of the aurora, which our Loucheux
companions called " saung." Ursa major they
denominated " eutyse," and told us that its Esqui
maux appellation is " bellic." They mimicked
the manners and address of that race to the life.
Upon the beach was found the body of a female
child about five years old, who, we afterwards
learned, had been abandoned by the outer Hare
Indians. The poor child had lost both parents,
and, having no other relatives to take care of it,
was cruelly left to its fate. Our chancing to pass
beyond the limit of the traders' travels disclosed
a circumstance which these people thought would
have remained secret ; for they have been so
severely taken to task by the Company's officers
for similar acts of barbarity, that they are now
comparatively rare, and in general carefully con
cealed. The practice of mothers casting away
their own female children, which is common at
this day in China, Madagascar, Hindostan, and
other countries more blessed by nature than
Mackenzie River, was frequent here, as it was in

188 ASCENT OF
all parts of America before the settlement of the
whites, and is still among a tribe far to the
westward of Fort Norman, who only descend for
a short time from their mountains every second
or third year, and have therefore not become
humanized by intercourse with the establish
ments.* Yet why should we judge harshly of these
poor people? Let the philanthropist weigh the
following passage in Gibbon, before the savages
of the New World are pronounced a reproach
to the human species : " The exposition of chil
dren was the prevailing and stubborn vice of
antiquity. It was sometimes proscribed, often
permitted, almost always practised with impunity
by the nations who never entertained the Ro
man ideas of paternal power ; and the dramatic
poets, who appeal to the human heart, repre
sent with indifference a popular custom which
was palliated by the motives of oeconomy and
compassion." And immediately afterwards : " The
* In a conversation with the Dog-ribs, we afterwards
learned that these Mountain Indians are cannibals, and, im
mediately upon any scarcity arising, cast lots for victims.
Their fierce manners have been circumstantially described by
an old man, who, while yet a stripling, fled from the tribe,
and joined himself to the Dog-ribs, in consequence of his find
ing his mother, on his return from a successful day's hunting,
employed in roasting the body of her own child, his youngest
brother.

THE MACKENZIE RIVER. 189
lessons of jurisprudence and Christianity had
been insufficient to eradicate this inhuman prac
tice, till their gentle influence was fortified by
the terrors of capital punishment." * The candid
inquirer will also do well to reflect what would
probably have been the fate of many of the
youthful inmates of the European Foundling
Hospitals, had such institutions been unknown.
And when he considers, moreover, that these
last are generally the offspring of guilt, the pride
of national superiority ought to die within him.
Though the Company's posts in the Mackenzie
River can barely subsist, the officers do all in
their power to maintain poor objects and for
saken children. Were they to give unlimited
indulgence to the natives, half the population
would be left on their hands, general starvation
must ensue, and the surviving whites would have
to abandon the country. The following are Sir
John Franklin's remarks on this painful subject :
" Infanticide is mentioned by Hearne as a com"
mon crime amongst the Northern Indians, but
this was the first instance that came under our
notice, and I understand it is now very rare
amongst the Chipewyan tribes ; an improvement
* " Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," vol. viii.
page 56.

190 ASCENT OF
in their moral character which may be fairly at
tributed to the influence of the traders resident
among them." *
At 9 in the morning of the 28th we reach
ed Fort Good Hope, where we found Mr. Bell
and all the inmates well, but labouring under a
scarcity of provisions occasioned by the failure of
their summer fishery. We had our wet pemi
can bags immediately ripped up and laid out to
dry, for even the dogs reject this invaluable ali
ment when it has become mouldy.
On the 29th there fell some light showers,
but the weather continued mild, the temperature
being steady at about 60°. Several Loucheux
brought in furs to trade, and were very anxious
to obtain, in exchange, the shells called " eyea-
quaws," a sort of cowries, which in the Columbia
and New Caledonia form the native currency.
This foolish fancy originated in their having seen
some of these shells with one of the half-breed
women ; and the use to which they intended to
apply them was to thrust them through the septum
of the nose — an ornament of a very grotesque de
scription. These people prefer such trivial ar
ticles to the cloth and blankets with which the
stores are furnished. Their real wants being
limited to arms, ammunition, kettles, ironwork,
* Second Expedition, page 64.

THE MACKENZIE RIVER. 191
and cutlery, their furs are cheaply purchased.
The spoils of the moose and reindeer furnish
them with meat, clothing, and tents.* This day
was allowed our men for rest, and in the even
ing they celebrated their return from the sea
by a dance.
Having completed our arrangements, we took
our departure the following afternoon ; our party
being now increased by Mr. Dease's wife, niece,
and grand-daughter. The weather was occasion
ally cloudy, with some smart showers of rain,
while the loftier mountains appeared newly co
vered with snow.
On the evening of tjhe 3rd September we
crossed the confluence of ihe transpare^waters
of Bear Lake River, and encamped on its
southern side. Here we deposited our cargoes,
and placed them under the charge of two men,
with the intention of proceeding unencumber
ed to Fort Norman, there to meet our outfit and
despatches. A meridian altitude of a Aquilae
placed us in lat. 64° 54' 48" N.
4th. — A cold frosty night was succeeded by a
lovely day. We took an early breakfast at the
burning banks, and lighted our fire with coals of
* They are more stationary in winter than other tribes ;
and their dwellings are partly under ground, like those of the
Samoides of Northern Siberia.

192 ASCENT OF
nature's kindling. In the woods that crown this
vast hot-bed we found a great profusion of very
fine raspberries and gooseberries, which afforded
us a rich treat. The beautiful river and mountain
scenery of this part of the Mackenzie is already
well-known, and at this period the many-tinted
foliage of autumn highly embellished the prospect.
In the afternoon a very large black bear made
his appearance on the opposite side of the river.
After reconnoitering us for a while, with a look of
great stupidity, he took the water. Sinclair and
I then ran to the end of the island, along which
we were tracking, in order to shoot him as he
landed ; but, on seeing us, he sheered out again,
and the signal was given to M'Kay, who imme
diately pursued with his boat, and dispatched him
in the stream. His flesh proved excellent. At
6 p.m. we reached Fort Norman, to the utter
amazement of the person in charge, who imagined
us still on the coast. The boats from Portage la
Loche, carrying the goods and provisions for our
second campaign, — if I may be allowed the
term, — were not yet arrived, but made their
appearance on the 8th, when we had the happi
ness to receive tidings from many dear and dis
tant friends. The season had now fairly broken
up, and on tfie 9th it rained very heavily. We
closed our despatches to the Company, and got

THE MACKENZIE RIVER. 193
everything in readiness for our departure to
winter-quarters. The 10th was ushered in by a severe snow
storm and hard frost. At 7 in the morning our
express, carried by Taylor and young Wentzel
in a small canoe, started for Fort Resolution, and
at the same moment we set out for Great Bear
Lake. So strongly did it blow from the north
ward, that we had to tow the boats down the
current ; and it was late when we reached Bear
Lake River. For the three following days we
continued ascending its clear and rapid stream.
Everything wore a wintry aspect ; a good deal of
snow fell, large masses of old ice lay undissolved
on the beach, and the still parts of the river
were newly frozen over.
On the 12th we saw some Hare Indians below
the rapids. The path there led along the almost
perpendicular face of loose rocky cliffs, and often
on the edge of the rapids, where a single false
step would have been fatal. It was the most
dangerous tracking I had yet seen ; but we all
passed without accident. Indeed, throughout
the fur countries, since the introduction of boats,
deaths by drowning are of rare occurrence :
during the old canoe system they were but too
frequent; though I question whether they ever
equalled the proportion of casualties among
o

194 BOISTEROUS PASSAGE
sailors, fishermen, Canada raftsmen, and various
other hazardous professions.
On the 13th we encamped within eight miles
of Great Bear Lake. When we came in view of
that magnificent sheet of water the following
morning, it was violently agitated by an easterly
wind. It occupied us two hours to reach the
ruins of Fort Franklin ; and, after a cold ducking
from the waves, we found a snug harbour in the
" little lake," where the officers of the former
expedition made their experiments in acoustics.
The bateaux, which had been despatched ahead
from Fort Norman, were waiting for us here, and
we encamped together. Several nets were set,
with which we soon drew a good supply of trout,
pike, white-fish, grayling, inconnu, and salmon-
herring. In the evening I obtained a set of
lunar distances ; the longitude resulting from
which was 123° 13' 0" W., being sixteen seconds
westward of the position previously assigned to
Fort Franklin. This difference, equal to two
hundred yards, might be about our actual distance
from the site of the buildings ; and, though such
perfect agreement on a single trial is, of course,
accidental, it strengthened my confidence in the
exactness of which the lunar method is sus
ceptible, when the distances are carefully taken,
and rigorously computed.

OF GREAT BEAR LAKE. 195
It continued to blow from the east till near
noon on the 15th, when, the wind moderating,
we embarked, and it soon afterwards fell calm.
The afternoon, though cold, was serenely beau
tiful. Almost at the moment of sunset the
moon appeared, and, while rising, assumed suc
cessively the most singular shapes, shewing the
great power of the terrestrial refraction.
Next day we made good progress with the oars.
The immediate borders of the lake are low ; and
the face of the country is mossy and barren, or
poorly wooded with spruce-fir. I sounded in
thirty-four fathoms about half a league from the
shore ; but there are in Great Bear Lake far
greater depths than this — descending below the
level of the ocean. When we encamped at dusk,
a long rolling swell threatened the approach of
a gale. On the 17th we started at 6 ; the weather
dark and squally, with a short cross sea, and the
wind close. At noon, when within two miles of
the eastern side of " the Bay of the Deer-pass,"
we were alarmed by a cry of distress from Mr.
Dease's boat, which had sprung a plank, and was
rapidly filling. Providentially, one of the ba
teaux was within reach, with whose aid we took
out the people and the drenched cargo, and
towed the injured boat to land, which we gained
o 2

196 BOISTEROUS PASSAGE
after a tough pull, for it blew dead off shore.
The remainder of the day was employed in re
pairing the damage. The evening was very
boisterous, and snow fell during the night. We
pulled under the lee of the land on the 18th, to
the Cape of the " Scented-grass Mountain," where
the strength of the north wind obliged us to put
back a mile or two, to seek shelter in a little bay,
At noon the thermometer stood at the freezing
point, and one or two reindeer were seen.
During the four succeeding days we were
detained at the same spot by severe winter
weather, and the country was permanently co
vered with snow. Our canvass tents affording
no protection from the rigour of the cold in so
exposed a situation, we constructed a leather
lodge, in which we Indianized comfortably
enough. The nights were extremely dark ; and
ice, an inch thick, formed in the kettles. Our
hunters killed three fine reindeer, one of which —
a superb buck — 'must have weighed from two to
three hundred pounds. From the top of the
hills I had the good-fortune to catch a glimpse
of the high land behind Cape M'Donell, bearing
north-east, on the opposite side of the lake. All
the small lakes in the hollows of the mountain
were firmly frozen. Alarmed at the near ap
proach of winter, the Indians, who formed half

OF GREAT BEAR LAKE. 197
the crew of the two bateaux, wished to leave
us; but we resolved to prevent their desertion,
by seizing the first practicable moment to at
tempt the grand traverse to Cape M'Donell, in
stead of the safer but more circuitous route by
Smith's Bay.
23rd. — The wind moderated, and changed from
north to east ; the temperature of the air was
26° ; the clouds were black and threatening ; and
there was a heavy swell. We determined to
make a push ; and, after an early breakfast, stood
out for Cape M'Donell, guided by the compass.
I led the way in the small boats ; and, to en
courage the people, Mr. Dease followed with the
bateaux. The change of wind having raised a
dangerous cross sea, we were rather roughly
handled. We had to sail within four points of
the wind ; the boats and rigging soon became one
mass of ice; and five hours elapsed before we
got sight of the opposite land, greatly to the relief
of the men, who all imagined that I was steering
a wrong course. The wind again freshened ; but
the sea, though it ran still higher, became more
regular, and in three hours more we safely
reached Cape M'Donell. At sunset we found
a few dwarf pines in a little bay, where we en
camped. The bateaux did not make their ap
pearance, having lost sight of us, and pulled in

198 ARRIVAL AT
for the wrong side of the cape. Had it not been
for Mr. Dease's presence, they would assuredly
have gone up M'Tavish Bay to look for the
establishment ; as it was, they had hard work to
reach the shore. In the snow around our en
campment the tracks of Alpine hares were
numerous. Being joined by our consorts in the forenoon
of the 24th, we alternately sailed and rowed
among the islands and bays that abound on tho
east side of this large arm of the lake. A great
deal of young ice had formed along the shores ;
the weather was snowy, squally, and excessively
cold. A herd of reindeer, and many large flocks
of partridges, now perfectly white, were seen in
the course of the day. We passed, near the Nar-
rakazzse Islands, huge lumps of rock, that rise out
of the water to the height of a hundred feet. This
I ascertained by climbing the highest of them
the following spring, whence I had a commanding
view of the whole group, and of the frozen lake
around.* On the 25th the weather was rather milder.
A solitary Canada goose, the very last straggler
of the rear-guard, flew past to the southward.
Several loons, and some flocks of small diving
* In the Appendix of Franklin's Journal, these islands are
stated to be seven hundred feet high.

WINTER QUARTERS. 199
ducks, still lingered in the open water. As we
passed through the strait where we afterwards
established our principal fishery, a ravenous trout
seized the steersman's oar, and was almost drawn
out of the water before relinquishing its hold.
We made for the mouth of Dease River, where
we were met by an old Indian, who directed us
to our future residence, about three miles to
the westward. We reached it at 4 p. m., and
had the satisfaction of finding our comrades safe
and well. Our greetings were cordial indeed ;
and, with feelings of sincere gratitude to an Al
mighty Protector, we bestowed upon our infant
establishment the name of Fort CoinV^ice.

200 TRANSACTIONS AT

CHAPTER IX.
Transactions at Fort Confidence, winter 1837-8. — Death of
Peter Taylor. — Winter Discoveries and Surveys.
We were soon surrounded by a crowd of Dog-
ribs and Hare Indians of both sexes, who hailed
with delight our residence upon their lands.
They manifested unbounded joy at our return
from the terrors of the sea, which their timid
imaginations had peopled with monsters and can
nibals ; and it is impossible to depict the eager
curiosity with which they viewed the weapons,
dresses, and ornaments of the Esquimaux. They
told us as a marvel, that, in the barren grounds
to the eastward, they had killed a young buck
deer with the head of an Esquimaux arrow
sticking in the yet soft horn. Our building
party had only reached the site of our winter-
quarters on the 17th of August, the very day
we re-entered the Mackenzie ; and a small store,
with the skeleton of a dwelling-house, was all
that indicated our destined abode. Ritch in
formed us that, as he ascended Bear Lake River,

FORT CONFIDENCE. 201
the ice, recently cleft by the stream, formed
two solid walls, in some places forty feet high.
They towed their boat with great danger in con
sequence of the strength of the current, pent
up and contracted by these frozen cliffs, along
the top of which lay their own slippery and in
secure path. The icy masses, in many places
undermined and honeycombed by the action of
the water, threatened equally the boat that passed
underneath, and the men who walked above. In
this manner they reached the head of " the
rapid" on the 10th of July, a week from the
period of our separation. There they encountered
the ice from the lake, which had just begun to
break up, and came driving down before the
easterly winds. They were compelled to land
their cargo, and haul up their boat with the
utmost precipitation ; and the Indian hunters
lost one of their canoes. The ice continued
descending with fearful rapidity, large fragments
being often forced upwards by the pressure, and
sometimes choking the passage, till the accu
mulated weight of water and ice triumphantly
burst the barrier. From the rapids it cost the
party a fortnight's labour to reach the head of
the river, a distance of only thirty miles. During
this interval, the fisherman, with all the dogs,
had been sent by land to the lake, where he

202 TRANSACTIONS AT
supported his canine charge on the produce of
nets set under the ice ; and, from the " little
lake" at Fort Franklin, the Indians latterly
brought fish every day to the people at the
boats. At length they reached that place on the
6th of August. The passage of the lake occu
pied ten days more. From the Scented-grass
Mountain nothing but ice was visible, but after
a delay of three days they made their way to
the Acanyo Islands in Smith's Bay. There they
discovered a narrow opening, leading through
heavy ice for some distance ; but, when it ter
minated, they had to force their way with great
labour and risk for a whole day and night be
fore they reached the northern shore. At the
mouth of Haldane River they found a number
of Hare Indians suffering severely from influenza,
which had carried off two old people. They
followed the party the same evening ; and Ritch
was shocked to learn that they had abandoned
an orphan boy, about six years old. He imme
diately sent back two of our Chipewyans for the
child, whom they brought safely to the establish
ment, where the little fellow passed the winter.
From the extraordinary severity of the season,
a journey of two hundred and fifty miles occupied
forty-five days, and the ice of Great Bear Lake
proved no less formidable than that of the Arctic
Ocean.

FORT CONFIDENCE. 203
Our first care was to send back the Mackenzie
River people, who had rendered us such essen
tial assistance. They started the morning after
our arrival, and, being favoured by a steady east
wind, crossed Great Bear Lake in three days,
and escaped the risk of being set fast. The
same day we sent to examine Dease River, in
reference to the transport of the boats ; but that
stream was already frozen. The Indians even
pretended to assure us that the sea, at the mouth
of the Coppermine River, is open one moon
before the ice breaks up in the northern parts
of Great Bear Lake. The singular shape of this
inland sea, branching out from a common centre
into a number of extensive arms, which act as
so many points of support to the body of the
ice, conduces in no small degree to its tardy
disruption. The situation judiciously chosen for
the establishment was a wooded point, on the
northern side of a deep and narrow strait, formed
by a large island. It commands a fine view of
the lake to the east and west, and the rocks
form a natural landing-place for the boats at
the very door. Nets set in the strait furnished
Ritch and his three men with subsistence till
our arrival. The fishery was likewise of the
greatest benefit to the natives, many of whom
we found still suffering from the influenza. A

204 TRANSACTIONS AT
few simple medicines were administered, and
some assistance in food and clothing rendered
to the sufferers, all of whom gradually recovered.
In consequence of this unfortunate malady, no
provisions had been collected, and our Chipewyan
hunters were at this moment lying ill on the bar
ren grounds, twenty miles to the eastward. I paid
them a visit on the 30th of September, and re
mained with them several days, in order to af
ford them every possible aid. Those who were
in the worst state were brought to the house,
and through care and nourishing diet slowly re
gained their strength. The disease afterwards
attacked, successively, the women and children,
all of whom recovered ; and last of all the old
man, the father and grandfather of the party,
who, from his age and infirmities, sank under
it. His body was decently interred by us on
the island opposite the establishment, and this
mark of respect to the remains of their common
parent contributed, more than all previous be
nefits, to fix the affections of our Chipewyans.
We enjoy, indeed, the proud reflection that our
expedition, so far from inflicting either famine
or disease upon the natives, has, by the blessing
of Heaven, been the immediate means of pre
venting or alleviating those calamities.
To commence a winter within the Arctic

FORT CONFIDENCE. 205
Circle with a considerable party destitute of
provisions, and the Indians upon whom we mainly
depended for subsistence requiring our aid and
support, was an alarming condition, which de- •
manded the utmost exertion of our personal re
sources. More nets were set in the strait ; and,
while some of the people were employed in
erecting the necessary buildings, others were
engaged in converting all the twine last received
into nets. The sudden change of food, from
pemican and flour to white-fish, affected several
of the men with dysentery. The fish, indifferent
as we found them, soon diminished in number
before the increasing cold.
On the 5th of October, just fifty days later
than Ritch's deliverance from the ice of a former
winter, the strait froze over, but broke up again
the following day, and finally set fast on the
10th, when the thermometer first fell below
zero. I took advantage of the interval to pro
ceed with a boat round the island to another
and still deeper strait near its southern extre
mity. There was a camp of natives then in the
neighbourhood ; and here we established our
principal fishery, which, after a temporary failure,
and removal towards the Narrakazzse Islands,
continued during the greater part of the winter
to support from two to four hands, but finally

206 TRANSACTIONS AT
ceased in March. Mr. Dease placed another
fishing-station on a lake about twenty miles to
the northward ; but it failed early in November,
and was then removed to the sources of Haldane
River, four days' journey westward, with no better
success. We were therefore compelled to place
our reliance upon the capricious movements of
the reindeer ; and, in order to eke out our scanty
and precarious subsistence, I spent a great part
of the months of October and November in
hunting excursions with those Indians who had
recovered from their illness. The deer fortu
nately began to draw in from the north-east
to the country between Great Bear Lake and
the Coppermine ; and, as soon as any animals were
shot, I despatched a share of the prey by our
people and dogs to the establishment. At the
same time I highly relished the animation of the
chase, and the absolute independence of an In
dian life. Our tents were usually pitched in the
last of the stunted straggling woods, whence we
issued out at daybreak among the bare snowy hills
of the " barren lands," where the deer could be
distinguished a great way off by the contrast of
their dun colour with the pure white of the
boundless waste. The hunters then disperse, and
advance in such a manner as to intercept the
deer in their confused retreat to windward, the

FORT CONFIDENCE. 207
direction they almost invariably follow. On one
occasion I witnessed an extraordinary instance
of affection in these timid creatures. Having
brought down a fine doe at some distance, I
was running forward to dispatch her with my
knife, when a handsome young buck bounded
up, and raised his fallen favourite with his ant
lers. She went a few paces, and fell ; again he
raised her, and continued wheeling around her,
till a second ball — for hunger is ruthless — laid him
dead at her side. Until the month of Decem
ber we were living literally from hand to mouth,
though all, except the men absolutely required
to keep the houses in firewood, were distributed
at the fisheries and in the various native camps.
The excessive cold at length drove the deer
towards the shelter of the woods, where the
hunters were more successful. The climate of
the elevated unsheltered region to the eastward
of Fort Confidence is far more severe than that
of the borders of the lake. The winds, too, are
more violent; and a bright starlight night is
often succeeded by a tempest of snow-drift.
From the top of a hill in this quarter I disco
vered an unknown arm of the lake, which I
had afterwards melancholy cause to examine.
In a southerly direction the interior of the coun
try is very hilly, but, except on the higher ele-

208 TRANSACTIONS AT
vations, tolerably wooded ; and every three or
four miles occurs a small lake, contained in the
hollows between the hills. In these low shel
tered spots, where we generally made our en
campments, the largest trees grow, and I no
ticed two or three that attained a diameter of
eighteen inches, which is large timber for such
a barren, rocky country. The whole region is
apparently of primitive formation ; the few rocks,
left exposed by the snow, consisting of red and
grey granite. In this direction I travelled to
within view of M'Tavish Bay with the party
of an Indian named Edahadelly, who, to decoy
the deer, carried a pair of antlers before him,
with which, and a bundle of willow twigs, he
used to imitate the motions of the living animal ;
his own dress, made of its hairy hide, completing
the deception.
But to return to the affairs of the establish
ment. The houses were constructed on a very
small scale, to suit our means and the severity
of the climate. They consisted of a log build
ing, forty feet long, and sixteen broad, contain
ing a chamber at either end for Mr. Dease
and myself, separated by a hall, sixteen feet
square, which answered the threefold purpose of
our eating-room, kitchen, and an apartment of
all work for the Indians. There was, indeed,

FORT CONFIDENCE. 209
the frame of a kitchen erected behind, but we
were unable to complete it till the following
year, when an observatory was also built. Our
men's house was thirty feet long and eighteen
broad, and, with the store, formed three sides
of a little quadrangle fronting the south. The
whole was habitable in a month after our ar
rival ; but, from the smallness of the timber,
and the difficulty of procuring enough of the
frozen earth to cover the light roofs, our dwell
ing was miserably cold, the wind and snow
having in many places free ingress. The men's
quarters were rather more comfortable.
On the evening of the 6th of December a few
families of Dog-ribs arrived, in the utmost con
sternation, from the bay discovered by me to
the eastward. They had seen strange tracks of
round snow-shoes and the smoke of distant
fires, and, abandoning everything, had fled for
their lives — burrowing at night under the snow ;
supposing that either the Esquimaux or Copper
Indians had invaded their lands. The first idea
that occurred to us was, that it might be some
of Captain Back's party from Repulse Bay, who
had been overtaken by winter on the coast,
and were now wandering in quest of food and
shelter. This opinion was communicated to the
Indians, and three of the young men reluctantly p

210 TRANSACTIONS AT
consented to accompany me, on condition that
their families should remain behind till the dan
ger was over. Three of our own people, with
dog-sledges, attended me, to bring relief to the
supposed sufferers, and we started the following

On the 9th we reached the bay, and made
our fire in a conspicuous situation, where it
would have been visible during the night from
a great distance. In such an open stormy coun
try tracks are soon obliterated ; but, when we
proceeded next day to make the circuit of the
northern part of the bay, we found on a low
point the remains of an old fire, and the en
campment of a single person. We likewise dis
covered a cache of deer's meat, with several
strips of birch bark for kindling fire, and other
vestiges, which immediately proved that the
stranger must be a half-breed or Fort hunter,
and that, though he might have lost his way,
he was in no want of provisions. I concluded
It to be the expected bearer of our express
from Port Simpson — a Cree Indian in the Com
pany's service, called Le Sourd ; which would
account for the appearances that had terri
fied the timid natives. The latter, however
remained unconvinced, and, with the exaggera
tion of an alarmed fancy, declared that they

FORT CONFIDENCE. 211
had seen a line of fires stretching along the
mountains towards the Coppermine River— here
Only thirty miles distant. The whole day was
occupied in searching for further marks of the
Stranger, to no purpose; from which I inferred
that he had retraced his steps southward. But,
in case he should return to the same place, we
erected marks to guide him to the Indian lodges,
not far removed from the borders of the lake.
This new branch of M'Tavish Bay is enclosed
by a range of barren rocky hills of consider
able height — the favourite haunts of the shaggy
musk-ox. It becomes continually narrower till
near its northern termination, where it contracts
to the width of half a mile, and again expands
into a circular basin three miles in diameter,
which is the nearest approach of Great Bear
Lake to the Coppermine River, and is undoubt
edly the part indicated by The Hook to Sir
John Franklin on that officer's first expedition.
The extensive peninsula comprehended between
Dease and M'Tavish bays, and terminating
in Cape M'Donell, is the hunting-ground from
whence we derived the greater portion of our
subsistence during a winter of nine months.
On the 29th of December, Le Sourd — the very
man who had caused the natives such an alarm-
arrived at Fort Confidence, in company with
p %

212 DEATH OF
some Indians, carrying our long looked-for packet.
His comrade, Peter Taylor, had died on the
way in M'Tavish Bay of an old pulmonary
complaint, aggravated, no doubt, by the fatigue
of the journey; and he himself, having never
heard of the latter arm Of the lake, had wan
dered about searching for the establishment,
and hunting reindeer, till he fortunately fell in
with a camp of our Indians as he was return
ing towards Fort Norman. He had started
from the latter place with his ill-fated compa
nion, who was a relative of his own, in a small
canoe, and reached the rapids of Bear Lake
River, where they were set fast in October.
They then struck over land to the lake, and
had fine travelling on the smooth ice, along its
southern and eastern shores, the centre of the
lake being still open. By the time they reached
M 'Vicar Bay, Taylor complained of weakness ;
upon which his friend, with considerate kind
ness, carried his provisions and spare clothing, and
rendered him every possible assistance. At last,
when he became unable to walk farther, Le Sourd
made a comfortable encampment, and nourished
the dying man with venison broth; and, when
he expired, carefully laid his body in a grave
dug by thawing the earth with fire. He even
placed, with Indian superstition, a valuable gun,

PETER TAYLOR. 213
that the grateful sufferer had given him, beside
the remains of its deceased owner. Such gene
rous and faithful conduct, would do honour to
human nature in its noblest state, and did not
go unrewarded by us. While we lamented the
loss of an active and trusty servant, it was con
soling to know that his death was not occasion
ed by privation or unaccustomed fatigue, but by
the progress of an incurable disease, which our
care, had he reached the establishment, might
have alleviated, but could not have arrested.
The packet contained letters from Governor
Simpson, and from various private friends. The
following is an extract of the Governor's official
despatch, dated Norway House, 30th June, 1837.
" All we can now say in regard to the expedi
tion is, that both the Government and the Com
pany feel the most lively interest in its success-
In regard to supplies, you have a carte blanche ;
our depots are open to your demands, and you
are authorised to call on the districts of Atha
basca and Mackenzie's River for any facility or
assistance in men, goods, provisions, Indians,
craft, &c. &c, you may require. It rests with
you to apply for and employ those means as you
may find necessary ; and we have no farther in
structions to give, than to entreat you will use
your best endeavours to accomplish the great

214 TRANSACTIONS AT
object in view, by any means, or in any way,
you may determine upon. The season has hither
to been unusually cold. Even here we are now
rarely without fires in the sitting-rooms, and to
your mission I fear it is very unfavourable.
When you started from hence, it was expected
that the objects of the expedition could be com
pleted in two years; but, should the unfavour
able state of the season prevent your accomplish
ing the western survey this summer, you had
better make another attempt next year, and de
fer the eastern survey until the following, i. e.
take three summers instead of two. In short,
we are more anxious to accomplish this impor
tant and interesting object than I am well able
to describe, and are willing to incur any expense
or inconvenience to the service to that end."
A previous letter from London informed us of
Sir George Back's expedition to Wager Inlet,
or Repulse Bay, in the Terror bomb, with the
view of prosecuting the survey of the coast west
ward in boats; but that his operations were in
nowise to alter our plans. Indeed, it appeared
not unlikely that we might meet somewhere
about the mouth of Great Fish River, an event
which would materially contribute to the safety
of both parties. It was highly satisfactory to
reflect that we had already explored the un-

FORT CONFIDENCE. 215
known western coast, contrary to the expectation
of our most sanguine friends, since even the ca
noes from Canada had been stopped twenty days
by ice. Had we failed in our first attempt, and
come to winter at Fort Confidence, the whole
frozen extent of Great Bear Lake (which sel
dom breaks up before the 1st of August) would
have interposed between us and the navigable
waters of the Mackenzie.
Fishing Island, opposite to Fort Confidence, is
for the most part tolerably wooded. The land swells
into a diminutive hill, having an elevation of two
degrees, due south. Over this little hill the sun,
as I had previously calculated, did not rise for
forty-three days, from 30th November to 12th
January. The very children clapped their hands
for joy when the bright orb first flashed above
the trees ; and though we did not, like the an
cient Scandinavians of the Polar Circle, hold a
festival for his resurrection, our feelings were
perhaps no less joyful. To cheer us during this
long dark interval, the loveliest of planets,
Venus, appeared above our horizon in December,
and continued to shine upon our solitary dwell
ing with daily increasing altitude and lustre. I
afterwards repeatedly discovered both her and
Jupiter, with the naked eye, in presence of the
sun. The intense cold was of extraordinary

216 TRANSACTIONS AT
duration- So early as the 11 th of November, the
thermometer fell to 32° below zero. The ave
rage temperature of the latter half of December
was — 33^°, and that of all January — 30°.
The most intense cold was frequently accom
panied by strong winds from the east and north
east, and both men and dogs were severely frost
bitten while traversing the barren grounds for
food. Few of the animal creation remained around
us during this dreary period. An occasional track
of a wolf, wolverene, or marten was met with
in woody spots ; a single alpine hare was snared ;
a very few brace of white ptarmigan were shot ;
and in the barren grounds to the eastward I
procured a curious hawk-owl. On the south
east side of M'Tavish Bay the Indians found
the track of a stray moose, which they regarded
as an extraordinary occurrence, for that animal
loves the shelter of thick woods. The only re
gular visitants at the house were the raven and
the whiskey-john (garrulus Canadensis). A con
siderable colony of mice hibernated in our
^j^re, where they committed some depredations ;
anda, marmot was found frozen to death near
one of the fisheries. The white-fish, which were
of a tolerable size in the fall, were succeeded
in scanty numbers by a smaller and lighter-co
loured species during the winter, when the fish

FORT CONFIDENCE. 217
retire to tho depths of the lake. In the early
part of winter, and afterwards in the spring, we
took a very few trout of various sizes up to fifty
pounds' * weight, with lines set under ice latterly
seven feet thick. Back's grayling, methy, small
sucking-carp, and a casual pike, completed the
list of our finny captures ; and a single fine in-
connu was caught in a net, June 1 839. Through
out the winter there is a current running out
wards, in , the straits on either side of Fishing
Island. This current is reversed by strong west
erly winds, (which usually send a few fish into
the nets,) though in what manner the waters of
the lake are affected under such a covering of
ice, it is difficult to conceive. Several currents
were also spoken of by the Indians as existing
in the narrow arms of M'Tavish Bay. These
must be independent of the tributary streams,
which, like Dease River, — the principal feeder, —
are all frozen to the bottom .f
On Christmas and New- Year's days we enter
tained our assembled people with a dance, fol-
* One of the largest, taken at Fort Confidence 2d May,
weighed forty-seven pounds, length four and a half feet, mid-
girth twenty-seven inches (Salmo namaycush).
t I had the curiosity, when the thermometer stood at — 49°,
to cast a pistol-bullet of quicksilver, which at ten paces passed
through an inch plank, but flattened and broke against the
wall three or four paces beyond it.

218 TRANSACTIONS AT
lowed by a supper consisting of the best fare
we could command. By this time we had,
through our indefatigable exertions, accumulated
two or three weeks' provisions in advance, and no
scarcity was experienced during the remainder of
the season. The daily ration served out to each
man was increased from eight to ten, and to
some individuals twelve pounds of venison; or,
when they could be got, four or five white-fish
weighing from fifteen to twenty pounds. This
quantity of solid food, immoderate as it may ap
pear, does not exceed the average standard of the
country ; * and ought certainly to appease even
the inordinate appetite of a French Canadian.f
The Company's servants are not less well clothed
and paid than they are fed ; they are treated by
* Mr. Dease assured me that under an ancient manager of
Athabasca, who passed for a severe economist, and whose
assistant he was at the time, the men succeeded in obtaining
the exorbitant daily allowance of fourteen pounds, or one stone,
of moose or buffalo meat I
T Yet was there one of them who complained he had not
enough, and did not scruple to help himself to an additional
supply whenever the opportunity offered : it would have taken
twenty pounds of animal food daily to satisfy him. This man,
Framond, being in other respects a very indifferent servant,
was discharged the following year; and his place supplied
from Mackenzie River by a young Maskegon, or Swampy
Cree IndiaD, in the service, educated at Red River, and named
James Hope, who was engaged by us at the same annual wages
as our other middlemen, viz. £40 sterling.

FORT CONFIDENCE. 219
their immediate masters with a familiar kind
ness surpassing what I have ever seen elsewhere,
even in the United States ; and their whole con
dition affords the strongest possible contrast to
the wretched situation of the Russian " Pro-
miischleniks," as described by Langsdorff. The
nature of the climate and long journeys, it is
true, demand hard labour at times ; but it is la
bour voluntarily endured, and even physically less
severe than the compulsory tracking on the rivers
of Russia and China : while a great part of the
year is passed an comparative idleness ; and, if
the voyageur finds the fatigues and hardships too
great, it rests with himself to be released from
them at the close of his three years' contract.
I may here introduce a curious fact, that this
class of men are found to remain longest in the
poorer and colder districts ; and that no sooner
have they got into the best situations, than they
become restless and desirous of change ! It is,
perhaps, a kindred feeling that urges the Ame
rican backwoodsman, when he has cleared a farm
and made himself comfortable, to sell his im
provements, shoulder his axe, and march forward
into the wilderness in search of possessions yet
more remote. Now that we were fairly esta
blished, divine service was duly performed on
Sundays, at which both Protestants and Catholics

220 TRANSACTIONS AT
attended. Our Canadians, like their countrymen
in general, were deplorably ignorant; the High
landers and Orkneymen, on the contrary, could
both read and write, and the contents of the little
library we had provided were in great request
among them through the long winter nights.
During the summer voyage we had laboured suc
cessfully to repress the practice of swearing, so
common among voyageurs of every denomination.
The natives now began to come in more fre
quently, occasionally aiding our people in the
laborious transport of the meat. To some we
lent guns ; all were plentifully supplied with am
munition ; and many of the more industrious were
furnished with blankets, shirts, and cloth dresses,
instead of their own filthy deer-skins. Nothing
was easier than for an active hunter to provide
himself and family with these comforts; as he
received, exclusive of all gratuities, a good price
for his meat, which was usually delivered to us
several days' journey from the establishment.
These Indians always experience a kind recep
tion from us. They sit round the fire while we
are partaking of our morning and evening meals
— in other words, breakfast and supper ; for
dinner, that " word of power" in other climes,
was unknown at Fort Confidence.* When we
* At least as far as Mr. Dease and myself were concerned;
for the men and families messed as often as they thought proper,

FORT CONFIDENCE. 221
have eaten, we present them with the remains
of our repast, which is, indeed, the common cus
tom of the north. After meals we occupy the same
fireside, chatting or smoking together ; at night
they sleep in our hall, and on winter journeys and
hunting excursions side by side with us in the
same encampment. Every circumstance indicates
a kindly familiar intercourse ; the natural result
of which is, that the Indians are attached to the
Company's officers, whom in common discourse
they style their " fathers" and their " brothers."
In our particular case I must frankly confess my
surprise at the facility with which we acquired
their confidence, for only in 1835 a cruel and
unparalleled injury had been inflicted upon them
by some half-breeds who disgraced the service.
Three of these wretches (two of them Red River
Catholics, the third a countryman of the vic
tims,) sought a quarrel with a party of unfortu
nate Hare Indians about one of their women,
whom they carried off; and attacking them un
awares, after partaking of their hospitality, bru
tally massacred eleven persons of both sexes. The
criminals were taken out for trial to Canada, where
the ringleader, Cadien, escaped with the mild
sentence of banishment, and his accomplices were
acquitted ! It is to be hoped that the Company
and were, as usual, much more difficult to please than their
masters.

222 TRANSACTIONS AT
will persevere in their resolution to send no more
of this caste to Mackenzie River.
It has, I understand, been sagely proposed by
certain theorists to ameliorate the condition of
the northern tribes by transforming a race of
hunters into a pastoral people, through the do
mestication of reindeer. But the character of
the aborigines would alone present an insupera
ble obstacle to the experiment. They entertain
a rooted superstition that the taming any of the
wild reindeer of their country would banish the
whole race for ever from their lands. It was
for this reason that, in 1817, Mr. Dease could
not succeed in obtaining a couple of fawns from
the Copper Indians at Great Slave Lake; nor
were our applications at Fort Confidence more
effectual. I was not sorry for it, as the poor
animals could not long have been preserved from
the fangs of the dogs — those indispensable assist
ants to white or red men.* Even were this pre
judice overcome, the Indians would immediately
and naturally inquire, " Why should we be bound
like slaves to follow the motions of a band of
tame animals, when our woods and barren
* In May 1839 our dogs drove off a pair of wolves that
passed the house in hot pursuit of a large deer ; took up
the chase themselves ; ran down, strangled, and devoured the
prey on the ice a few miles to the westward.

FORT CONFIDENCE. 223
grounds afford us moose, red-deer, buffalo, carri-
boo, and musk cattle ; when our lakes and rivers
supply us with fish, for the mere trouble of kill
ing them?"
On the 1st of February, two servants and two
Indians were despatched to Fort Simpson with
our spring packet, containing letters, charts, &c.
They were directed to take the shortest route,
by M'Tavish and M'Vicar bays, and from thence
to follow a chain of minor lakes, leading through
the woody country to the southward, known to
the Indians. From Fort Simpson they were in
structed to return as soon possible, with dogs
and sledges, carrying a small supply of moOse-
skins, and the irons for sledge-runners, required
to transport our boats over snow and ice to the
Coppermine River. At the same time we wrote
to Governor Simpson, stating the probability of
our having to employ two summers in exploring
the coast eastward of Bathurst's Inlet. To pro
vide for a prolonged residence within the Polar
Circle, we addressed the gentlemen in charge
of Athabasca and Mackenzie River, requesting
an additional supply of pemican, dressed leather,
dogs, birchwood for sledges, ammunition, and to
bacco, — articles essential to our subsistence; as
for everything else, we resolved to live like the
natives. The cold continued excessive, with fre-

224 TRANSACTIONS AT
quent easterly gales, even when the thermometer
stood below — 50° ; a circumstance that fearfully
distinguishes our winter-quarters from those of
former expeditions. West and even north-west
winds commonly brought on snow and less
severe weather. This is at variance with what
obtains over a considerable part of North Ame
rica, but may be accounted for by the situation
of the place, in the margin of the woods close to
the " barren lands." The appellation of Barrens,
or Barren Lands, is given to the whole north
east angle of the continent from the 60th pa
rallel of latitude, because that extensive region
is destitute of wood. The winds that sweep over
it are therefore more intensely cold than those
which traverse the well-wooded country through
which Mackenzie River flows. While engaged
at various times during this winter in hunting
excursions with Indians to the eastward, and in
surveying the different routes to the Copper
mine River, I could not help remarking the in
crease in the severity of the cold, and the fre
quency of storms, when we got out into the hilly
" barren lands." The lakes and rivers are there
much earlier frozen, and it will be found that
they also break up at a later period than those
under the same parallel to the westward. The
average depth of snow was about three feet, but

FORT CONFIDENCE. 225
enormous drift-banks lay in the hollows of the
mountains. Ritch was sent in quest of wood for new oars,
and for planks to repair the sea-boats ; but, after
a search resumed several days in different direc
tions, he found only a few pieces fit for the
former purpose, none for the latter. I subse
quently fell in with some straight tall trees on
the south branch of Dease River. The wood
around Fort Confidence is stunted, knotty, and
twisted into all manner of shapes — the deformed
growth of frozen ages. From the eastern side
of M'Tavish Bay, a distance of seventy miles,
a quantity of dwarf birch was procured, for ad
ditional boat-timbers, snow-shoe frames, and axe
handles. March was scarcely less severe than February,
the mean temperature of the whole month being
20" below zero.
On the 11th, at 5 a.m., occurred the greatest
degree of cold registered during the winter. A
spirit thermometer by Dollond (which shewed
the highest temperature of any at the place, and
was that always employed,) stood at 60° below
zero; and another, of older date, brought from
Fort Chipewyan, at — 66°. This intense cold
was accompanied by a fresh westerly breeze,
which several of our people had to face that

226 TRANSACTIONS AT
morning, returning with meat from M'Tavish
Bay. Spite of their deer-skin robes and capots,
their faces bore palpable marks of the weather ;
and, when they reached the house, not a man
was able to unlash his sledge till he had first
thoroughly warmed his shivering frame.
The winds were no less constant and piercing
than during the preceding months, but blew
more frequently from the westward. In the
early part of the month our last fishery on the
south side of the island entirely failed ; and, after
supplying for a time with meat-rations the men
who were stationed there, they were withdrawn,
and appointed to other duties. Lines were re-set
in the strait, but their produce did not even repay
the baits employed, and they were again taken
up. Fortunately our Chipewyan hunters and the
native Indians vied with each other in amassing
reindeer and musk-ox flesh; and our six sledges
of dogs, with each a driver, were almost con
tinually employed, bringing to Fort Confidence
the means of existence. Le Babillard, an Indian
frequently mentioned in the narrative of Frank
lin's last expedition, now approached with his
party from the southward, and opened a commu
nication with us. About the same time two
young Indians arrived with news from Forts
Norman and Good Hope. They were full of a

FORT CONFIDENCE. 227
marvellous report, current among the natives, of
an approaching change in the order of nature.
Among other prodigies, a race of men had sprung
up from the earth whose eyes and mouths were
placed in their breasts. These monsters prac
tised an unbounded hospitality, having always
on the fire a gigantic copper cauldron, con
taining the carcases of five moosedeer ! and the
appropriate scene of this wild tale was the Horn
Mountains, on the west side of Great Slave
Lake. The whole story afterwards turned out
to have originated in a dream.
On the 25th the people despatched with our
February express returned from Fort Simpson,
having performed the journey in nineteen days.
They brought us our letters from home, together
with intelligence of the demise of his Majesty
William the Fourth, and the accession of our
gracious sovereign Queen Victoria ; which news
had reached the Hudson's Bay ships before they
sailed from the Hebrides, in July. We at the
same time received a distressing account of the
fatal ravages of the small-pox among the Assini-
boines of the Saskatchewan. Thirty men of that
tribe had crossed the plains to the banks of the
Missouri in the summer of 1837, with the view
of stealing horses. They found the unfortunate
natives of the Missouri dying by hundreds of
Q 2

228 TRANSACTIONS AT
that terrible disease, which was introduced by an
American steamboat, and, in the mad hope of
assuaging the fever, casting themselves into the
deadly stream. Under such circumstances they
had no difficulty in making themselves masters of
one hundred and sixty horses, and with this rich
booty set out for their own camp. But the dis
temper had communicated itself to them, and ere
long broke out on the way. Two-thirds of the
robbers perished, and the survivors were obliged
to abandon their ill-gotten spoil. The Company's
people at Carlton had been all vaccinated ; yet
the contagion was communicated from the Assini
boine camp, and two of the servants fell victims
to its malignity. It is with sincere pleasure
I add, that the humane precautions taken by
Chief Factor Rowand, and the other gentlemen
in the Saskatchewan, to vaccinate the Crees,
saved the whole of that valuable tribe from the
disastrous consequences of the malady, which
happily did not penetrate farther north. We
afterwards learned that it spread throughout the
Plain tribes along the American lines to the
Rocky Mountains ; that it broke out on the
north-west coast, and committed dreadful havoc
among the sanguinary tribes from Vancouver
Island northward, and at the Russian settlements.
Of the Mandans of the Missouri it was said that

FORT CONFIDENCE. 229
only twelve remained, and that a party of Sioux
were on their way to extinguish this feeble rem
nant of a once powerful tribe. So much for the
generosity of savage warfare !
On the 27th I set out, with two men and four
dogs, to explore the barren grounds stretching
from Dease River to the Coppermine, and to
determine the most practicable route for the
transport of our boats, baggage, and provisions.
For three days we ascended Dease River, in
a north-easterly direction, carefully tracing its
course, which is very crooked. The ice-marks
visible upon the trees and banks indicated the
height of the water when liberated in the spring,
but at this period we found it everywhere frozen
to the bottom. The woods grew thinner and
more stunted as we advanced ; and on the third
evening we encamped in a small cluster of dwarf
spruces, barely sufficient, in number, to yield us
firing, and brush for our beds. In the night a
gale sprang up from the north-east, with a tre
mendous storm of snow-drift, which almost buried
us alive, as huddled together with our dogs we
lay exposed to the fury of the tempest. It con
tinued unmitigated throughout the following day,
and we sought a miserable screen behind our
sledges, placed on edge in the deep snow. To
the Arctic traveller it appears almost incredible

230 WINTER DISCOVERIES
how people perish, under similar circumstances,
in the climate of Britain! The position of
this encampment is in lat. 67° 15' N., long.
117° 50' W.
On the 31st the wind was still strong and
penetrating; but, the snow having ceased, we
were glad to continue our journey. As we were
now about five miles to the northward of the
point where Dr. Richardson and party, in August
1826, crossed a small stream, which I supposed
our boats might descend in June to the Copper
mine River, I changed our course to east-south
east, with the hope of falling upon it in the even
ing. The difficulties of the route prevented this ;
but, from the top of one of the barren, rugged
hills among which we were travelling, I espied a
valley to the northward, containing several lakes,
and, what was of infinitely more consequence to
us, a wood to encamp in. In this oasis we were
detained another day by a heavy fall of snow.
The night was clear and very cold; and next
morning, 2nd April, we had to face a severe
easterly wind. We proceeded through a sort of
pass among the hills, where we witnessed a whirl
wind, which we all, at the first distant view,
exclaimed to be the smoke of a large fire. As
we passed near it, our respiration was almost sus
pended by the rapid motion of the air and the

AND SURVEYS. 231
excessive cold. A high and steep descent
brought us suddenly upon the banks of the
streamlet we sought, where a solitary cluster of
trees doubtfully indicated its existence. Here
we breakfasted, and I obtained the lat. 67° 11' 17"
N., long. 1 1 7° 5' W., variation 49° 30' E* Start
ing again we travelled sixteen miles, partly along
the scarcely distinguishable streamlet, partly on
the neighbouring hills, and at 7 in the evening
reached some woods, scarcely taller than a man,
but the first we had seen since noon. Imme
diately above this spot the stream expanded into
a lake, by the junction of a branch from the north
ward ; and was named Kendall River, in compli
ment to Lieut. Kendall of the former expedition.
Parhelia were constant almost all day, and fre
quently appeared during this journey. The suc
ceeding day was fine ; and we traced the stream,
now somewhat increased in size, but, like Dease
River, frozen to the bottom, for fifteen miles,

* A stranger would have been sorely puzzled to know
whether he was about to descend or ascend the brook. The
following was our method of ascertaining this important point ;
Through the snow, which almost choked up the valley, a few
willow tops protruded here and there. To two or three of
these were attached little balls of roots and grass, that had
been carried down by the high water of the preceding spring.
These adhering to the lower side of the twig, proved that our
faces were turned down the stream.

232 WINTER DISCOVERIES
when it opened upon the Coppermine through
a narrow gorge of perpendicular rocks. The
noble view of the river, with its frozen windings
through that wild waste of snows and mountains,
repaid our fatigue ; and we proudly drank of its
melted ice, within fifty miles of the northern sea.
I procured observations, which place the conflu
ence of the tributary stream in lat. 67° 7' 1" N.,
long. 116° 21' 15" W., variation 48° E. The
temperature at Fort Confidence was — 20° ; here
it might be —25° or — 30°. We returned to
sleep at our encampment of the preceding night.
Some white partridges were shot in the course of
the day ; but the deer kept higher up on the hill
sides, where, the snow being carried off by the
winds, they find least difficulty in getting at the
moss — their favourite food.
On the 4th we again breakfasted at the place
where we had first fallen on the stream. Here
our dogs luckily found the half-devoured carcase
of a deer, which had been driven over the cliffs
by wolves, four of which ravenous animals were
scared from their feast by our approach. This
was a most acceptable windfall, as our provisions
were at a very low ebb. Conjecturing that the
brook, by a circuit to the southward, might
issue from the lakes where we were stopped
on the 1st, (which it approaches, but which

AND SURVEYS. 233
afterwards proved to be the source of a branch
of Dease River,) I proceeded to ascend it for
six miles farther, in a south-westerly direction,
and encamped in the last and only clump of
pines visible from the summit of a hill. The
following day was extremely cold, enhanced by a
piercing head wind, which assailed us as we tra
versed a bleak, elevated region. I prosecuted
the ascent of the brook for another league, in a
southerly direction, till it became lost among
sharp rocks and frowning precipices. Leaving
these on our left, we climbed a wild range of
hills; and travelling over their uneven summits,
west-south-west, for thirty miles, the snow cast
up into waves by the vehemence of the winds,
we reached at a late hour the welcome shelter
of the woods, on the south branch of Dease
River. The descent from the mountains to the
river was animated by numerous herds of reindeer,
and we had no small trouble in curbing the eager
spirit of our dogs.
Next morning, the 6th, the temperature was
— 31°, with a sharp easterly wind : we reached
the house about 7 p.m. There I found three
Indians, who offered to conduct us by a longer
but more level route than any we had traversed.
I accordingly mounted my snow-shoes again on
the 9th, at the head of six dog-sledges, with

234 WINTER DISCOVERIES
each a driver; two extra men to remain at the
station till the passage of the light boats in June,
and the Indians to act as hunters there during
the interval. Having already thoroughly ex
amined the river, I . preferred striking out into
the plains on its northern side; these we gene
rally followed, crossing the river for the last time,
in lat. 67° 22' 14" N, long. 117° 42' 45" W., at
a little lake a few miles from its source. From
thence a height of land of six miles, north-north
east, led to a narrow chain of lakes, that wind
for upwards of thirty miles in a south-easterly
direction through a dismally barren, rocky
country, producing not a tree or shrub, and
seemingly unfrequented by any living creature.
During the preceding day's march musk-cattle
were very numerous, and we succeeded in shoot
ing three as they filed^ off to the high grounds.
We saw no reindeer ; the depth of snow, which
averaged not less than three feet, hard packed
in the plains, preventing them from frequenting
this region, of which the shaggy musk-bull and
white wolf appeared to maintain exclusive pos
session. The Dismal Lakes, as I knew from
their trending, give rise to that northern branch
of the stream noticed by me on the evening of
the 2nd ; and we encamped at the very spot
which I then marked as the most proper for

AND SURVEYS. 235
forwarding our provisions and baggage to, over
the snow, though my new companions, instead of
a river, could perceive only " a cairn of stones."
The portion we had brought with us, amounting
to about a third of the whole quantity, I now
consigned to the two men appointed to guard it.
They were furnished with leather lodges as a
defence against the cold, which was still very
great ; the thermometer in the night frequently
falling below — 30°, accompanied by violent
winds. Next morning we set out on our return.
The whole journey occupied seven days ; viz. four
going laden, and three returning light, the dis
tance being ninety-five statute miles. By often
repeated trials we had found the climate of the
barren lands, even a single day's march eastward
of Fort Confidence, far more severe than at that
place, which lies low and comparatively sheltered.
On the present occasion two of our best dogs got
frozen. The hard snow was extremely galling to
the feet, and several of the party suffered from
snow-blindness. We saved our people from that
painful evil for the rest of the season by con
structing short tubes of wood and bark, covered
at the outer end with green gauze, and worn as
shades. The Indians, unlike the Esquimaux, are
too stupid to contrive any precaution against
ophthalmia; almost every one who arrived was

236 WINTER DISCOVERIES
afflicted with it ; but, by dropping laudanum in
their eyes, in two or three days a cure was always
effected. One of our young Chipewyans had the mis
fortune to lose the tip of a finger from the
bursting of his gun, in consequence of the ball
running forward. Several guns burst in the chase
from the same cause, but happily no other per
sonal accident ensued. The increase of daylight
was strikingly rapid, and by the middle of the
month the twilight was perceptible at midnight.
The weather, however, continued very severe ;
the thermometer, so late as the 20th of the
month, shewing 26° below zero. The Indians
left with the men at the Coppermine station
were consequently unable to hunt upon the moun
tains, and the most active of them got badly
frozen in the leg.
On the 24th, the thermometer rose at noon
to the freezing point, for the first time since
the 17th of October, a period of six months
and a week ! The mean temperature for the
whole of that long and dismal interval is 14°
below zero, or 46°* of frost. Our people being
all assembled, we gave them a dance in cele
bration of St. George's day, and before despatch
ing our last packet to Mackenzie River.
* By the old Ath\ thermometer, 18° or 50° of frost.

AND SURVEYS. 237
Among the Indians who came in about the close
of the month, was a family, the youngest mem
ber of which, a boy scarcely two years old, and
still unweaned, walked on snow-shoes ! I had
the curiosity to measure them, and found their
dimensions exactly two feet in length, including
the curved point, by six inches at the broadest
part. The little urchin was so fond of these
painful appendages, that he hugged them as a
plaything, and bawled lustily when his mother
attempted to take them from him.
Now that the constant daylight renders the
aurora borealis no longer visible, I shall make
one or two general remarks regarding it. Its
most common appearance at Fort Confidence is
an arch with little motion, passing through the
zenith, and spanning the heavens from north
west to south-east. Now, since the variation of
the compass is here little more than four points
easterly, it follows that there is a tendency in
this remarkable phenomenon to dispose itself at
right angles to the magnetic meridian. In the
depth of winter, thin white clouds, seen during
the short imperfect daylight, in many instances
proved to be the aurora, which also not un
frequently appeared through a hazy sky. Its
displays were seldom very brilliant, and it hardly
ever exhibited those vivid prismatic tints which

238 WINTER DISCOVERIES
I had often admired in lower latitudes. The
solar radiation during this month was very power
ful, the universal covering of snow strongly re
flecting the sunshine. Two of Dollond's ther
mometers, having respectively a northern and
southern aspect, both freely exposed to the wind,
and neither blackened, differed at mid-day from
20° to 40°- In the month of March, on three
occasions, the difference exceeded 40°; whereas
in January, before the re-appearance of the sun,
the southern thermometer sometimes stood low
est, and never shewed an excess of more than four
degrees. Not until April did we enjoy a view of
the genuine blue sky, for throughout the colder
months the lower region of the atmosphere is
suffused with icy spiculae — the offspring of in
tense congelation — which dim the splendour of
the firmament. To the same cause may be
referred the frequency of mock suns and halos,
which were often seen hanging over the oppo
site island, apparently not a mile distant.
The month of May commenced with the tem
perature at zero. It did not again fall below
that point, but froze sharply almost every night,
and during many of the days. The weather gene
rally was cold and boisterous, and the mean
temperature of the month was 30°- The easterly
winds were again predominant. I was absent

AND SURVEYS. 239
from the establishment, with two men, for the
first twelve days of the month, on a survey of
that arm of the lake which I discovered and
partially examined in December. It is bounded
on the eastern side by a continuation of the
primitive rocky range of hills seen by Dr. Rich
ardson. These attain an elevation of six or
eight hundred feet, where M'Tavish Bay ap
proaches closest to the Coppermine River, in
lat. 66° 40' N., long. 117° 20' W. This termi
nating point being nearer the river, by at
least one half, than Fort Confidence, it was
my intention to examine the interjacent coun
try; but, upon proceeding some distance, it be
came so rugged and mountainous as to be im
practicable with dogs and sledges, far less with
boats.* Thus concluded my winter excursions
on Great Bear Lake and the barren lands, ex
ceeding in; all a thousand miles.
On the 13th of May I laid aside my snow^
shoes ; but our last Indian couriers to Fort Simp
son started on the 15th with these necessary
appendages, which continued in use by the
natives during the remainder of the month. I
had formerly walked in the depth of winter
* The distance we travelled, returning by Cape M'Donell,
was three hundred statute miles, which will give some idea of
the magnitude and grandeur of our inland sea.

240 TRANSACTIONS AT
from York Factory on Hudson's Bay to Red River,
and, again, from Red River to Athabasca, — a
distance little short of two thousand miles, —
wearing only an ordinary cloth capot, and have
accomplished fifty miles in a day. Here, how
ever, myself and my companions soon found that
the wanderer within the unsheltered precincts
of the Polar Circle must be far otherwise pro
vided. Accordingly, on our distant excursions,
we usually assumed capots of dressed moose-skin,
impervious to the wind, or of reindeer hide
with the hairy side outwards, and were provid
ed with robes of the latter light and warm
material for a covering at night, when, to in
crease the supply of animal heat, our dogs couch
ed close around us. Yet in a stormy, barren,
mountainous country, where, in many parts, a
whole day's journey intervenes between one mise
rable clump of pines and the next* we were
often exposed to suffering, and even danger, from
the cold ; and several of our dogs were at various
times frozen to death.
In the early part of May Fort Confidence was
visited by a party of twenty-seven Hare Indians
from Smith Bay, with a small but acceptable
supply of provisions, for which they were libe
rally recompensed. Our long-expected winter
packet from the southern parts of the country

FORT CONFIDENCE. 241
was brought on the 9th, by Indians, via, Marten
Lake. Not the least valued part of its con
tents was a file of that excellent paper the
New York Albion, with some numbers of the
London Times, sent us by our worthy friend
Chief Factor Christie. Those only who are cut
off from the rest of the world can fully appre
ciate such marks of attention.
On the 15th a solitary goose, the first har
binger of spring, flew over the house; followed,
two days after, by some Canada, Hutchin's, and
snow geese. A few laughing geese, swans, and
northern divers made their appearance some
what later ; also ducks of the smaller species.
But the whole number of fowl that passed was
inconsiderable, more being shot at Athabasca
in one day than we procured altogether.
On the 18th a man and boy arrived from a
camp of strange Hare Indians, whom they had
quitted to the westward in a starving condition.
We immediately sent them a quantity of pounded
meat, which was the means of saving their lives;
and on the 27th the remainder of the party,
twenty-two in number, chiefly old men, women,
and children, came to the establishment. They
darted like vultures upon a kettle of meat
which was prepared in the hall ; but I must
do them the justice to say, that, despite their
R

242 TRANSACTIONS AT
hunger, they made a fair distribution of the
food, which is more, I suspect, than Europeans
similarly circumstanced would have done. An
old man, a woman, and two children had died
in the course of the winter; and one blind old
man, brought to the house, was hauled on a
sledge, or led with a string, and sometimes car
ried by his wife and daughter. The party had
separated from the rest of the tribe ; and the
number of men capable of hunting being dis-
proportionally small, caused the misery that we
had the satisfaction to relieve. Our own stock
of food was meanwhile fast wasting away; for
Dog-ribs, Hare Indians, and Chipewyans had now
all congregated around us, and, instead of bring
ing us assistance, many of them drew rations
from our store. Besides such occasional assist
ance, we constantly had some old or helpless
persons left upon our hands.
No means were neglected to procure subsist
ence for ourselves and the natives. Nets were
set in Dease River, but produced next to nothing ;
ammunition was liberally distributed, and, to
wards the end of the month, a few straggling
deer were killed. About the same period the
rapids in the lower part of the river broke up;
and our sea-boats, which had been thoroughly
repaired' and strengthened, were dragged over

FORT CONFIDENCE. 243
the ice to its mouth, to be in readiness for the
moment that the ascent of the stream should
become practicable. A messenger having ar
rived from a lake about a day's journey to the
northward, reporting an abundant fishery under
the ice, we despatched the whole of the lately-
starving Hare Indians thither. The Dog-ribs
and our Chipewyan hunters at the same time
prepared to separate and disperse themselves for
the summer over the best hunting-grounds to
the eastward. Their departure in the .beginning
of June was a twofold relief to us, as we had
some preparations to make for our approaching
voyage. I must not close this part of the narra
tive without bestowing a just encomium on the
generally docile character of the natives of Great
Bear Lake. They soon become attached to white
men, and are fond of imitating their manners.
In our little hall I have repeatedly seen the
youngsters, who were most about us, get up
from their chairs, and politely hand them to any
of our people who happened to enter; some of
them even learned to take off their caps in the
house, and to wash instead of greasing their
faces. Their indulgent treatment of their wo
men (who indeed possess the mastery) was no
ticed by Sir John Franklin ; I wish I could speak
as favourably of their honesty and veracity.

244 TRANSACTIONS AT FORT CONFIDENCE.
The position of Fort Confidence, as determined
by a variety of observations, is in lat. 66° 53' 36"
N.; long. 118° 48' 45" W. The magnetic varia
tion, in October 1837, was 48° 30' E. ; the dip of
the needle (in June 1839), 84° 48' N.

245

CHAPTER X.
Ascent of Dease River. — Passage of the Dismal Lakes on
the Ice. — Dangerous Descent of the Coppermine. — Flight
of the Esquimaux.
Having, after repeated missions up Dease
River, ascertained, on the 6th of June, that the
first flush of water had passed off, and the ice
ceased descending, we immediately put the party
in motion. Leaving Ritch and two men at Fort
Confidence, we set out with only four men per
boat, two having (as already mentioned) been
stationed at Kendall River in charge of the
provisions for the coasting voyage. Our very
limited personal baggage, provisions for the jour
ney to the Coppermine, the canvass canoes, and
snow-shoes for the whole party in case of being
surprised by winter on our return, were carried
over the ice to the mouth of the river, where
we encamped. In that sheltered spot the first
signs of vegetation had appeared, and the cat
kins of the willow were fully an inch long. On

246 ASCENT OF DEASE RIVER.
the lake, the ice was still from four to five
feet thick.
In the forenoon of the 7th was commenced
the ascent of Dease River; the weather clear,
but cold. The navigation proved a succession
of rapids ; and the banks, obstructed by willows
and other trees, rendered the tracking very la
borious. We encamped at a place where the
stream has forced its way through a precipitous
chasm, leaving a detached rock in the midst, to
which our Orkney-men gave the name of " The
Old Man of Hoy." Several large hawks and a
numerous colony of swallows occupied the cliffs.
The latter birds we afterwards found in a simi
lar situation at the mouth of Kendall River.
As they are never seen at Fort Confidence, it
is probable that, in their passage northward, they
avoid the frozen expanse of Great Bear Lake
altogether, and make straight for their accus
tomed rocky haunts.
8th. — The fatigue of ascending the rapids, often
waist-deep in the water, was aggravated by a
hard frost and a piercing head wind. As we ad
vanced, however, We found a good deal of still
water, where the oars could be used. Enormous
drifts of snow clung to the banks. In one place
a fallen fragment had grounded in mid-streana,
forming a temporary Met, upon whieh stood an

ASCENT OF DEASE RIVER. 247
Indian mark, directing us to the carcases of
two deer placed in a tree. As we approached
the spot, another huge mass of snow tumbled
down, and well-nigh put an end to all our dis
coveries. At 3 P. M. a shout issued from among
the trees on the south side of the river; and a
young Indian soon came forth, breathless with
running, to inform us that the camp was situated
some distance off, at the foot of a conspicuous
hill. Ordering our people to put up for the
night, we told the youth to guide us to it ; which
he did, through bushes, and swamps newly coated
with ice. At the camp we found a scene of
savage feasting, for the hunters had slaughtered
a number of musk-cattle. These animals descend
from the barren mountains at this period, and
resort for a while to the borders of the woods,
in order, it is said, to rub off their cumbersome
winter coat of hair. The natives were here
snugly lodged in leather tents, instead of their
usual open huts of branches. It was pleasing
to think that the comfort and abundance they
enjoyed were in a great measure our own work,
and the many smiling faces that crowded round
us evinced their affectionate regard. After par
taking the hospitality of the tents, we selected
six young men to assist our feeble crews up
the remainder of the river, and across the port-

248 ASCENT OF DEASE RIVER.
age to the Dismal Lakes; and, with these aux
iliaries, we returned to the boats at a late hour.
In the course of this day we shot several Canada
geese, and found some of their eggs among the
rocks : they had for some time deserted Great
Bear Lake. The noisy pihtailed and black div
ing-ducks were pretty numerous on the river, as
were the willow grouse in the bordering woods.
The latter were now pairing ; and the male, with
his white plumage and rich brown-coloured neck,
looked extremely handsome, as, perched on the
top of a tree, he crowed and called to his mate.
The marks of vegetation observed at the mouth
of the river had disappeared; the small lakes
were everywhere frozen ; snow still lay in the
woods, and clothed the hill-sides.
On the 9th, after passing the south branch of
the river, which falls in from the mountains in
lat. 67° V N., long. 118° 12' W., we ascended
during the rest of the day about fifteen small
rapids, though the Indians had assured us that
the whole was still water. The intervals between
them are, however, smooth and deep ; the stream
flowing through a sandy plain thinly skirted
with wood, and bounded by a range of snow-clad
hills on either hand. Our young savages very
willingly received civilized names, (John, Louis,
Pierre, Michel, Hunter, and Stranger,) but it was

ASCENT OF DEASE RIVER. 249
a less easy matter to teach them to keep time
with the oar. Many deer were seen, and one
small herd was browsing so near the bank that
the Indians gave them chase ; but, the foolish
fellows having in their hurry slipped in balls
over charges of shot, two of their guns burst,
and one of them narrowly escaped a shattered
hand. The weather was dark and cold, and the
water had fallen four or five feet from the ice-
marks. In arriving at a rapid much stronger
than the rest, one of the boats sustained some
damage from the sharp stones : it was repaired
in the course of the night.
10th. — Marmot Rapid, so called from the num
ber of those little animals' burrows in the neigh
bourhood, occupied us some time this morning,
and there were several shallows between it and
my tempestuous encampment of 29th March.
When we halted, soon after, for breakfast, our
quick-sighted hunters espied a musk-bull feed
ing at some distance among the willows. After
they had fired several shots at him ineffectually,
he took the direction of the boats ; but, stumbling
into a deep creek, swam out to the river, where
he was wounded in the act of crossing. The
animal instantly turned about and endeavoured
to climb the bank where we stood, his eyes
darting fire, and his nostrils distended with pain

250 ASCENT OF DEASE RIVER.
and rage ; but he soon fell pierced with bullets.
We found his flesh very good. A pair of large
white wolves were prowling about the river ;
and the ravages of the barren-ground bear (ursus
arctos) were observed in several places. Be
yond this the stream divides into four branches,
of which we chose the largest, flowing from the
northward through a sterile waste. It is a mere
sandy rivulet ; in some places a fathom deep, in
others not a foot. At length angular granite
rocks began to project from the bottom ; and
at 8 p.m. we encamped at the foot of a succes
sion of stony rapids.
All next day we were detained by a storm
of wind, snow, and rain. I noticed the first
moss in flower, its lowly blossoms flourishing
unharmed amidst the war of the elements. The
few dwarf withered spruces within reach of our
encampment were expended in firing.
In the forenoon of the 12th the storm abated,
and we resumed our route. In ten hours we ad
vanced six miles, nearly half of which was portage-
work, with a fine level reindeer path following
the windings of the brook. This brought us
to the little lake which I had in the winter
fixed upon for the commencement of the por
tage across the height of land. Up to this
point, which is not far from its source, Dease

ASCENT OF DEASE RIVER. 251
River, including all its windings, measures about
seventy miles, and, considering its small size,
certainly exceeded our expectations, though it
is only in the month of June that it is navigable
any distance even for small canoes.
The next three days proved fine, and the por
tage, which is six miles in length, was nearly
surmounted. The boats were dragged over, one
at a time, by all hands, and the baggage depo
sited half-way. We pitched our tents on the
side of one of the conical shingle hills that form
the approach to the Dismal Lakes. On the
banks of the little lake already mentioned I
chanced to find a white wolf's den, containing
four fine brindled pups. I immediately took
possession of the prize, and carried them on my
back across the portage, intending to send them
to Fort Confidence by the Indians, and to train
them to the sledge. Their dam, attracted by
their cries, rushed to the rescue, and lost her
life ; the more cowardly male contented himself
with howling all night on an adjoining emi
nence. The 16th brought a tempest of wind and snow
from the north-east, which rendered our exposed
position intolerable. My young pets were pecu
liarly sensitive to the cold ; and, though I care
fully wrapped them up in my cloak, nothing less

252 PASSAGE OF THE DISMAL LAKES
would serve them than to crawl under the
blankets and huddle beside me. They were
coaxing little creatures, and, having prodigious
appetites, I found no difficulty in inducing them
to change their diet.
On the 17th the ground was hard frozen ; but,
the wind decreasing in the afternoon, we car
ried forward our baggage to the Dismal Lakes,
where the ice lay as solid as in mid-winter, and
the hills glistened with snow. A branch of the
Copper Mountains stretches along the northern
side of these lakes, out of view, except at the
lower part near Kendall River, where the natives
report having found large masses of metal. Some
metalliferous stones were picked up here, but
we had no leisure to prosecute our researches
farther. At 4 o'clock next morning, having fixed the
boats firmly upon stout iron-shod sledges brought
with us for the purpose, and placed in them the
Oars and baggage, we hoisted the sails to a fair
wind, and, placing the crews at the drag-ropes,
set out at the rate of two knots an hour over
the ice, colours flying. This extraordinary spec
tacle will long be a subject of tradition among
the natives. The snow still adhering to the sur
face of the lake much impeded our progress,
but could not damp the ardour which our strange

ON THE ICE. 253
and successful march excited. With the aid of
the breeze we advanced fifteen miles, nearly half
the length of this chain of lakes, and encamped
in a little bay sheltered by an island, where we
collected willows enough to cook our supper.
The weather continued very cold. Stones, placed
like Esquimaux marks, appeared on the summits
of the hills, and a human skeleton was found
between two rocks.
On the 19th, at 3 a.m., we were again on the
lake, crossing on snow-shoes the deep and par
tially thawed snow-banks that lined the shore.
The wind was adverse, and the ice rough, but
now almost bare. In two open sandy narrows,
between the lakes, the boats were taken off the
runners, and committed to the water ; and after
traversing the last lake, three miles long, they
were finally launched into their own element.
A single bend of the stream brought us, at
3 p.m., to our provision station, where we were
delighted to find Flett and Morrison safe and
well. Their hunters had latterly been tolerably
successful in the chase ; and two of these active
fellows consented at once to accompany us on
our voyage, notwithstanding their dread of the
Esquimaux, and of the unknown perils of the
sea. Both were Fort Good Hope Hare In
dians, and were named Larocque, and • Macca-

254 DANGEROUS DESCENT
conce (Anglice, Little Keg), and proved in the
sequel no contemptible auxiliaries. We made
them clip their shaggy locks; and all hands
clubbed to equip them in thorough voyageur
costume, which wonderfully improved their out
ward man.
Part of the following day was occupied in trim
ming the boats, and embarking the provisions,
which comprehended twenty-eight bags of pemi
can, six hundred- weight of flour, and about three
hundred pounds of dried venison, an ample stock
for three months. The six young Indians, who
had rendered us such valuable aid, received notes
on Fort Confidence to the value of a beaver-skin
each for every day of their absence from the
camp, besides presents of tobacco, shoes, &c, and
departed well pleased with our liberality. The
day was beautiful, and at 2 p.m. we commenced
the descent of Kendall River. It is little better
than a series of rapids, many of them strong ;
but the expertness of our crews carried us trium
phantly down. As we approached the main river,
large banks of snow and ice overhung the
stream; and, on our emerging from the steep rocky
chasm through which it rushes into the Cop
permine, our surprise may be imagined at be
holding the ample channel of the latter — there
dilated among islands — still covered with ice.

OF THE COPPERMINE. 255
We encamped on the same spot where I had
breakfasted on the 2nd of April. Our arrival was
evidently premature ; but we had now achieved
what the men had long regarded as one of the
most dubious and difficult portions of our en
terprise, and they were in high good-humour
on that account. As for myself, my repeated
winter journeys had entirely satisfied me of the
practicability of the route in the spring, and
they were the means of ensuring our success.
The temperature this evening rose to 62°, and
a few feeble musquitoes began to flit about.
On the 21st a strong and warm south wind
blew. Kendall River became turbid, and rose
upwards of two feet. Great havoc ensued among
the ice, and the open lead of the Coppermine,
which yesterday appeared a mere thread, now
expanded into a rapid stream. We made ex
cursions along its banks, and two deer Were shot.
22d. — Considering the passage practicable, we
quitted our harbour at 10 a. m. The current bore
us with great velocity through the yet narrow
channel between the fixed ice and the steep
western bank of the river, where there was no
possibility of landing. A few miles lower down
the stream contracts; and the ice was gone,
leaving a tremendous wall on either side. We
took advantage of an occasional eddy to scramble

256 DANGEROUS DESCENT
ashore in pursuit of reindeer and musk-cattle,
which were grazing in every little valley. A
fresh breeze from the north favoured our ap
proach ; and the heedless deer were sometimes
feeding so near the brink, that we fired at them
out of the boats as we glanced past. It was
princely sport, and a supply of venison for several
days rewarded our exertions. These deer were
all lean bucks; the does being already on the
coast, casting their young. At length quantities
of ice came driving down, disputing the passage
with us, and rendering the descent of the nar
row, crooked rapids extremely hazardous ; for,
besides what was visible, we several times struck
against water-logged masses that were floating
down beneath the surface. It need not be
thought extraordinary that ice, saturated with
water, should sink, like timber in the same con
dition. In the beginning of summer, when the
porous and dissolving ice has thus attained the
same specific gravity with the supporting ele
ment, and trembles as it were in the balance,
any unusual agitation is sufficient to cause its
submersion. In this way it often happens that
large lakes, which in the evening are covered
with ice, after a windy night, present next morn
ing a perfectly clear surface to the anxious tra
veller. At other times, for the same reason, the

OF THE COPPERMINE. 257
ice of lakes, which in calm weather only breaks
up when thoroughly decayed, as soon as it has
entered the rapid current of a river almost
entirely disappears. The ice which covers the
rivers themselves being, on the contrary, rent by
the force of the current while yet comparatively
sound, is usually carried down a great distance,
even to the ocean. At 5 p. m. we reached the
head of a formidable rapid, where, after the car
goes had been carried for nearly a mile, the
boats were run down safely, though half filled
by the heavy waves that broke over them. A
rocky point, which turned aside the torrent, offer
ing a secure harbour, we encamped. During the
night a vast quantity of ice mingled with drift
wood drove past, and, blocking up some of the
contractions of the river below, occasioned a sud
den rise in the water.
We dared not move during the two following
days on account of the continued and swift de
scent of the ice. Though the sun no longer set,
a cold fog from the sea came up the valley of
the river every night.
Tired of delay, we resolved to start at all ha
zards on the 25th, and pushed out at 8 in the
morning. From Sir John Franklin's description
of the lower part of the Coppermine, we antici
pated a day of dangers and excitement ; nor were

258 DANGEROUS DESCENT
we disappointed. Franklin made his descent on
the 15th of July, when the river had fallen to
its summer level ; but we were swept down by
the spring flood, now at its very height. The
swollen and tumultuous stream was still strewed
with loose ice, while the inaccessible banks were
piled up with ponderous fragments. The day
was bright and lovely as we shot down rapid
after rapid ; in many of which we had to pull for
our lives, to keep out of the suction of the pre
cipices, along whose base the breakers raged and
foamed with overwhelming fury. Shortly before
noon we came in sight of Escape Rapid of
Franklin, and a glance at the overhanging cliffs
told us that there was no alternative but to run
down with full cargo. In an instant we were
in the vortex ; and, before we were aware, my
boat was borne towards an isolated rock, which
the boiling surge almost concealed. To clear it
on the outside was no longer possible ; our only
chance of safety was to run between it and the
lofty eastern cliff. The word was passed, and
every breath was hushed. A stream, which
dashed down upon us over the brow of the pre
cipice more than a hundred feet in height, min
gled with the spray that whirled upwards from
the rapid, forming a terrific shower-bath. The
pass was about eight feet wide* and the error of a

OF THE COPPERMINE. 259
single foot on either side would have been instant
destruction. As, guided by Sinclair's consum
mate skill, the boat shot safely through those
jaws of death, an involuntary cheer arose. Our
next impulse was to turn round to view the fate
of our comrades behind. They had profited by
the peril we incurred, and kept without the trea
cherous rock in time. The waves there were
still higher, and for a while we lost sight of our
friends. When they emerged, the first object
visible was the bowman disgorging part of an
intrusive wave which he had swallowed, and
looking- half-drowned. Mr. Dease afterwards
told me that the spray, which completely enve
loped them, formed a gorgeous rainbow around
the boat. After discharging the water shipped,
we continued our descent, till, at 2 p. m., we
were arrested, about a mile above the Bloody
Fall, by a barrier of ice stretching across the
river. Putting about, we were fortunate in find
ing a safe eddy under some steep white earth
cliffs, and encamped on a grassy plain stretching
out from their base, and affording the double
advantage of drift wood and a brook of clear
water. We eagerly climbed the highest hills,
and gazed on a wide expanse of sea covered
with a dazzling sheet of ice, dotted with dark
rocky islands; while far north rose the lofty

260 DANGEROUS DESCENT
headlands of Cape Kendall and Cape Hearne, the
latter blue in the distance. The Bloody Fall it
self was free ; but immediately below it, and from
thence to the coast, the river was choked with
ice. We found no recent traces of Esquimaux at
the fall ; but next day many tracks were seen in a
plain to the west of the Coppermine, lying be
tween it and a fine deep stream flowing to the
northward. This latter river here approaches
within two leagues of the Coppermine, and seemed
equally large ; a short distance higher up it bends
off to the westward. Its banks are clothed with
willows, and its course appeared tranquil. We
had much pleasure in naming it Richardson
River, after that resolute and scientific traveller.
Several old camping-places, sledges, pieces of
wrought wood, &c, were found on the adjacent
hills. Various flowers were here in bloom ; and,
in low damp situations, the verdure of grass and
willows relieved the eye, in the midst of ice and
barrenness. A female marmot, big with young,
was caught, and would soon have become tame,
could we have conveniently kept her. The lively
little creature seemed to feel quite at ease under
a reversed tin dish, till released to join her mate,
who, from an adjoining heap of stones, occasion
ally testified his impatience at her captivity by
a sharp shrill whistle.

OF THE COPPERMINE. 261
The bar of ice between us and the Bloody
Fall having broken up, two men were despatched
to the coast on the 27th to examine the state
of the ice. On their return, in the evening, they
reported the river to be still blocked up ; and
that the sea-ice adhered firmly to the beach,
without the least appearance of decay, or indi
cation of water in any direction. They brought
us a fine salmon-trout, which they had rescued
from a bevy of gulls, engaged in the act of drag
ging it alive out of the river. The waters were
still too high for setting our nets, but on the
final liberation of the river, two days afterwards,
they subsided rapidly. A. gunshot below our en
campment, the face of a hill, undermined by the
stream, kept falling down in large heaps with a
tremendous noise, and obliged us to remove the
boats higher up, in shelter of the grounded ice.
The remaining days of June were fine, but cool.
Our hunters killed several deer : these, with some
geese, which we shot, kept our stock of pemican
almost untouched. My observations placed our
encampment in lat. 67° 42' 52" N., long, (by
lunar distances) 115° 49' 30" W. ; variation
54° 17' 30" E.
July 1st. — After a halt of five days we de
scended to the fall. The portage occupied six
or seven hours, the boats having to be carried

262 FLIGHT OF
about half a mile. On its northern side we
found two skulls, the sole remaining memorial
of the atrocious massacre of the Esquimaux by
Hearne's Chipewyans in 1772. Several ancient
stone circles, indicating the camping-place of
these ill-fated people, were quite overgrown with
willows. Some of the wooden pegs of Frank
lin's tents of 1821 still stood in the ground ;
and, in the reach below, old ropes, tarpaulins,
wrappers, &c, left by Richardson's party in 1826,
lay scattered about. At the bottom of the fall
the flat shore to the foot of the hills, several
hundred yards from the river, was occupied by
icy fragments, for the most part six feet thick.
We proceeded to within three miles of the sea,
when an accident obliged us to encamp. Num
bers of laughing geese were hatching on the bor
ders of the ponds and swamps in the adjacent
plain. During the stillness of the night the roar
of the Bloody Fall was plainly audible, although
six miles distant. There was a hard frost at the
time. On the 2nd, one of the men, proceeding a
little way along the coast, descried two tents
of Esquimaux, but returned unseen by the in
mates. Next day, Mr. Dease and some of our
people, walking near the mouth of the river,
suddenly came in sight of four Esquimaux, ap-

THE ESQUIMAUX. 263
parently a man, a boy, and two women, who
had just halted on a hillock to pitch their tents.
Immediately on perceiving our party, the poor
creatures took to flight; the women and boy
wading across a shallow channel to an island
lying in the mouth of the river, while the
man embarked in the only kayak they had, and
paddled out into the stream. Upon this, Mr.
Dease advanced alone to the water-side, and
made signs to the latter to come ashore. Strange
to say, he complied; probably, from very fear.
On landing, he broke off two spear-heads, and
presented them, in token of amity, to Mr.
Dease; who, in return, cut some buttons from
his coat and gave them to his new acquaint
ance. They then sat down on the grass together,
and a broken dialogue ensued, in which the Es
quimaux pointedly inquired whether the white
men were accompanied by their families; a cir
cumstance that, in savage life, usually denotes
pacific intentions. Mr. Dease evaded the ques
tion, but assured him of a friendly reception and
liberal gifts at our encampment. The stranger
was about six feet high, stout, and well-looking,
with brown hair. He wore no labrets ; and his
tonsure was triangular, the apex being towards
the back of the head. The interview over, to
all appearance satisfactorily, he re- embarked in

264 FLIGHT OF
his canoe. In a very short time he and his
family appeared on the ice, which yet adhered
to the island on the seaward side, and made off
at a great rate towards a distant and lofty group
of islands. On Mr. Dease's return, we removed
to the vicinity of the spot where the fugitives
had abandoned their property; which included
a leather lodge ; skins of deer and seals, for bed
ding, clothing, and boots; a kettle, lamps, and
dishes, hollowed out of a soft grey stone ; bows
and arrows ; an ice-trench, knives, and other im
plements, formed of native copper; pieces of
whalebone ; and various articles left by Dr. Rich
ardson's party, such as tin canisters, pieces of
gunlocks, strips of red cloth, a pencil, and some
painted fragments of the Dolphin and Union.
At the water-side lay an excellent wooden sledge,
thirteen feet long and two feet wide, which they
were towing up the river, after it had served. to
convey their baggage thither on the ice. There
was also a quantity of deer's flesh in an almost
putrid state. We gathered all these things to
gether, and carefully covered them over with the
leather tent, and with poles and stones. Four
dogs remained behind ; one of which was in the
last stage of starvation, but soon recovered under
our care. Though we supplied the poor deserted
-brutes with food, they continued shy of us, till

THE ESQUIMAUX. 265
one night that a troop of six wolves pursued
them to our tents, where they instinctively took
refuge. In order to save these useful animals,
and, if possible, restore them to their owners,
we carried them with us on our quitting the
river a fortnight afterwards.
The weather in the early part of the month
was, for the most part, dark and stormy. The
northerly or ice winds were piercingly cold, and
charged with fog, snow, and deluges of rain,
against which our tent, made of light inferior
sheeting, formed a wretched defence : our men
were rather better lodged.
On the 7th, Sinclair was sent along the coast
to examine anew the condition of the ice. He
returned from the mouth of an unfordable river,
nine miles to the eastward, probably the same
that Hearne ascended on his return, and which
passes through a branch of the Coppermine.
The ice everywhere lay solid and unbroken upon
the very sand, affording no hope of a speedy
liberation. Tracing up the stream, which in
clined towards the Coppermine, he perceived on
its opposite bank five tents of the natives ; but
when we made an attempt, two days afterwards,
to open a communication with them, they and
their habitations had disappeared.
The 8th being a calm mild day, the musqui-

266 DANGEROUS DESCENT
toes commenced their assaults ; and the deer,
driven from the valleys by these persecuting
insects, were seen crossing the ice to the nu
merous islands scattered without the river.
To vary the scene, we made an excursion on
the 11th, with a light boat, to the westward,
with the view of exploring the> mouth of Rich
ardson River, which I concluded to fall into
the unknown bottom of Back's Inlet. After
coasting five miles, we were stopped by the fixed
ice ; but from the summit of a lofty range of
rocks we discerned in the north-north-west a piece
of open water, undoubtedly caused by the influx
of the stream. On the sandy beach were the
tracks of nine Esquimaux, who had apparently
passed in great haste a few days before, proba
bly terrified by the distant report of our guns,
or by falling upon some of our hunting-tracks.
Could these poor creatures comprehend our
kindly feelings towards them, they would be
eager, like their western countrymen, to profit
by our visit, instead of flying from us on every
side. Upon the rocks were numerous stone cir
cles, caches, and marks ; and in a valley I ob
served a turf deer-pound of the preceding year.
Here, again, we found some remains of Rich
ardson's mahogany boats. Next day, one of our
Indians, while out goose-shooting, came unawares

OF THE COPPERMINE. 267
upon two Esquimaux, who were travelling from
the eastward towards the Bloody Fall, where the
season for drying salmon now commences. He
took off his cap and waved it to them, but (as he
acknowledged) running away at the same time ;
and the strangers seemed as little disposed for
intercourse as himself.
On the 13th, the sun's lower limb almost
touched the horizon at midnight. At this period
the banks of the river were adorned with a
profusion of flowers, which contributed to enrich
Mr. Dease's herbal. The nets produced, during
our detention, one hundred and forty fish, chiefly
Arctic salmon, large salmon-trout, and tullibee;
with a few methy, white-fish, red sucking-carp,
and diminutive flounders. I obtained an excel
lent series of solar altitudes and lunar distances,
which place the mouth of the Coppermine in
lat. 68° 48' 27" N., long. 115° 31' 15" W. ; be
ing 37 seconds to the northward, 5' 34", or about
two miles, to the eastward of the position deter
mined by Sir John Franklin; but he was en
camped on the west, and we on the east side
of the river. The variation was 53° 47' 54" E. ;
being an increase of 7° 22' 2" since 1821, or 26
minutes per annum. There was but one diurnal
tide, and the rise and fall of the water varied
from five to seven inches. At this date I find,

268 DANGEROUS DESCENT
by Ritch's journal, that the ice on Great Bear
Lake was still perfectly solid, and continued
unbroken till the beginning of August; which
may be considered the average term of its dis
ruption,* being a full month later than Great
Slave Lake, between which and Athabasca there
is a like difference.
On the evening of the 16th, having observed
some signs of an opening in the ice to the east
ward, we removed to an island lying outside
the mouth of the river. Here I had a fine ob
servation at midnight of the sun's upper limb,
elevated just four minutes above the visible hori
zon ; the height of the eye being eight feet, the
temperature 38°, and the barometer assumed at
30 inches. The resulting latitude, using Lynn's
admirable tables, is 67° 52' 59"; the true posi
tion was 67° 49' 54". On this occasion, there
fore, the actual horizontal refraction exceeded
the tabular by 3' 5" ; indeed, during the succeed
ing morning, there was much mirage, indicating
a highly refractive state of the atmosphere.f The
* The bay of Fort Franklin, at the head of the grand out
let to the southward, is clear of ice much earlier, but furnishes
no criterion of its state on the main body and northern parts
of this immense lake.
f The following year I frequently repeated these midnight
observations, between the Coppermine and Cape Barrow, when

OF THE COPPERMINE. 269
shores of these islands, and all the neighbouring
coast, were abundantly stored with small crooked
drift wood, brought down by the Coppermine

river.

the result, for the most part, fell ten miles to the southward of
the noon latitude, which corresponds with Dr. M'Kay 's scale
of corrections for the spheroidal figure of the earth.

270

CHAPTER XI.
Second Sea Voyage. — Difficulties and detentions amongst Ice.
— Long circuit in Bathurst's Inlet. — Discovery of Copper
on Barry Islands. — Boats finally arrested near Point Turn-
again. At 12hrs. 30min. a.m. on the 17th of July
we commenced our second voyage on the Hyper
borean sea. The morning was calm and fine;
and, after pulling two or three miles outwards,
round a field of ice, we found an open channel
between Berens Isles and the main shore. That
advantage would, however, have soon been lost,
had not a gentle S. S.W. wind sprung up, and,
while it detached the ice from the land, greatly
accelerated our progress. At several points we
had to lower sail and push through the streams
of ice, at considerable risk to the boats. To our
Indian companions the sea was indeed a new
element. Almost the first living objects they
saw, two young seals, (which they called sea-
beaver,) excited their wonder, and, when we
landed to breakfast on an island, they anxiously

SECOND SEA VOYAGE. 271
watched an opportunity to possess themselves
of these strange animals; but the lively little
fellows would never approach within gunshot.
Everywhere there were old marks of Esquimaux,
but none recent. The beach was strewed with
seaweed and mussel-shells — certain indications of
a clearer sea, in some seasons, than that which
we navigated last year. As the day advanced
the weather became sultry, and we were torment
ed on the water by swarms of musquitoes. Rein
deer and musk-cattle were seen. Some of the
former, to escape the persecution of the flies,
were standing breast-high in the water, or run
ning upon and swimming amongst the ice. At
5 p. m. we were stopped by an impenetrable field,
after having advanced thirty-five miles. The
water during the whole of this day's journey was
fresh, or very nearly so, owing to the contiguity
and rapid dissolution of the ice, aided by the
discharge of many small rivers and streams.
Scarcely had we unloaded our boats, and drawn
them up on the beach, when a violent thunder
storm, that had been for some hours gathering,
burst over us, attended with torrents of rain.
Compact ice and continued rain detained us
till 7 in the evening of the 19th, when the wind
veering to the west-south-west opened a passage,
and we set sail. A dense fog shrouded sea and

272 DIFFICULTIES AND DETENTIONS
shore ; and, after running ten or twelve miles, we
found ourselves embayed in fixed ice, between a
high, rocky island and the mainland. The broken
ice was at the same time rapidly closjng in upon
us; but, by laborious efforts for two hours, we
extricated ourselves from this critical situation,
and safely landed to windward of the press at
midnight. There were foot-prints of Esquimaux
on the shore, about a week old ; and the stone
circles of five tents. Seven sledges, with a
variety of other articles (including some of the
wide-spread remnants of Dr. Richardson's boats),
were laid up close at hand.
The receding tide having separated the ice
from the beach, we set out at 10 o'clock the
following night, and crept along shore for about
three hours, when we again reached its unbroken
limit. We pitched our tents on rugged rocks,
surrounded by scenery of singular wildness and
sterility. On the 21st a sultry land breeze further dis
united the ice, and enabled us, by cutting our
way at the different projections, to make the
circuit of a bay to the high, rocky cape which
Franklin doubled on the 22nd of July, 1821.
Here ice of immense thickness still clung to the
crags; and in two or three places, where there

AMONGST ICE. 273
were deep water holes among the loose rocks
fallen from the cliffs, large blocks of pure white
ice were seen adhering to' the bottom. Yet at
noon this day the thermometer stood at 71° in
the shade, and rose to 88° when exposed to the
sun's rays. It was the hottest day of the brief
Arctic summer. We encamped in a chasm or
narrow valley intersecting the cape. Here we
found the caches of six tents of Esquimaux, con
taining a quantity of blubber, some stone kettles
and lamps, a variety of utensils, besides the spoils
of musk-cattle, reindeer, seals, and white foxes,
A striped cotton shirt, almost new, was wrapped
up and preserved with especial care. Most of
these things were placed on a shelf in the rock,
about forty feet high, and inaccessible to any
quadruped. They had formed a ladder with their
sledges to attain this place of security. Though
we examined their repositories on this and other
occasions, in order to form an idea of their
manner and means of living, we made a point of
scrupulously replacing everything as we found it ;
and usually added any articles we could spare of
our own, as an evidence of our good-will towards
them. Like most of the others, this party had
probably wintered upon islands — the most favour
able situations for seal-hunting; and had lately
T

274 DIFFICULTIES AND DETENTIONS
removed inland to pass the summer at fishing
stations, or in places most frequented by reindeer
and musk-cattle.
On the evening of the 24th we were at length
able to double the promontory, but we did so at
the imminent hazard of the boats. In this ope
ration one of them got an upper plank and the
wash-board split, from a squeeze between the ice
and the rocks. With great labour we advanced
two miles, and encamped in a little gravelly bay
beside a cascade. The sun set for about three
hours ; and the new ice, which formed in the
open pools, remained till late the following morn
ing: the night was calm and serene. Our nets
at these two last stations yielded only two small
Arctic salmon, though these elegant fish were
seen sporting about the mouth of every streamlet.
25th. — After several hours' preliminary cutting
through the ice, we were enabled to move for
ward in the afternoon ; and, by frequently repeat
ing the same process, we effected an advance of
five miles. There was an Esquimaux road upon
the ice, and one of their stone traps was found
where we encamped, near Port Epworth, the
estuary of Tree River. We also remarked, while
walking along the rocky shore, one or two places
where seals had been trailed up by the indefati
gable natives.

AMONGST ICE. 275
Our progress next day was comparatively un
impeded by the ice, which, under the influence
of the continued fine weather, began to dissolve
along the edge of the rocks, whose turnings and
sinuosities we were, of course, obliged to follow.
In crossing Gray's Bay to Hepburn Island we
were met by a strong current from the eastward.
A legion of gulls, with their young, occupied the
clefts in the precipices of the island, which spring
abruptly from the deep to a considerable height.
The seals were unusually inquisitive, and we shot
several ; but, after struggling for a moment, the
creatures invariably sunk before we could lay
hold of them, leaving the water dyed with blood.
Some days afterwards we fished up a small one
in two fathoms, which had been shot through the
head ; and the Indians were gratified with its
skin. From Hepburn Island we found a tolera
bly open lead to the mouth of a stream flowing
into the bay, three miles from Wentzel River,
and of similar size. Its waters were very foul,
in consequence of traversing lofty mud-banks
immediately after its descent from the naked
granite hills that bind this iron coast. The roar
of a distant cataract proclaimed the suddenness
of this change in its career. The banks of this
river seemed quite a nest of wolves ; and we pur
sued two females, followed by half a score of
T 2

276 DIFFICULTIES AND DETENTIONS
well-grown young. The mothers scampered up
the highest rocks, whence they called loudly to
their offspring ; and the latter, unable to save
themselves by flight, baffled our search by hiding
themselves among the willows which fringe the
stream. The leader of the whole gang — a huge
ferocious old fellow — stood his ground, and was
shot by M'Kay. At this place our only ther
mometer was unluckily broken. The mean tem
perature of the preceding part of July was 43*7 °,
being 7*2° colder than the same period at Fort
Confidence; where, however, some deduction
might fairly be made, in consequence of the
impossibility of finding an open place for the
fixed instrument, on which the sun's rays did not
fall at some hour of his long daily circuit.
27th. — The manner of our journey to-day may
be compared to the evolutions of an expert
skater; for, except at the immediate margin,
the ice lay fixed and immoveable in the almost
innumerable little rocky bays, creeks, and coves
which indent this part of the coast. In one place
we had to carry boats and cargoes over a solid
floe, that still reclined high and dry upon the
rocks. The islands lying off the coast reposed
amidst the glittering field as if they were gigantic
stones set in enamel.
We advanced next day for three or four hours

AMONGST ICE. 277
in the same tedious and laborious manner, till the
ice, now for the first time broken up and set in
motion by a strong north-east wind, drove us
ashore. During these last few days the boats
sustained serious damage, and were now become
leaky. Indeed, in our anxiety to get on, we sub
jected them to very rough usage. Often, when
the ice was not quite firm enough to make por
tages with safety, we hauled the boats upon it;
and, holding on by the gunwales, all hands con
tinued jumping and pressing down till it began to
yield; and, the boats sinking into the water, we
scrambled on board, and by main force pushed
aside the pieces thus separated. At other times,
one party was stationed upon the rocks, with iron-
shod poles, to shove against the ice ; another
upon the ice, to shove against the rocks; and,
when an opening the breadth of the boats could
be thus formed, the remaining hands passed them
through, one at a time : those with the poles
holding on with all their might, lest the ice
should close, like a pair of nut-crackers, and
deprive us of the means of either advancing or
retreating. On this part of the coast many rein
deer paths were found, leading from the interior
to the sea; from which circumstance, and from
our seeing, up to this time, males only, I infer
that the females pass by these roads early in the

278 LONG CIRCUIT
season, and, crossing the ice, bring forth their
young upon the islands, where they are more
secure than on the continent.
The wind having fallen on the 29th, and left
a practicable channel, we at last doubled the
rugged and rocky Cape Barrow. On the top of
rocks, upwards of a hundred feet above the sea,
clam-shells were found, and some small speci
mens of that round prickly sort of shell called
the " sea urchin," which must have been carried
by birds to such an elevation. These, with
cockles, muscles, periwinkles, and seaweed,
abounded here, and in many other places on the
beach. I am therefore astonished that Franklin's
party should have seen shells in one spot only —
the day they left the Coppermine River. The
ice on Coronation Gulph being still perfectly
solid, we were compelled to coast along the
southward, till we should find a passage across
Bathurst Inlet. We shot a deer and a pair of
swans; and between 9 and 10 p.m. encamped at
the entrance of Moore Bay, where the snow dis
solving on the rocks furnished us with pure
water, and the contiguous shores with some drift
timber. New ice of considerable thickness formed during
the night, and cost us some trouble to break
it next morning. The old ice for its part led us

in bathurst's inlet. 279
the complete circuit of Moore Bay. There was a
thick fog at the time, which cleared off as the day
advanced, and revealed to view shores still rocky,
but enlivened by verdant valleys and declivities,
which on a near approach seemed carpeted with
flowers — ephemeral glories strangely contrasted
with the cold and savage scene of their birth !
We made our way out of the labyrinth of
islands which here environ the coast, through a
strait thirty or forty yards wide. A breeze
springing up from the north-east, we sailed across
Arctic Sound, and at 8 p. M. encamped on Wool-
aston Point, close to the margin of the ice.
Two fine deer were shot by our Indians during
the night.
Very early on the 31st I observed, from the
summit of the rocks, the gradual formation of
a narrow lane of water, stretching across to
wards Barry Islands. We immediately embarked,
and effected the traverse in two hours ; but
found our farther progress arrested by the main
body of ice, which covered the inlet. Next day
a gale from the north-east broke up a large section
of this unwelcome covering, and brought it down
with crushing force upon our island.
On the 2nd of August we extricated ourselves
from the ice, and, the northerly winds conti
nuing, we sailed round the south side of the

280 DISCOVERY OF COPPER
island, which is about six miles long and two
wide. Then, crossing a broad channel leading
to the southward, we landed on the next island
of the same group, which appeared of great
extent. From the top of its lofty trap cliffs
I discovered a narrow part with water on the
northern side. It proved a high rocky isthmus,
a quarter of a mile broad, across which we
carried the boats and cargoes. After rowing
about half a league, we had to break our way
through a stream of ice ; and, a few furlongs
farther, came again to the edge of the main
body of the ice, where we encamped at 9 p. M.,
having by our toilsome and circuitous route ad
vanced only eight miles of direct distance.
Our detention the following day was amply
compensated by my fortunate discovery of several
pieces of pure copper ore. They were lying
amongst the debris at the foot of a crumbling
rock, which had evidently fallen from the trap
hills above. The cliffs were everywhere stained
with verdigris, indicating the presence of the
metal, which undoubtedly abounds in these islands.
Coloured quartz crystals and vesicles were fre
quent, and I preserved specimens of the lead
ing rocks, both here and all along the coast.
Barry Islands contain several fine deep harbours,
completely land-locked and sheltered from every

ON BARRY ISLANDS. 281
wind. Should these seas ever be navigated by
ships, this would form a good half-way winter
ing station between Barrow's and Behring's
Straits ; and the mines might be wrought from
May to August, before the ice would admit of
prosecuting the voyage. The tides and currents
in the inlet are exceedingly irregular, depend
ing on the winds and ice ; but on no occasion
did I notice a change of more than one foot
in the water level. Deer were numerous, in
cluding for the first time does with their fawns,
now well grown. Sinclair shot two fat bucks ;
and, on his return, was followed by a barren-
ground bear with her two cubs, attracted by
the smell of the meat he was carrying. On
his throwing down his burden, they scampered
off, before he could get his gun ready. The
young ptarmigan were strong on the wing; and
herds of seals lay basking on the ice near this
island. Stone traps, old paddles, and other ves
tiges indicated the occasional abode of Esqui
maux, who use turf as well as wood for fuel.
A small lake not far from our encampment was
still frozen.
4th. — The ice continuing immoveable on the
northern side of the island, and some open water
having been seen from the hills in the channel
separating it from the eastern mainland, we

282 DIFFICULTIES AND DETENTIONS
this morning went south about the island, which
occupied eight hours' incessant rowing. Then
crossing the strait, which is three miles wide,
we landed to breakfast at Point Everitt. The
ice obstructed our passage round this cape, after
which we had a clear channel to Fisher's Islands,
where we encamped at 9 p. m., having come
thirty-five miles. The last of Barry Islands affords
a fine illustration of the secondary resting upon
the primitive rocks. The horizontal line of stra
tification appeared as accurately drawn as in a
work of art. At the precipice from whose face
I took away specimens, there were about twenty
feet of the base rock above the sea, with eighty
feet of trap cliff superimposed. Others doubled
these dimensions. Point Everitt, and the whole
range of the mainland to Melville Sound, are
formed of bare rounded granitic hills of inferior
altitude, while all the adjacent islands present
a mixed geological character.
Our progress on the 5th was not much im
peded till we reached Cape Croker, where the
ice was squeezed upon the shore, and obliged
us to make a portage. We had a view of Mel
ville Sound quite covered with ice, but an almost
clear channel luckily stretched across its en
trance to a low island, four or five miles dis
tant ; the northern side of which being shut up,

AMONGST ICE. 283
we encamped at 8 p.m. A pair of brown cranes
stalked about — the undisputed lords of the isle
before our arrival. Many large brown ducks
flew past, and " cacawees " were moulting along
the shore in great numbers. A very strong
current, amounting to a rapid, ran between the
south end of this island and an islet lying off
it ; a similar appearance was afterwards noticed
near Cape Flinders.
A narrow channel having opened, we re-em
barked at 4 o'clock the following morning. After
advancing for two or three hours, we were again
stopped by the ice, but endeavoured to force
our way through it, encouraged by the appearance
of some water ahead. Thrice we repeated the
attempt, and as often found ourselves hemmed
in, and compelled to carry both boats and car
goes to the shore, to save them from being
crushed. On the summit of a cliff, one hundred
and fifty feet high, I found two pieces of wood,
almost rotten. They must have been left there
many years ago by the natives, who seem fond of
encamping on elevated spots. The ice-covered
gulph, with its innumerable dark rugged islands,
the clouds gloomily gathering over the crescent-
shaped mainland, and long files of waterfowl
passing aloft to the southward, warned by instinct
of some coming change, while around flew several

284 DIFFICULTIES AND DETENTIONS
large hawks, screaming wildly at the danger that
threatened their young brood from the intrusion
of man, — these were the objects that met my view
from the heights; and the stern prospect was lit
tle calculated to cheer our spirits, or to buoy up
our hopes. At the same period in 1821, accord
ing to Franklin's journal, the ice was either dis
solved or entirely dispersed. The weather for the
ten preceding days had been very mild, and the
temperature singularly equable ; the extremes
(judging by our feelings) being 40° and 50°. The
temperature of the sea, however, continued so
low, that new or " bay" ice formed every calm
night in the open spots, and cut our boats even
more than the old. And I would here remark
that the bows of all boats intended for such ser
vice should be partially sheathed with copper.
On the 7th the tide and heavy rain opened
a channel a gunshot wide, where all our efforts
had proved unavailing. We made a farther pro
gress of three hours, when we were again ar
rested in the usual way. It will be tedious
and dispiriting to us, to see day after day and
week after week pass in a constant and inef
fectual struggle with the same cold obdurate
foe. I saw three or four deer on a narrow point,
some distance from our encampment; but, on

AMONGST ICE. 285
my cutting them off from the land, they took
to the ice, and soon galloped out of reach.
The moon was visible to-night, but it was a
passing glimpse, and she soon vanished amidst fog
and storm. The following day was marked by
nothing but fog and rain, with a gale from the
north-west. On the 9th the ice in Walker and Riley bays
at length broke up, and we crossed them under
sail, with a fresh breeze from the northward.
The water for the first time tasted truly salt.
We landed at Cape Flinders to breakfast, where
a lump of galena was found among the rocks.
A piece of wood was also picked up, fashioned
like a small fish ; an invention probably used by
the Esquimaux to lure trout and other fish to
holes cut in the ice, where they stand ready to
spear them. Immediately on doubling the cape,
the ice once more put a stop to our progress.
To reach this point, which in a direct line is
hardly forty miles from Cape Barrow, we had
performed a circuit of one hundred and forty.
We should not, however, have regretted this
labour, had it not been attended by so great a
sacrifice of time, without any melioration of our
prospects. The tents were pitched on a beach of
sharp stones, the size of a man's fist, and larger,
which our men humorously styled " north-west

286 BOATS FINALLY ARRESTED
feathers." The poor fellows' stock of tobacco
was by this time entirely consumed, and it was
amusing to witness the shifts and substitutes
they employed. Swamp-tea, pepper, salt, cotton
rags, and even oakum, were used to replenish
their empty pipes. People voluntarily subject
themselves to a species of slavery in acquiring
such useless and disagreeable habits. Of all
the individuals composing the expedition I was
the only non-smoker ; and, throughout the fur
countries generally, the exceptions scarcely
amount to one in a hundred. The tediousness
of time, and the absence of the amusements
and recreations common in other parts of the
world, sufficiently account for the universal pre
valence of a custom so general, even where no
such palliation exists.
From the 9th to the 19th of August — a long
and fatal delay — ~we experienced an almost un
interrupted succession of violent gales from the
north and west, beating directly upon the shore,
accompanied by severe frost, with frequent falls
of rain and snow. We remained miserable pri
soners in the same ill-omened spot, scarcely able
to collect, from a couple of miles on either side,
drift wood enough to cook our two daily meals
of pemican. Reindeer had become scarce; but
ducks and geese passed in large flights to the

NEAR POINT TURNAGAIN. 287
southward. The main body of ice before us,
which seemed commensurate with the ocean,
remained unmoved, resting upon the very sand ;
while the enormous mass that the gales had
broken up in the gulph, closed in behind us
with a crashing noise, often mistaken for thunder.
Not an acre of water was visible from the heights
in any direction, except the little cove in which
we lay. Even that poor corner was frequently
frozen over of a morning ; and, to all appearance,
it would now prove nearly as difficult to retreat
as to advance. The ice, different from what we
had lately seen, was covered with snow, brilliantly
white ; and we could have little doubt that it was
destined soon to unite with the new formation of
the approaching winter. Had these gales oc
curred during the calms of July, our voyage
would, in all probability, have by this time ap
proached a successful termination. Speaking of
a calm season, Sir John Ross observes, that it is
" the most unfavourable weather for navigating
these seas, since it is only through the force of
the winds that the ice can be opened and dis
persed, as navigators are indebted to the northerly
gales of summer for whatever progress they can
make." Our short summer was now at an end ;
we all wore our winter clothing; and the truth
of the remark just quoted was evident on com-

288 BOATS FINALLY ARRESTED
paring the inclement and boisterous summer of
1837, and the success that then crowned our efforts
in a higher latitude, with our present helpless
position. That our exertions had even exceeded
those of the previous year, the planks of the
boats, torn and jagged by the ice, bore alarming
proof. It would be difficult to depict our sorrow
and disappointment at being thus arrested at the
very threshold of our enterprise. Often did we
walk along the coast, and climb the hills; but
the prospect was still the same. At 1 in the
morning of the 16th I first saw the stars ; had
the sky been clear, they would have been visible
several days earlier.
On the 19th the sun set at 8 hrs. 30 min.
mean time. The period appointed for the re
turn of former expeditions was now arrived.
Franklin's farthest encampment in 1821 was
about three miles to the northward of us ; but on
the 16th of August, in that year, he found here
a perfectly open sea. The extreme length and
severity of the last winter must have had some
share in producing so great a difference.
I may here mention that what appeared the
natural run of the tides rarely exceeded one foot;
but that, impelled by the westerly gales, the
water rose twenty-one inches, and fell off again
as soon as the wind shifted to the north. When-

NEAR POINT TURNAGAIN. 289
ever there appeared the least regularity, I inserted
the results in the annexed table. The flood came
from the westward. We certainly found but one
diurnal tide to the eastward of the Coppermine
River — similar to what has been observed on the
shores of Australia. Boathaven — the appellation
conferred on our encampment — is situated in
lat. 68° 16' 25" N., long, (by capital lunars)
109° 20' 45" W.; variation 46° E.
That this voyage might not prove wholly fruit
less, I proposed to conduct a party of seven men
on foot, for ten days, along the coast to the east
ward. Should the winds after my departure un
expectedly blow off the land, Mr. Dease agreed
to follow with one boat and the remaining five
men, leaving the other boat, with the bulk of the
provisions, in security at our present encamp
ment. No better plan could be devised for
achieving at least a portion of the discoveries
which we had fondly hoped to complete, without
relinquishing the chance of pushing them as far
as Ross's Pillar, if the winds happily changed,
and drove the ice off the shore. My proposition
was, therefore, joyfully received by all, and the
crews again volunteered with one accord to
accompany me. I chose those who had not been
with me at Point Barrow in 1837 ; and the
necessary preparations were made for setting out
u

290 BOATS FINALLY ARRESTED.
next day — the 20th of August. Signals were
likewise arranged to prevent our missing each
other on the .way ; and, should we unfortunately
do so, the last day of August was fixed for the
rendezvous of both detachments at Boathaven.

291

CHAPTER XII.
Journey on foot and important discoveries to the Eastward. —
Return to the Coppermine, and skilful ascent of that
river. — Traverse of the Barren Grounds, and arrival at
Fort Confidence.
On Monday the 20th of August, at 8 a. m., we
set out on our journey of discovery. My com
panions were five of the Company's servants and
the two Indians. Each man's load at starting
weighed about half a hundred-weight, compre
hending a tent for the nightly shelter of the
whole party, a canvass canoe, with frame and
cords, to ferry us across rivers, a box of astro
nomical instruments, a copper kettle, two axes,
guns, ammunition, and provisions for ten days ; in
short, our food, lodging, bedding, arms, and
equipage. As for myself, my trusty double-barrel
slung at my back, a telescope, compass, and
dagger formed my only encumbrance ; so that I
might at pleasure ascend the rising grounds, to
take bearings and view the coast. The plan of
u2

292 IMPORTANT DISCOVERIES
march I adopted was as follows : — We set out at
7 or 8 a.m., after breakfasting (which lessened
the loads), and obtaining observations for longi
tude ; and travelled for ten hours, exclusive of a
halt of half an hour at noon to procure the lati
tude and variation. With their burdens the
men advanced fully two miles an hour ; our daily
progress thus averaging twenty geographical, or
twenty-three English miles, A fatigue party of
three men attended us to our first encampment.
About the middle of this day's journey we passed
the extreme point to which Sir John Franklin
and his officers walked in 1821. A little
farther we found several old Esquimaux camping-
places, and human skulls and bones were seen in
various situations. One skeleton lay alongside
that of a musk-bull, in such a manner as ren
dered it extremely probable that the dying beast
had gored the hapless hunter. The coast-line
continued low ; our road alternately leading over
sand, sharp stones, through swamps and rivulets.
Large boulder rocks rose here and there upon
the shore and acclivities. The ice all along was
forcibly crushed upon the beach, the edging of
water being so shallow that the gulls waded be
twixt the ice and the sand. During the greater
part of the day we were drenched with rain.
The land preserved its north-north-east direction

TO THE EASTWARD. 293
to our encampment — on the pitch of a flat cape —
in lat. 68° 37' N, long. 108° 58' W. This spot
I named Cape Franklin, as a tribute of respect,
from a perfect stranger, to that enterprising
and justly celebrated officer. Land, twenty or
twenty-five miles off, high, and covered with
snow, stretched from west to north-east, and
raised apprehensions that we were entering a
deep inlet or sound.
We had no sooner turned Cape Franklin on
the 21st than we came in view of a very distant
hill, bearing N. 82° E., which I rightly conjec
tured to stand not far back from the coast. The
latter is remarkably straight ; but the walking
was very fatiguing, the shore consisting chiefly
of soft, wet sands, traversed by a multitude of
brooks. These descend from a range of low,
stony hills, which, at the distance of two or three
miles, close the inland view, and were partially
clothed with moss and scanty herbage. The ice
was everywhere grounded on the shore ; but the
weather had by this time improved, and con
tinued so clear and moderate during the rest of
the outward journey, that I daily obtained astro
nomical observations. A flight of white geese
passed us, led on, or officered, by three large
grey ones (anser Canadensis). Numerous flocks
of these fowl were luxuriating in the fine feeding

294 IMPORTANT DISCOVERIES
that the marshes and little bays afforded. The
young geese were large and strong; but, having
not yet acquired the perfect command of their
wings, we captured several upon the icei Two
white wolves were skulking on the hill-side, and
a brace of Alpine hares were shot. Just be
fore encamping, we forded Hargrave River — so
named by me after a particular friend : it is about
a hundred yards wide. Our tent in the evening
wore the semblance of a tailor's and cobbler's
shop, every on© being engaged in repairing the
injuries his habiliments had received during the
day. At this place we secured* under a heap
of stones*, two days' provisions, to serve for our
return to the boats>
The shore next day maintained nearly the
same character, and was intersected by many
small streams ; none of which, on our choosing
proper crossing-places, reached more than waistr
high. They flow over a bed of stones or sand :
their waters were at this time low anid clear; but
their deep and rugged channels shewed that, at
the melting of the snows, not. a few of them
become formidable torrents.. The ice gpew hea
vier as we advanced, and had been driven ashore
with such violence by the gales as to plough
up the shingle and raise it in heaps upon the
beach. The stranded fragments were from three

TO THE EASTWARD. 295
to six feet thick, but no icebergs were any
where to be seen. I hoped, from this strong
evidence of winds and tides, that we were not
engaged in exploring a bay ; though the northern
land still stretched out before us, appearing in
some places scarcely twenty miles distant. We
found to-day the bones of a large whale and the
skull of a Polar bear, and sea-wrack and shells
strewed the beach* No deer were seen, but the
recent print of their1 hoofs often appeared in the
sand. In the afternoon we passed, at a distance
of six miles, the conspicuous hill mentioned
yesterday. It is about six hundred feet high,
and received the name of Mount George, after
my respected relative, Governor Simpson. Drift
wood was become so scarce that we made a
practice of picking up every piece we could find,
an hour or two before camping-time, to prepare
our supper and breakfast. Some of the men's1
legs were much swelled and inflamed this even
ing from the fatigue of their burdens,- the ine^
qualities of the ground, and the constant immer
sion in icy-cold water. The tide fell sixteen!
or eighteen inches during our stay at Point Bal-
lenden; but* as it had been subsiding for some
time previously* I think the whole rise and fall
must exceed two feet. Strong new ice formed
in every open spot during the calm of the night.

296 IMPORTANT DISCOVERIES
On the 23rd the coast led somewhat more
to the northward. The travelling was exceed
ingly painful ; the beach and slopes of the hills
being formed of loose stones, varied here and
there by moss, and an ample number of brooks
and streams. We, however, advanced with spi
rit, all hands being in eager expectation respect
ing the great northern land, which seemed in
terminable. Along its distant shore the beams
of the declining sun were reflected from a broad
channel of open water ; while, on the coast we
were tracing, the ice still lay immoveable, and
extended many miles to seaward. As we drew
near in the evening an elevated cape, land ap
peared all round, and our worst fears seemed
confirmed. With bitter disappointment I ascend
ed the height, from whence a vast and splendid
prospect burst suddenly upon me. The sea, as
if transformed by enchantment, rolled its free
waves at my feet, and beyond the reach of vision
to the eastward. Islands of various shape and
size overspread its surface ; and the northern
land terminated to the eye in a bold and lofty
cape, bearing east-north-east, thirty or forty miles
distant, while the continental coast trended away
south-east. I stood, in fact, on a remarkable
headland, at the eastern outlet of an ice-ob
structed strait. On the extensive land to the

TO THE EASTWARD. 297
northward I bestowed the name of our most
gracious sovereign Queen Victoria. Its eastern
visible extremity I called Cape Pelly, in com
pliment to the Governor of the Hudson's Bay
Company ; and the promontory where we en
camped Cape Alexander, after an only brother,
who would give his right-hand to be the sharer
of my journeys.
Cape Alexander is a rounded, rocky ridge,
covered with loose stones,* four miles in width,
and two or. three hundred feet high. Its west
ern part is situated in lat. 68° 56' N., long. 106°
40' W. The rise and fall of the tide here
was little short of three feet, being the great
est yet observed by us in the Arctic seas. The
weather was calm, and the tide falling, when
we halted. A considerable quantity of loose
ice passed to the westward, and floated back
again as the water rose in the morning, afford
ing a seeming presumption that the flood came
from that quarter. A solitary deer bounded
up the ascent, and along the shore ran a path
beaten by those animals. Sinclair wounded one
of a small herd of musk-cattle that were graz
ing on the banks of a lake behind the cape,
* The prevailing surface rock was a conglomerate, while
the sides of the ravines hollowed out by brooks were of red
sandstone.

298 IMPORTANT DISCOVERIES
but it escaped. Esquimaux marks stood upon
the heights, but no recent traces of inhabitants
could be found.
We next morning cut across the eastern sboul>
der of Cape Alexander, to Musk-ox Lake, which
lies in a valley. It is half a mile long, and
empties itself by a subterraneous channel, through
a steep ridge of shingle, into another basin, about
half its size, which was frozen to the bottom.
Crossing the ice, we forded the little stream
below, which, like many others, still retained
drifts of snow on its banks. Our rough route
led amongst large boulders, and through wet
mossy tracts producing dwarf willows. The im
mediate coast-line continued flat, but skirted as
before by low stony hills. Some ice lingered
in the bays, but the sea was quite open. At
the distance of nine miles we crossed another
bluff cape, composed of trap rocks, where an
observation gave the latitude 68° 52' 19" N.,
variation 63° East. This was the greatest de
viation of the compass from the true meridian.
From Boathaven to Cape Franklin the varia
tion increased very fast, since only nine miles
beyond that cape it was found to be; 60°.
Thence advancing eastward, it fell off to 56°
30', and again augmented as the coast trended
more northerly; while from Trap Cape to our

TO THE EASTWARD. 299
extreme point — only eleven miles in a south
easterly direction — it diminished nearly one and
a half degrees. Where the direction of our
journey crossed that of Ross's magnetic pole at
large angles, the change of variation was rapid;
when we travelled nearly in the line of that
pole, the change was slow. The farther east
we went, the more sluggish did the compass
become; the pocket one especially often had
to be shaken before it would traverse at all,
and, when set upon the rocks, would sometimes
remain pointing just as it was placed.
At 6 P. M. we opened what appeared a very
extensive bay, running far away southward, and
studded with islands. We proceeded on to a
projecting point, where we encamped. From
thence I eould trace part of the western shores
of the bay, formed by a bold curve of granitic
hills ; other land blending with the horizon in
the E.S.E., apparently very remote. As the
time allotted for outgoing was now expiredj
this great bay, which would have consumed many
days to walk round, seemed an appropriate limit
to our journey. Under any circumstances, the
continued and increasing lameness of two or
three of my men must have rendered my re
turn hence imperative. I had, indeed, at one
time hoped to fall in with Esquimaux, and with

300 IMPORTANT DISCOVERIES
their assistance to reach Ross's Pillar; but we
had already explored a hundred miles of coast
without encountering an inhabitant. The site
of three lodges, with a little fire-place of stones
apart, was found here, but they were not of
this year. Cold and famine, I fear, are gradually
wasting away that few in numbers and widely-
scattered people. A rapid stream discharged its
waters into the bay, two miles to the south
ward of our encampment, and was called the
" Beaufort," after the learned hydrographer to
the Admiralty ; while the group of islands be
yond received the name of the first Lord of
the Admiralty, the Earl of Minto.
The morning of the 25th was devoted to the
determination of our position, and the erection
of a pillar of stones on the most elevated part
of the point ; then, hoisting our union- jack, I
took formal possession of the country in her
Majesty's name. In the pillar I deposited a
brief sketch of our proceedings. It is in lat. 68°
43' 39" N, long, (reduced by the watch from
Boathaven) 106° 3' 0" W. ; and the variation
was 60° 38' 23" East.
Our present discoveries were in themselves not
unimportant ; but their value was much enhanced
by the disclosure of an open sea to the eastward,
and the suggestion of a new route — along the

TO THE EASTWARD. 301
southern coast of Victoria Land — by which that
open sea might be attained, while the shores of
the continent were yet environed by an impene
trable barrier of ice, as they were this season.
Our portable canoe, which we had not had oc
casion to use, was buried in the sand at the foot
of a huge round rock on the beach, and with
lighter burdens we commenced retracing our
steps. As we approached our encampment for
the night, we had a capital deer-hunt, which
ended in our dispatching a young buck in a small
lake ; and it was carnival time with us, for one
evening at least. This was the last fine day that
we enjoyed. During the remaining four occupied
by our return to the boats, we had to face
piercing north and westerly winds, with fog,
snow, and rain, aggravated by hard frosts at
night. Our march, through swamps, sand, stones,
and streams, grew more and more laborious ; and,
being continually wet, we suffered much from the
cold, for the shore did not yield sufficient fuel to
dry our clothes at night. Sandpipers and other
little birds lay dead in several places upon the
beach, having apparently perished by the seve
rity of the weather. We saw some herds of
deer migrating southward : one magnificent buck
marched before us, like a doomed victim, for two
days, and was shot near our last encampment.

302 IMPORTANT DISCOVERIES
Geese were still numerous, but quite unapproach
able. We could not help enjoying the speed
with which they sailed past us, high amidst the
storm, in quest of more genial climates. So
barren and desolate is this coast, that, during the
whole journey, we did not find a single berry.
The lameness of two of my men increased so
much, that, after sitting down to rest themselves,
they had to lay hold of each other in order to get
upon their legs again. They suffered acute pain ;
and one of them — a sturdy Greenland sailor — was
laid up for some time after our return to winter*
quarters. With respect to the ice, it seemed to
have made a grand move during our absence.
We first encountered it, on our return, at Trap
Cape, rapidly driving to the eastward. It con
tinued to obstruct the shore all along from Cape
Alexander to Cape Franklin, but there was now
a clear offing that a fleet might navigate. I cast
many a wistful look towards the open water,
hoping to descry the sails of Mr. Dease's boat;
and from time to time fired, to apprize him of
our being near, in case of his keeping too far out
to be distinguished through the fog : but all in
vain. As the land inclined to the southward, the
quantity of ice increased so much as to render
the coast inaccessible; for the tendency of the
westerly gales was to accumulate it on this shore.

TO THE EASTWARD. 303
At dusk on the 29th we returned to Boat
haven, where we found our friends just as we had
left them. I then learned from Mr. Dease that
he could not have extricated his boat sooner than
the preceding day, and did not think it worth
while to risk the attempt so late.
The bad weather and advanced season now
rendered every one anxious to return to winter-
quarters, and I reluctantly acquiesced in the
general sentiment ; but, for doing so, I had reasons
peculiar to myself. I considered that we could
not now expect to reach Back's Great Fish River ;
that, by exploring a part only of the unknown
coast intervening, our return to the Coppermine
must be so long protracted as to preclude the
possibility of taking the boats up that bad river ;
and that, by abandoning them on the coast to the
Esquimaux, we excluded the prospect of accom
plishing the whole by a third voyage, with the
benefit, perhaps, of a more propitious season.
Three great travellers, Hearne, Franklin, and
Richardson, had successively pronounced the as
cent of the Coppermine, above the Bloody Fall,
to be impracticable with boats; and our people,
recollecting only the violence and impetuosity of
our descent, entertained the same opinion. Fully
aware of the great importance of this point to
any future operations, I had, with a careful eye,

304 RETURN TO
inspected every part of the river, and formed in
my own mind the following conclusions respect
ing the upward navigation : — 1st. That in a river
of that size there must always be a lead some
where, of depth enough for light boats. 2nd.
That the force of the rapids would be found much
abated ; and that, with strong ropes, the worst of
them might be surmounted. 3rd. From the fury
of the breakers along the base of the precipices
in June, I inferred the existence, at no great
depth, of a narrow projecting ledge of rock, that,
bared by the falling of the waters, would afford
footing to the towing party ; without which the
ascent must, indeed, have baffled all our efforts.
These views proved in the sequel to be just and
well-founded. A furious gale from the westward, accompanied
with snow, detained us till 10 in the forenoon of
the 31st, when we cut our way out of our icy
prison — the grave of one year's hopes. We ex
perienced a dangerous swell among the streams
of ice outside; then, steering a west-south-west
course, a traverse of nine miles brought us to
Harry Cook Island, so named on the former ex
pedition. On a close approach, however, it
turned out to be a cluster of six or eight rocky
isles. From thence we crossed to Wilmot
Islands, a very numerous group, merely seen

THE COPPERMINE RIVER. 305
at a distance by Sir John Franklin. Some of
the northern passages were blocked up with ice,
but everywhere else there was a clear sea among
these islands. They are all of the trap formation,
like those farther down the gulph.* Another
traverse of ten miles extends to some islands on
the eastern side, within fifteen miles of Cape
Barrow. From thence we were favoured with a
fine passage on an open sea; but there was a
frequent fall of snow, the weather was cold and
wintry, and we had some rough sailing during
the dark nights. At a rocky cape, where we
landed to sup at midnight, I noticed a quantity
of phosphorescent substances in the water. We
met no natives ; and at 6 p.m. on the 3rd of
September we safely re-entered the Coppermine
River. The Esquimaux had ventured back during
our absence, and carried away everything except
their sledge and stone kettles ; leaving marks on
the hillock, pointing to the seaward islands as
the place of their retreat. To evince our friendly
disposition, and compensate the loss of their dogs,
we left them a copper kettle, two axes, as many
ice-trenches, with an assortment of knives, files,
* Being unable to weather the outermost island, which is
large and lofty, we ran round its south end, and called it
Chapman Island, after one of the Company's Directors. X

306 SKILFUL ASCENT
hooks, awls, beads, buttons, rings, and a parcel of
hoop-iron. This — to them invaluable — gift was
secured in a box, on which bosits and men were
figured with charcoal. Next day the boats were
towed up to the Bloody Fall, now diminished to
a strong shelving rapid. There, in a deep cleft
in the rocks, we secured ten bags of pemican, to
meet the exigencies of another season. The masts,
yards, rudders, and spare oars were secreted on
an island below the fall. No late vestiges of the
natives were anywhere discernible, though an
eddy at the foot of the fall still swarmed with
fish. The few blue berries that grow among the
rocks Were withered and fallen.
On the morning of the 5th the boats were, by
M'Kay's and Sinclair's united skill, successively
passed up the fall perfectly light, both crews
hauling on ropes formed of the rigging spliced
together for the purpose. In the lower part,
where the descent was too steep, they made a
launch over the rocks. In another place, the
boat sheering out, the waves broke copiously into
her ; and the bowman was on the point of cutting
the line, to save the trackers, who, ignorant of
their danger, because concealed from view by a
projecting point of rocks, would have been jerked
into the abyss the instant the boat overset. Her
depth of keel, however, prevented a catastrophe

OF THE COPPERMINE RIVER. 307
which must have happened to any of the flat-
bottomed inland bateaux in the same situation.
It snowed heavily, and ice an inch thick formed
at night in the kettles; but our people worked
their way up the rapids with equal spirit and
dexterity, and we encamped two miles below the
Escape. In the passage of that dangerous rapid, the
following day, Mr. Dease's boat got broken, in
consequence of the line snapping, and the bow
man losing his presence of mind. The injury
was repaired in a few hours, and we made good
ten miles. The lurking rock, which had so nearly
caused our destruction on the descent, now rose
high above the shrunken stream, leaving the
narrow, perilous channel that saved us almost dry.
At the foot of the long succession of precipices
which we shot past with such amazing velocity in
June, there was now, in most parts, a narrow bank
or ledge exposed by the subsiding of the waters.
Where this was not the case, all hands embark
ed ; and, if no bottom could be found with the
setting-poles, the boats were drawn up by means
of the ice-hooks, fixed in crevices and on sharp
points of the rock. In this difficult operation it
was necessary actually to graze the cliffs, some
fending off the boat's side ; otherwise the force of
the current must have overpowered our hold, and
X 2

308 SKILFUL ASCENT
carried us down backwards. In some of the
worst places short portages were made ; in others,
the boats took in much water ; and the strain on
the lines was often so great, that the trackers,
even on all fours, could scarcely maintain their
ground. Where bars and shallows occurred, the
boats were poled up in ziz-zag fashion ; or the
men, getting out in the water, handed them over
the obstruction. Numerous fragments of rock
kept falling from the face of the cliffs as the
towing parties passed under them, and one man
narrowly escaped getting his leg fractured ; their
feet were at the same time much galled by the
sharp stones which strewed their difficult path.
The preceding description is equally applicable to
our journey of the 7th, when we surmounted the
strong rapid where we were detained on the
23rd and 24th of June. Nothing but the skill
and dexterity of guides long practised, like ours,
in all the intricacies of river navigation could
have overcome so many obstacles : it is not,
therefore, surprising that Dr. Richardson's less
experienced crews should have found it necessary
to relinquish the attempt, even with the " walnut
shell." We felt a positive comfort in encamping
once more among standing trees, though ever so
diminutive. We were now above all the bad rapids; the

OF THE COPPERMINE RIVER. 309
banks became less steep, the current regular,
but swift and strong. The water had a fine
sea-green colour : it was deep, and so clear, that
fish were often seen by the bowmen darting
along the stony bottom. The weather grew mild
under the influence of southerly breezes, to which
we had loug been strangers; and, in the height
of the day, the sandflies even became trouble"
some on the immediate borders of the river-
Mr. Dease and myself walked across the coun
try, enjoyed some picturesque views of the Cop
per Mountains, and had excellent sport among
the deer, which were tolerably numerous and in
high condition.
The towing party picked up several small pieces
of copper and galena washed down by the river,
and passed the carcases of a number of deer that
had been drowned in the rapids. At 1 in the
afternoon of the 9th we reached a well-wooded
spot, five or six miles below the junction of
Kendall River. This being the nearest point
of the Coppermine to Fort Confidence, and at
the same time an eligible place for repairing
the boats in the ensuing spring, we determined
to deposit them here. They were accordingly
hauled up into the wood, beyond the reach of
the spring inundation. Three bags of pemican,
two of flour, and everything else not absolutely

310 TRAVERSE OF
required for the land journey, were secured from
beasts of prey in a cache of ponderous stones ;
all that we carried with us scarcely amounting
to thirty pounds each man.
On the 10th, striking straight out through
thin dead woods, and barrens abounding in small
lakes, we fell upon Kendall River at the end
of ten miles, about half a league below our
spring provision station. It was only knee-deep
there, full of large stones, and, like Dease River
on the opposite side of the height of land,
must be quite unnavigable, except in the month
of June. I may take this opportunity of ob
serving, that the actual descent of the former
stream, though its course be shorter, appeared
to us little inferior to that of the latter. The
Coppermine, therefore, in its course of seventy
miles from Kendall River to the sea, makes a
descent equal to that of the whole of Bear Lake
River, itself a rapid stream, together with that
of the Mackenzie, below their confluence, — a
united distance of between five and six hundred
miles. In the evening, as we crossed a desolate
valley full of lakes, a cloud of snow geese suddenly
poured over the brow of a neighbouring hill,
and alighted about the lakes. Deer were scarce ;
but, having wounded a small one, we were sur
prised to see the biggest of our Esquimaux dogs,

THE BARREN GROUNDS. 311
though like the rest of the party they carried
bundles on their backs, rush forward and throt
tle the poor animal as it strove to escape.*
The night was very cold, and our bivouac was
on the side of a barren mountain.
Next day we traversed a range of wild rugged
hills of naked rock, to the south branch of
Kendall River: then, ascending the valley, we
discovered in the evening smoke issuing out of
the solitary cluster of pines where I slept on
the 4th of April. We marched along the hill
sides, and, when within hearing, discharged our
guns ; upon which several fires were simulta
neously kindled. Descending from the heights,
we crossed the streamlet, and found a nume
rous camp of Hare Indian women and children ;
the men being out a-hunting, or gone to Fort
Confidence with meat. These kind people were
delighted to see us, and offered us food. The
greeting which our two hunters — their relatives-
received was boisterously affectionate. The old
women closed around them, hugged them over and
over again, and, in the transports of their joy, even
* These dogs, contrary to our expectation, proved very
inferior in the sledge to our own European breed ; their size
being considerably smaller, after due allowance for their bushy
coats and the shortness of their leg unfitting them for making
their way through deep snow.

312 ARRIVAL AT
went the length of abstracting knives and sundry
other small articles from their persons — doubtless
as memorials of their safe and happy return. The
poor fellows themselves seemed rather ashamed
of this hubbub in the presence of whites, and
looked as if they would gladly have dispensed
with the disinterested attentions of the elderly
ladies. We travelled all the succeeding day over bare
mountains covered with loose stones ; the wea
ther snowy, and bitterly cold. In the evening
we descended to the borders of some lakes, where
the natives had constructed a deer hedge set
with nooses.
On the 13th, seeing large smokes on the
north side of Dease River, we made towards them,
though a good way out of our course. Falling
upon a deep part of the stream, some crossed
it on a raft, others found a ford. We lighted
fires in conspicuous places, which were answered ;
and at length we were overtaken by two Indians,
who, with as many others, carrying a bag of
pemican, had been considerately despatched by
Ritch to meet us. Fortunately we did not stand
in need of their assistance; and, proceeding on,
we encamped at Chollah Lake, which is three
miles long, and contains some pretty islands.
On the 14th we traversed a woody tract to

FORT CONFIDENCE. 313
the north of Dease River; and came in view of
Great Bear Lake at noon, from Cranberry Hill,
six miles distant from the establishment. Throw
ing ourselves down, we regaled freely on the
acid fruit, which grew profusely among the rocks ;
then, setting out at a quick pace, in two hours
more we arrived at Fort Confidence.

314 WINTER TRANSACTIONS

CHAPTER XIII.
Transactions at Fort Confidence, Winter 1838-39. — Murder
and Distress among the Indians. — Relief afforded them.
We had the satisfaction to find the people
in perfect health, and everything in good order,
on our arrival. The buildings had been ren
dered more comfortable during the summer ;
and Ritch had not only purchased a considerable
quantity of dried venison from the Indians, but
had also prepared in the same manner several
thousand trout and white-fish, taken by his fish
ermen on either side of the island. A serious mis
understanding with the natives had, however,
nearly arisen from a very trivial cause. A person
at the house caught a little water-insect, bearing,
like the root of the mandrake, some faint resem
blance to the human form, and afterwards threw
it back into the lake. Out of this incident a
story was manufactured and circulated, that the
whites had caught and murdered an Indian, and
cast hisbody into the water; nor were the natives

OF 1838-39. 315
convinced of their foolish credulity till after our
return. Supposing, from the stock of provisions
on hand, that we might safely dispense with
the further services of our Chipewyan hunters,
we sent them back to their own country by a
boat which came with our supplies from Mac
kenzie River. After being liberally recompensed
for all the meat they had furnished us, and
amply provided for their journey, they received
a present of two hundred beaver-skins payable
on their arrival at Athabasca. As it was their
intention to hunt a rich fur country on their
way from Fort Simpson thither, if they have
learned foresight and economy from the whites
who brought them so far from their own lands»
they may, with such means untouched before
them, be among the most independent of savages.
Four men of our own, and some dogs, were
despatched by the same conveyance to Mackenzie
River and Great Slave Lake, to meet the ex
pected expresses, and bring back some articles
of clothing, &c. required by our people, which
had been kindly forwarded from Norway House
by Chief Trader Ross.
On the 18th of September an annular eclipse
of the sun took place. Its beginning was invi
sible, from clouds ; and the Indians at the house
looked on with surprise when they saw me place

316 WINTER TRANSACTIONS
myself at the telescope. But, before noon, the
heavens cleared, the sun shone out, shorn of half
his beams, and the natives were struck with
amazement when I pointed out to them the
moon-like form of the more glorious luminary.
Then their chief conjuror, Zaedhi, confessed that
he was but a child in knowledge. This reminds
me of a singular coincidence in a prediction of
that same personage, at Fort Confidence, regard
ing us, during our absence on the coast. After
working himself up to the prophetic pitch with
the aid of his drum and other mysteries, he sud
denly exclaimed, in presence of the inmates, " I
am afraid,"! am afraid — I see Esquimaux dogs
in their camp," &c. He afterwards assured his
wondering auditory that he had been with us
" in the spirit," and exhibited some balls belong
ing to my percussion gun, the first of that sort
he had ever seen, which he pretended to have
taken out of my pocket while asleep, though
he had in reality abstracted them from my apart
ment, probably for this express purpose. The
more horrible parts of his prediction were dis
proved by our safe return ; but his single hit,
regarding the dogs, was amply sufficient to secure
him an enduring reputation among his credulous
countrymen. The professions of conjuror and
physician are among all savage nations united,

OF 1838-39. 317
or rather synonymous, for ignorance is the parent
of superstition. As the young men who assisted
us to Kendall River, and who carried my little
wolves to the establishment, were on their way
thither, they stopped at the hunting-camp, where
they found the blind old man, already spoken
of, at the point of death. The singular thought
instantly occurred to the conjuring doctor that
the skin of one of the poor little animals, taken
off and applied, yet warm with the vital heat,
to the breast of the expiring man, would reani
mate him and restore his vigour. The experi
ment was tried, but I need not add in vain.
This aged man's was the only natural death
that occurred within our knowledge during the
summer, for the natives enjoyed abundance, and
were happily free from all sickness ; but, on the
20th of October, we received the distressing
news of the murder of two young Dog-rib girls
in the direction of the Coppermine, a few days
after our return from that river. They had
gone out to a little distance from the camp, in
order to carry home venison, when they were
assailed by some dastardly lurking wretch, who
despatched the poor defenceless creatures with
a knife. Many and various were the opinions
respecting the perpetrators of this detestable
crime; even the Esquimaux were accused; but

318 murder among
for some time suspicion rested upon the Copper
Indians. The Dog-ribs and Hare Indians long
groaned under cruel injuries from the latter
licentious tribe, who termed them " slaves," and,
whenever they met, used to rob them of their
women and their most valuable effects. But the
" slaves," though to, a stranger they appear a mild
race, are yet exceedingly treacherous ; a quality
which their cowardice serves but to augment,
for what they dare not attempt openly they effect
through stratagem and cunning. Thus, in 1823,
they fell upon their persecutors by surprise, and
cut off a considerable party, including The Hook
and Long Legs, who figure in Sir John Frank
lin's first journey. The terror of this act of
retribution is undoubtedly the cause why we
were visited by no Copper Indians during our
long residence at Fort Confidence. The present
suspicion arose from the recent death 6f Akaitcho,
the old chief of that tribe, so honourably men
tioned by Franklin and Back, and a reported
declaration of his followers, that their grief and
despair could only be consoled by making war
upon their unoffending neighbours. At length,
however, the suspicion attached to the Copper
Indians was discarded, and the guilt fixed by
the natives upon an individual of their own
camp, named Edahadelly (my quondam hunting

THE INDIANS. 319
companion), who had all but avowed the com
mission of a former act of blood. I shall give
the reasons which led to this conclusion, as they
furnish a favourable specimen of Indian logic;
though it is but fair to add that they were the
fruit of the united wisdom of the whole camp,
extracted by slow degrees, and matured in many
long and smoky conferences. Edahacfelly,* on his
return to the camp on the day of the murder,
reported that he had seen at a distance two sus
picious-looking strangers, who were never heard
of afterwards, nor were even their tracks seen
by the Other hunters, who were out in various
directions the same day. On one of the bodies
being brought in by those who went to look for
the missing girls, he set about conjuring, which
he pretended revealed to him the place where
the other corpse lay, and its position ; also that,
after being mortally wounded, the poor little
girl had applied a piece of leather to her sides
to stop the effusion Of blood. All these parti
culars were verified ; Edahadelly himself leading
the way to the fatal spot, and afterwards taking
upon him the duty of interring the body, in
order, the Indians said, to entitle him, without
confessing the deed, to assume certain marks
upon the wrists and neck — the same which, by
their superstition, a murderer wears.

320 DISTRESS AMONG
Whoever was the real assassin, the alarm oc
casioned by this atrocious action had well-nigh
brought upon our Indians, and upon ourselves,
still greater calamities. The natives abandoned
their hunting grounds, and flocked for protection
to the establishment, where it was afterwards
asserted by the female inmates that a plot was
actually hatching against us by the relatives of
the deceased, the very people who shared most
liberally in our bounty ; " because," said they,
" if the fort had not been on our lands, we
should not have been where we were when the
misfortune happened ! " Be this as it may, many
of the Indians must have perished from hunger,
had it not been for the prompt and extensive
relief we afforded them, not merely while they
remained with us, but comprehending provisions
to take them to places where they might pro
cure their own subsistence. This was done at our
own imminent risk ; for, though fall-fisheries were
established immediately after our return from the
coast, they were unproductive, and the winter
fisheries yielded still less than those of the pre
vious season. During the remainder of the year
1838 the natives were a grievous burthen upon
us, and rendered us little or no assistance; for
the deer had deserted the peninsula, where they
were so numerous the former winter, and retired

THE INDIANS. 321
to the southward of Great Bear Lake, and along
the woody borders of the Coppermine River.
Most fortunately for all, the present winter was
less inclement than the long and terrible one
of 1837-8.
Finding our resources falling very low, Sinclair
was placed, with our two active coast-hunters,
Larocque and Maccaconce, who with their bro
thers formed a little party, at the head of
M'Tavish Bay, Animals being very scarce, the
supply of meat we received from them in the
beginning of 1839 was extremely small : matters,
however, might have improved, had not a most
exaggerated rumour of their success reached the
ears of a number of elderly people and children
who were scattered at the various fishing points
in our vicinity. Some of these came to the
house and received a supply of provisions from
Mr. Dease, under promise of returning to their
fishing-places, and remaining quiet till we heard
certain news from the hunters ; instead of which
they all collected, and with the. very means fur
nished them clandestinely set out to join those
poor fellows, though not less than sixty miles
off. This they regarded as a master-stroke of
cunning, but it had well-nigh cost them dear ;
for in February Sinclair returned in a very re
duced state, having, in common with the whole
Y

322 RELIEF AFFORDED
camp, been for some time subsisting on scraps
of skin and roasted leather. The able hunters,
he informed us, had been obliged to separate
from the old people who brought this misery
upon them, and proceed south-eastward to the
Coppermine River ; while the unfortunate dupes
of their own folly, about twenty in number, were
left in a pitiable condition at the head of M'Ta
vish Bay. We lost no time in sending them a
large bag of pounded meat, reserved for making
pemican in the spring, which saved them from
absolute starvation ; and, with Sinclair's assist
ance, they rejoined our hunters near the Copper
mine, whose services were consequently lost to
us for the remainder of the season. Independent
of frequent passing relief, we had, in the same
month, the satisfaction of saving the lives of
two old women and two little girls at the esta
blishment. The latter especially, when brought
in, were so weak as to be scarcely able to stand ;
but by care and kindness they recruited fast, and
all remained with us till late in the spring. In
short, the winter was one continued term of
anxiety on our part for the natives around us;
while our stock of food at the fort was, by the
opening of March, almost entirely expended, our
men having to perform journeys of two and three
weeks' duration to the southward, where alone

TO THE INDIANS. 323
reindeer were to be found.*. The only persons
who actually perished during this miserable win
ter were an elderly woman and a new-born child,
which the starving mother east away. Far be
it from us, however, to arrogate any merit for
our exertions in preserving the lives of our fellow-
creatures. It is a duty conscientiously fulfilled
by every officer in the service when the occasion
arrives, and was this very winter performed with
equal effect by our next neighbour, Chief Trader
M'Pherson of Mackenzie River.
The cause which leads to the occasional abaiv
donment of the old and decrepit in the northern
districts has never been thoroughly explained.*
When a party determine upon proceeding to
some distant hunting-ground, they usually leave
the refuse of the camp at some known fishery,
where they can easily subsist during the absence
of the active and the robust. The old folks,
however, who are in general noted as grumblers
and haters of fish diet, are not always satisfied
with this arrangement ; and, in spite of remon-
* The Sioux, Assiniboines, and the tribes on the Missouri,
according to Lewis and Clarke (vol. ii. p. 421), habitually
abandoned their people when no longer able to follow the
hunting-camps ; telling them that they had lived long enough,
and that it was now time for them to go home to their
relations. y 2

324 WINTER TRANSACTIONS
strance, will hobble after the hunting-camp, often
reaching it long past nightfall. They act as a
dead weight upon the able hunters, who are by
Indian law — a law founded on the two great
principles of reciprocity and necessity — obliged
to share their success with all present ; and, when
the scarcity occasioned by their own obstinacy
ensues, these elderly people are, of course, the
first to sink under it. In this very way were the
twenty, whom Sinclair rescued from inevitable
death, exposed to the last extremities, as already
described. No people so soon get tired of any
particular diet as Indians ; and their longings for
change, even amidst the best cheer, are often
truly ridiculous. The flexibility of their stomachs
is no less surprising. At one time they will gorge
themselves with food, and are then prepared to go
without any for several days, if necessary. Enter
their tents ; sit there, if you can, for a whole day,
and not for an instant will you find the fire un
occupied by persons of all ages cooking. When
not hunting or travelling, they are, in fact, always
eating. Now, it is a little roast, a partridge or
rabbit perhaps ; now, a tid-bit broiled under the
ashes ; anon, a portly kettle, well filled with veni
son, swings over the fire ; then comes a choice
dish of curdled blood, followed by the sinews
and marrow-bones of deer's legs singed on the

of 1838-39. 325
embers. And so the grand business of life goes
unceasingly round, interrupted only by sleep !
Another physical singularity of the northern
tribes is, that though capable of resisting, with
great fortitude, the most intense cold, they are
wonderfully fond of fire. At an establishment,
even when the weather is mild and pleasant out
of doors, they are to be seen heaping on fuel in
the house, and actually sitting cross-legged on
the hearth, where a white man would speedily be
roasted. I have, however, remarked, that the
invariable effect of the North American climate
is to render even Europeans more chilly than on
their first arrival ; from which we must infer that
there is something debilitating in the climate or
mode of life.
During ten days in March I was absent on an
excursion, with two servants and two natives, for
the carcases of a couple of deer placed " en
cache" by the latter to the southward of Great
Bear Lake. When we reached the place, we
found that the deposit had been wantonly opened
for the purpose of purloining part of the meat,
which was already paid for. The consequence
was, that the ravenous wolverenes had Obtained
free ingress, and left us little more than the
bones. The camp having removed still farther
southward, I dismissed the Indians, and with my

326 WINTER TRANSACTIONS
two companions returned, on short commons, to
the establishment. I regretted this disappoint
ment the mOre, as it prevented me from explor
ing the remaining ramifications of the south-east
corner or angle of M'Tavish Bay, which termi
nates this magnificent inland sea. These slender
but numerous arms are concealed by the large
island where Dr. Richardson and Lieut. Kendall's
survey in 1826, and mine in 1838, met. Some
of them I passed through on the way to our rifled
cache ; but our couriers to and from Port Simp^
soil, by way of Marten Lake, travelled a good
day's journey farther southward, among number-'
less channels and islands* which I soon found
it would be an endless business to examine. At
a very short distance the shore appears uniform*
though rugged ; but, on approaching closer, and
turning a rocky point or looking in behind an
islet, a cove or creek is seen, ending apparently
within gunshot, when, on advancing to make
" assurance doubly sure," the wanderer is as
tonished to find a narrow winding channel, which,
after a mile or two, expands into a wide arln,
running away to an unknown distance among the
hills and precipices of naked rock that form this
truly primitive country. Crossing one of these
branches on the way out, I asked my native guide
how far it led. He, apprehending my desire of

of 1838-39. 327
exploring it, replied, " Ten days' journey," pointing
to the north-east, " without a tree to make fire."
On my telling him that such a distance was im
possible, from the situation of the Coppermine
River, and requesting him to make a chart of the
inlet on the snow, as our slender supply of pro
visions did not admit of penetrating farther into
it, he drew the figure copied in the map (which I
have reduced to the modest estimate of twenty
miles), with this essential difference from his prior
statement, that I could encamp half-way the first
night — at a mountain of the shape of the white
men's houses, containing a cave wherein the In
dians practise their most solemn necromancy.
The country south-eastward of M'Tavish Bay is
very hilly, with granite rocks protruding through
the snow, but becomes better wooded the farther
we recede from Great Bear Lake. Birch here
begins to mingle with the pines ; and at Leg Lake,
where we slept, I found the wood close enough to
afford some shelter against the piercing winds, for-
the first time during all my winter journeys from
Fort Confidence. Widely different, indeed, are
the hardships of such travelling in the barren
lands, from those endured in the well-wooded
countries of Athabasca and Mackenzie River.
During the day our road lies over bare mountains,
or on the no less unsheltered and stormy lake — one

328 WINTER TRANSACTIONS
traverse of which, thirty miles wide, I now crossed
for the third time. The snow too is very rough
and granulated, yielding, indeed, superior water
to the soft snow of the woody districts, but tear
ing the sledges, and lacerating the feet both of
men and dogs; while the cold endured on the
journey, especially during the night in the open,
exposed encampment, is excessive, and trying to
the stoutest constitution.*
On my return to the establishment, I found
that it had been visited by a party of eleven Hare
Indians from a remote camp to the westward,
who brought a most acceptable supply of half-
dried ribs of venison. They reported the snow
to be very deep, and reindeer unusually numerous
in their quarter ; which we were afterwards glad
to find confirmed by letters from Mr. Bell, at
Fort Good Hope. About this time also Le
Babillard and a small hunting-party, three or four
days' journey to the eastward, fell in most oppor
tunely with a drove of musk-cattle, in whose
* Cold and comfortless as these bivouacs are, the spirit of
hilarity generally prevails, when the fire has once been lighted,
and the kettle begins to boil. I remember our little party being
once convulsed by seeing an old dog snatch out of the fire,
instead of a bone which some one had thrown there, the un-
kindled end of a burning brand, and deliberately walk away
with it in his mouth. Even such trifles will amuse after a
long and wearisome day 1

OF 1838-39. 329
spoils we participated. While thus living from
hand to mouth, we experienced the utmost in
quietude on account of M'Kay, Sinclair, and a
young half-breed, who were absent with the party
already mentioned, near the Coppermine River,
for six-and-thirty days, without our receiving the
least tidings of them. At last they made their
appearance on the 15th of April, having till then
barely subsisted among the large party, whose
main support were our own two paid coast-
hunters, without being able to collect any provi
sions for the establishment. Had it not been for
another visit from the distant Hare Indians, ac
companied this time by several of their wives, we
should have been ill off indeed. In the latter
part of April our baggage was forwarded over
the snow to the Coppermine, accompanied by
Ritch, who carried with him, from the south
branch of Dease River, planks for repairing the
little sea-boats, when the weather became suffi
ciently mild for that work, in the middle of May.
The mice had penetrated into our cache there,
and revelled all winter upon our flour, besides
cutting holes in the sails, &c. ; but, upon the
whole, they might have done us more damage,
had they been maliciously inclined.
On the 1st of November we had sent to see if
all was safe; at which time the impetuous Cop-

330 WINTER TRANSACTIONS
permine was already frozen to the thickness of
half a foot.
In the course of the winter we received from
London, by way of Canada, a dipping-needle,
made by Jones, and had to regret the destruction
of a mountain barometer, applied for by me in
1836. The friendly attentions of Chief Trader
Ross supplied us with an assortment of periodi
cals, which served to beguile the almost unsup-
portable tedium of a second Polar winter. This
season, as I have already remarked, was less
severe than its predecessor ; and, as if it were a
consequence of the difference, the aurora was
more brilliant, displaying on several occasions
the prismatic hues ; but the same arched form,
from north-west to south-east, predominated.
Every clear night, when not eclipsed by the
moon, it was to be seen ; but was brightest and
most active in the mornings, some time before
daylight. At a quarter to 4 a.m., on the 5th
of March, Ritch witnessed a most brilliant exhi
bition. It formed a quadrant, issuing from west-
north-west, and extending to the zenith. There
it doubled on itself, and terminated in a semi-
elliptical figure, apparently very near the earth,
in rapid motion, and tinged with red, purple, and
green. The half ellipse seemed to descend and
ascend, accompanied by an audible sound, resem-

OF 1838-39. 331
Ming the rustling of silk. This lasted for about
ten minutes, when the whole phenomenon sud
denly rose upwards, and its splendour was gone.
Ritch is an intelligent and credible person ; and,
on questioning him closely, he assured me that
he had perfectly distinguished the sound of the
aurora from that produced by the congelation of
his breath — for the temperature at the time was
44 degrees below zero. I can, therefore, no
longer entertain any doubt of a fact uniformly
asserted by the natives, and insisted on by
Hearne, by my friend Mr. Dease, and by many
of the oldest residents in the fur countries;
though I have not had the good fortune to hear
it myself.The winds in the early part of the winter
were less violent, and blew less constantly from
the eastward than in the preceding year; but
with February the weather became boisterous
and stormy, and continued so throughout the
greater part of the season. North and south
winds are of rare occurrence at any time at
Fort Confidence. The east and west are the
standard points ; the former, as already remarked,
being by much the coldest, though less decidedly
so this winter than last. As for quantity, I have
never known a country so windy as Great Bear
Lake; a calm day scarcely happens once a month.

332 WINTER TRANSACTIONS
I had almost forgotten to say anything about
my young wolves. At our return, the three sur
vivors were already grown large lank animals,
gentle, timid, crouching to and fawning upon
everybody. They were particularly anxious to
ingratiate themselves with the dogs, but always
met a repulse ; and were not unfrequently pur
sued into the woods, where their fleetness saved
them from being worried. They themselves soon
learned to chase the white partridge ; but, as
the snow grew deep, they wandered less and
became more domestic. Their appetite was vo
racious, and they growled in true savage style
over their food. Sometimes the dogs brought
them to bay in a corner ; but, when thus pressed,
the wolves shewed such formidable grinders, and
gnashed them so fiercely, that their persecutors
were fain to stand aloof. When I happened to
relieve them from this situation, the poor things
would lick my hand, as if grateful for my pro
tection. To save themselves from nocturnal at
tacks, they had the sagacity to take up their
quarters on the top of the wood pile, whence
their long melancholy howl arose at night above
the clamorous serenade with which the canine
species delight to entertain the residents at the
trading posts. When any of the dogs followed
me in my rambles, the wolves were sure to

OF 1838-39. 333
keep out of the way ; but, when they perceived
me alone, they soon bounded up, seized my
coat or gloves, and nothing delighted them more
than a roll with them in the snow. I began early
to break them in to the sledge. Moscow — the
male — was very strong, and at first tolerably will
ing: one of the females was all fire; but the other,
— the tamest of the three, — when tackled, threw
herself obstinately down upon the snow, and suf
fered herself to be dragged for miles in that state
by the dogs before she would condescend to haul
like them. At last Moscow, finding his own
strength, grew so vicious that we were reluctantly
obliged to destroy him. After devouring their
brother, the two females betook themselves to the
fishery on the south side of the island, where one
of them got lamed by an Indian, with whose net
she was taking undue liberties.
From that time, poor Noma, the solitary sur
vivor, was usually kept chained at the house.
She continued gentle, though very timorous ;
but a most arrant thief when let loose: having
on one-occasion filched a shoulder of venison off
a sledge coming to the house; on another, snatch
ed a .goose out of the hands of one of the women
while plucking it ; carried off several baited lines
set through holes in the ice to catch trout ; and
played various other tricks of the same kind,

334 WINTER TRANSACTIONS
especially to the Indians. From the unconquer
able aversion of the dogs to my unlucky pet,
I was disappointed in obtaining from her a cross
breed, said to have been famous in some parts
of the North. As I believe that such details of
the habits of wild animals are interesting to
naturalists, I shall offer no apology for inserting
them here.
The expedition received an important acces
sion, this spring, in the person of Ooligbuck — one
of Sir John Franklin's Esquimaux interpreters.
This man had, in 1836, been written for by
Chief Factor Charles, then in charge of York
Factory, to the Company's establishment of Un-
gava, in Labrador ; and, having at length reached
Red River settlement, was forwarded with ex
traordinary diligence by Chief Factor Christie,
and the gentlemen along the route, — the whole
journey from the latter place occupying only
three months, less eight days.
We had hoped that our difficulties would have
terminated with April, but in this we were sadly
disappointed. In the beginning of May, about
thirty natives, from various parts along the bor
ders of the lake, came in half-starved, and located
themselves alongside the establishment. We
assisted them as far as our means permitted;
but it may well be supposed that a party dou-

OF 1838-39. 335
ble our own number, and too indolent even to
look out for their own subsistence, soon became
an intolerable burden. They expected to be
indulged with as much ammunition as they
chose to ask for, as soon as the wild fowl should
make their appearance in the middle of the
month ; a vain resource, for neither did any
number of fowl pass this season, nor had we
ammunition to spare for such small game : on
the contrary, we were obliged on the 1st of
the month to send an express to Fort Norman
for a fresh supply of powder and balL
On the 23rd, by dint of persuasion and re
monstrance, the Indians were at length induced
to withdraw towards Kasbah Lake — a day's jour
ney to the northward, where we knew that at
this period a good spring fishery commences.
Scarcely had they been off a few hours, when
one of the old men was seen returning in great
haste. He began vociferating long before he
came up to us, his violent gestures denoting
some terrible calamity. When sufficiently near
to comprehend his harangue* the first words we
heard were, " They are all dead ! Blacky (a young
hunter) is blown up with gunpowder, and his
little brothers are dead also!" and he renewed
his clamour. We had at the house a smart,
industrious lad, about fourteen years of age — a

336 WINTER TRANSACTIONS
brother of Maccaconce — employed as an assist
ant to our fisherman. "The old man does not
lament hard enough," said the youth, "for any one
to have died; I'll go and see." He found the
Indians about three miles off, all alive and well;
our friend Blacky having but slightly scorched his
hands. The foolish fellow had laid some gunpow
der — fortunately a small quantity — in an untied
handkerchief between his legs, and, with cha
racteristic Indian apathy, began striking fire with
his steel and flint, to light the eternal pipe. To
us it would scarcely seem necessary to call in the
aid of superstition to account for what followed ;
a spark flew into the powder, and it exploded :
but the old man, as if pursued by all the demons,
set off for the fort, to bring us the dreadful
news ! It is a general rule among the traders,
not to believe the first story of an Indian., He
will tell you, on arriving, that there are no deer,
and afterwards acknowledge them to be nume
rous : that he has been starving, when he has
been living in abundance : that certain indivi
duals are dead; yet, after he has smoked his
pipe and eaten his fill, ask him what is the
matter with these same persons, and he will
describe some trifling ailments, a surfeit per
haps; for though, at times, these people endure
with fortitude, the least sickness makes them

OF 1838-39. 337
say, " I am going to die ! " — a trait that also ex
tends to their half-breed descendants.
Another striking instance of the native pas
sion for bad news occurred this month. One of
the old women, already mentioned as our con
stant house pensioners, had a daughter, and a
son-in-law called " Le Grand Blanc," in a camp
not very distant. Two old men from that camp,
having visited the fort, told Grand Blanc and
his wife, on their return, that their mother was
dead, after having eaten her deer-skin robe !
The pair immediately began grieving and wail
ing, and repaired to the fort. They found the
old beldame highly indignant at her reported
death. "Yes," said she, "had I remained with
you, I should have been stiff" enough by this
time; but the whites have acted the part of rela
tions towards me : I have never wanted for meat,
or fire, or water; they have provided all that for
me. And look at my robe, have I eaten it;
don't you see it is as good as ever ? " I do not
mean to accuse the two old tattlers of any
malicious intention in what they said. It never
entered into their minds that such a story re
flected upon our character ; for this simple
reason, that they would themselves have acted
the unfeeling part they attributed to us, with
very slight compunction.

338 WINTER TRANSACTIONS
I have now detailed the means by which we
contrived to subsist during three-fourths of
the year, the most important and engrossing
care of an Arctic resident, but which has little
to attract or interest the reader. As to the
weather, it was extremely backward ; the thermo
meter in the sweet month of May was as low
as — 15°, and the mean temperature of the whole
month was 7^° of frost, with frequent gales
and snow. Not a drop of water appeared any
where, and on the open lake the snow was
so hard frozen as to afford excellent walking
without snow-shoes.
On the 28th our express-men returned from
Fort Norman. Their outward journey, across
Great Bear Lake, had been favourable, and they
reached Fort Franklin on the 6th. There they
found a wonderful change. The upper part of
Bear Lake River was open, the willows had be
gun to bud, and all the small streams from
thence to Fort Norman were swollen to such
a degree, that the journey through the woods,
though not exceeding fifty miles of direct disr
tance, occupied a week ; during the greater part
of which they were without food, and endured
incredible misery, not the least part of which
was, that, though wild fowl were numerous in
every swamp and pond, they were unable to pro-

OF 1838-39. 339
cure any, from having imprudently wasted their
ammunition during the passage of the lake,
whilst they yet had provisions in abundance.
The ice on the Mackenzie had made its first
move at Fort Norman on the 6th, but stopped
again ; and they crossed it on the morning of
the 13th, a few hours before its final liberation.
After a halt of four or five days, while the ice
continued driving, they commenced their return,
had to carry everything on their backs to Great
Bear Lake, and to cross the various streams, as
before, on rafts. Arrived at the lake, they
found the ice covered with water, and the journey
consequently very bad, as far as " the Bay of
the Deer Pass ;" where they re-entered the realm
of winter, and from whence they travelled very
rapidly, with their dogs, over the hard dry sur
face of the snow. Thus, while at Fort Norman
— scarcely two hundred and fifty miles to the
south-west — Mackenzie River was broken up,
vegetation had made some progress, and Mr.
M'Beath was dressing his garden, perfect win
ter still reigned at Fort Confidence ; a very
striking proof of the great disparity in climate
between a woody and a barren country.
With June came a change, sudden, delightful,
and complete. The frosts almost entirely ceased ;
the temperature at mid-day attained from 40°
z 2

340 WINTER TRANSACTIONS
to 70° in the shade; the snow disappeared, as
though by magic, from the surface of the ice
and of the ground, forming many brooks and
rills of water ; the willows timidly put forth
their buds, and the woods grew vocal with the
voice of song. Even in the remotest corners
of creation, nature has its notes of praise to
Him who sustains the whole. On the first
day of the month I measured the ice in the
strait to the eastward, where our nets were set.
It was still five feet thick, but in these narrow
parts was rapidly undermined by the current
caused by Dease River, which broke up on
the 3rd.
The change of weather brought a few Indians
from the eastward with a little meat, and others,
from different quarters, begging for provisions.
In fact, throughout the entire season, a large
proportion of our purchases from one set of na
tives always went in charity to another. The
fish now began " to come forth from the depths
of the lake, and resort to the mouths of streams,
where nets and lines were employed by ourselves
and the natives for our daily subsistence. The
unwonted fine weather seemed to animate all.
Our men and the natives played at ball, and
other out-of-door games. In the evening Mr.
Dease's violin Was oftener heard than during the

OF 1838-39. 341
long dreary winter, and to its enlivening strains
the Indian youths danced and capered in the
hall. With renovated hopes and thankful hearts
we prepared to try our fortune a third time on
the Polar Sea.

342 SECOND DESCENT

CHAPTER XIV.
Second Descent of the Coppermine. — Interviews with Esqui
maux. — Passage of Coronation Gulph, and arrival on new
ground. Our excellent assistant Ritch was left this
summer, as usual, in charge of Fort Confidence,
assisted by Felix and Morrison, two men spe
cially selected for this important duty, on ac
count of their steady, industrious habits.
On the 15th of June the remainder of the
party set out on foot for the Coppermine River.
The journey was pleasant enough; for, except
a little snow one day, and plenty of rain an
other, we enjoyed fine weather, besides a pic-nic
party regularly every morning and evening. We
crossed mountains, swamps, streams, and frozen
lakes; shot two or three deer, and — ate them;
and, finding the rapid Kendall flooded, passed
over on a raft, and on the 19th had the hap
piness to find the three men left in charge of our
boats and baggage safe and well. They informed

OF THE COPPERMINE. 343
us that the ice had ceased driving down the
Coppermine on the 16th, ten days earlier than
last year ; and, being sensible of an equal dif
ference in the progress of vegetation, mutual
felicitations passed on the brightness of our pre
sent prospects. The next two days being very
bad and boisterous, all we could do was to get
the boats ready, and settle other arrangements.
Our crews having undergone several changes, it
may be as well here to name them over again.

1. James M'Kay,

Steersman.

2. George Sinclair,

Ditto.

3. Laurent Cartier,

Bowman.

4. James Hope,

Ditto.

5. Ooligbuck (Esquimaux Interpreter),

Middleman.

6. George Flett,

Ditto.

7. Charles Begg,

Ditto.

8. William M'Donald,

Ditto.

9. John M'Key,

Ditto.

10. John Norquay,

Ditto.

11. Larocque,

1 Hare Indians.

12. Maccaconce,

On the 22nd we ran down to the Bloody Fall,
without stopping to make a single portage;
making, in fact, light of the rapids, which the
falling of the river rendered much less formid
able than on the same day of the previous year,
though some of them did not fail to initiate our
new hands, by pouring a few harmless waves
into the boats. The descent occupied nearly

344 SECOND DESCENT
eleven hours, the windings of the river greatly
increasing the actual distance. Our deposit of
provisions in the cleft of the rock was un
touched by man or beast; but slightly affected
by damp, though not nearly to the extent — one
half — for which, in arranging our commissariat,
we had made allowance. The rudders, masts,
&c. were found safe on the islet below.
The sea-ice being still perfectly solid, it was
resolved to remain a few days at the Bloody Fall,
to afford me an opportunity of exploring Richard
son River, discovered and named by us in 1838 ;
this indeed was our chief reason for descending
the Coppermine so early.
On Monday, the 24th, I set out with the Esqui
maux interpreter and four others, and fell upon
the river at the end of seven miles in a west-
north-west direction. Some stout willows grow
upon its banks, but it is totally destitute of wood.
The masses of drift ice and deep furrows in the
mud shewed that there had been an inundation of
not less than thirty feet perpendicular at the re
cent breaking up ; but since then its waters had
fallen with great rapidity, and were still very
muddy. From thence to the bottom of Back's
Inlet, into which, as I rightly conjectured last
year, the Richardson falls, is a distance of only
eight miles. We came in view of the inlet from

OF THE COPPERMINE. 345
the top of a range of rocks ; and at the same
moment perceived at some distance three tents of
Esquimaux, two on the opposite side of the river,
the third upon an island in the stream. Causing
the rest of the party to conceal themselves among
the rocks, I sent Ooligbuck forward alone, to in
form the strangers of our visit, and allay their
fears.* From our hiding-place we watched his
proceedings with interest. No sooner was he
seen by the people across the river than they
fled towards the hills, scarcely taking time to
throw down their tents, the usual signal of alarm.
Equal bad fortune seemed likely to ensue at the
island, the women and children running away to
its farther end, whence one or two canoes stole
over to the opposite side. Soon after we ob
served two men stop, hesitate, and at last ad
vance to the nearest point of the island ; from all
which we knew that Ooligbuck had succeeded
in making his sonorous voice heard across the
water. I immediately proceeded with the party
to the sea, only half a mile below the tents ; and
we made our bivouac close to the fixed ice,
where we were soon joined by Ooligbuck and
his new friends. They were three in number :
* He changed his long gun with a comrade for a very
short one, which, in a leather cover, would, he said, look like a
bow, and be less apt to attract suspicion.

346 INTERVIEWS WITH ESQUIMAUX.
an elderly man, named Awallook, who went on
crutches from a dislocated joint; a fine young
lad, his son ; and a very stout man, about six feet
high, with brown beard, and a countenance that
would have been noble, were it not disfigured
by a hideous wen on the temple. Notwithstand
ing Ooligbuck's assurances, they approached us
with fear and trembling ; and the first words they
uttered were, " We are afraid." We caused
them to sit down, and made them what little
presents we could spare, and offered them some
of our own fare — pemican — which they tasted,
but immediately rejected as disagreeable to their
palates ; though they told us, at the same time,
that they were badly off for food. Though the
evening was very cold, they declined drawing
close to our fire of drift wood ; it would, indeed,
have been contrary to their habits, for, from cus
tom or necessity, these eastern Esquimaux never
seem to think of fire as a means of imparting
warmth. If these poor people were not far more
industrious, provident, and ingenious than the In
dian tribes of the interior, they could not exist in
their bleak and barren country. The information
they could give us regarding the coast and inland
country amounted to little or nothing ; the limits
of their annual journeys being Berens' Isles,
where they always pass the winter seal-hunting,

INTERVIEWS WITH ESQUIMAUX. 347
and the banks of Richardson River, to which
they resort every summer to kill reindeer. When
asked if their river did not, like the Coppermine,
abound in fish, they said they had no nets, and
indeed appeared poor enough ; yet, for each ar
ticle we gave them, they immediately offered
something in return, which was generally de
clined. On being questioned, Awallook told us that
he had heard there were Esquimaux far west
who wore labrets, but that he had never seen any
himself; that he had never heard of Great Bear
Lake ; that none of his tribe had been killed by
Indians in his time, but that he had been told by
his father of the massacre at the Bloody Fall.
He soon remarked, from their darker complexions,
that two of my companions, Hope and Larocque,
were Indians ; and the slender, agile figure of the
latter was strikingly contrasted with the square,
rugged forms of these natives of the sea. It
seemed as if, on the northern confines of a new
continent, I had together before me descendants
of the nomadic Tartar and the sea-roving Scan
dinavian, two of the most dissimilar and widely
separate races of the ancient world. A goose
happening to fly past, I thoughtlessly fired* and
the bird fell splash into the river ; at the same
moment that the Esquimaux — the two younger

348 INTERVIEWS WITH ESQUIMAUX.
ones at least — tumbled over on their backs,
startled at the strange and terrible phenomenon.
Ooligbuck informed me that the dialect of these
people differs considerably from his own (the
Churchill) ; and that, though he understood them
well enough, they had much difficulty in com
prehending him, partly, I think, owing to their
fears. He readily obtained permission to go and
pass the night with his friends on the island, and
enjoy Esquimaux hospitality. Old Awallook, it
appeared, had two wives ; but the young man's
wife and three children were among the run
aways. A score of persons flying at the sight of
a single man, though a broad river flowed be
tween, gives a most contemptible idea of their
courage. The mouth of Richardson River was
ascertained by observation to be in lat. 67° 53' 57"
N, long. 115° 56' W, variation 52° 10' E.
Next day, on being rejoined by the Esqui
maux, we walked up the river together ; and, as
we arrived opposite the lodge, two more men
came in sight, paddling down the stream. Upon
my sending one of their countrymen out to them,
they ventured ashore, — a middle-aged man, and
a fine frank young fellow, his nephew. The un
cle proved quite a jolly character; and on La-
rocque's giving them a specimen of the Hare In
dian dance, to set them a-going, he alone could

INTERVIEWS WITH ESQUIMAUX. 349
be prevailed on to return the courtesy. In the
course of the day I despatched these new-comers
to the Bloody Fall with Ooligbuck, the others
being still too apprehensive to undertake the
visit. Mr. Dease afterwards told me, that, though
received with the greatest kindness, they for some
time felt uneasy among so many strangers. He
took them into his tent, and gave them food to
eat. A small piece was first broken off, as a
sacrifice or oblation ; and the remainder made the
circuit of their faces before passing into their
mouths. The senior took Mr. Dease's measure
for a pair of boots, in a manner that would not
disparage a son of Crispin ; and promised to be at
the mouth of the Coppermine in the fall, to de
liver them personally. Maccaconce was never so
proud in his life as when the young*' Esquimaux
consented to sleep side by side with him in the
same tent. My own Indian companion, La-
rocque, had already made strict friendship with
old Awallook's son ; and thus, as far as lay in
our power, was the Company's desire of pro
moting peace and amity between the rival races
accomplished. There being now four kayaks disposable, for
these people have no oomiaks or family canoes,
we lashed them together two and two, and, in
finitely to the delight and amusement of the

350 INTERVIEWS WITH ESQUIMAUX.
party, paddled ourselves across the stream in true
Esquimaux style to visit the lodge on the island.
We found in it Awallook's two wives, so terri
fied that they dared not look up, but uttered,
as we entered, some piteous words, meaning
" Have mercy, have mercy on us !" Their deer
skin tent was so small that a man could barely
sit upright. Their effects were all tied up, ready
for flight ; and one or two little children, stowed
in behind the packages, disclosed their hiding-
place by crying and sobbing. After presenting
the ladies with some bright buttons cut off our
clothes, and patting their fine dogs, which were
far handsomer than themselves, we recrossed the
river. Before taking leave of these timid people,
I may remark that the men were quite equal to
Europeans in stature, broad-chested and full-
fleshed. They were comfortably dressed in deer
skins, the upper garment terminating in a tail,
which in one instance closely resembled in shape
that of an English dress-coat ! the others were
rounded off at the lower corners. Narrow strips
of deerskin bound their short black hair, and
they had no tonsure. They were very curious to
know what strange animals produced our various
coloured clothing, and seemed much interested
when I desired Ooligbuck to explain to them
that they were partly made of the hair of an ani-

INTERVIEWS WITH ESQUIMAUX. 351
mal, much smaller than the reindeer, spun into
thread and then wove, and partly of a kind of
long grass manufactured in the same manner.
We then reascended the Richardson, which, at
a short distance beyond where we first fell upon
it, turns away westward, flowing in a wide chan
nel, with an almost imperceptible current, through
a long plain bordered on either hand by a range
of rocky hills, that slope gradually from the north,
and shew an abrupt front to the south, — the gene
ral character of both mainland and highland ele
vations along this coast. The clayey plain and
banks of the river are gashed by numerous ra
vines, serving as so many ducts to swell the in
undation when the snow dissolves on the moun
tains, and were at this time so miry, that, in
crossing them, we often sank over the knees in
the tenacious mud.
On the 26th I continued the ascent of the
river, till it separated into two branches ; the
principal one, as far as it could be traced, main
taining its westerly direction between the op
posed lines of hills, which, at the distance of
twenty or thirty miles, seemed to clasp each
other, and from that junction the tranquil stream
must change into a mountain torrent. Then re
tracing our steps in a direct line to the boats,
and indulging by the way in a few " flying shots"

352 PASSAGE OF
at deer, we reached the Bloody Fall in the course
of the night.
The following day was spent by the whole party
in the unwonted amusement of angling. The
setting-poles were converted into ponderous fish
ing-rods, and with hooks baited with pieces of
fat meat, or fish, we succeeded in taking several
Arctic or Hearne's salmon in the boiling eddies at
the foot of the fall. This surprised me, for I had
hardly ever heard, whilst pursuing this favourite
sport at home, of the common salmon being cap
tured with bait, except when out of season.
On the 28th we descended to the island lying
just without the mouth of the Coppermine, where
we halted until the 3rd of July, when the first
slight opening in the ice took place. A single
net, set in a narrow channel that a man might
almost wade across, furnished more salmon than
the whole party could consume. None of these
fish exceeded twelve or fifteen pounds in weight,
and the largest measured exactly three feet from
the snout to the tip of the tail. They seemed to
me not at all inferior in flavour to the salmon of
our Scottish waters.
Ooligbuck and Sinclair went to the river to the
eastward, where the latter saw Esquimaux last
year. On the banks of a lake some distance
beyond it they found eight tents, containing six-

CORONATION GULPH. 353
teen men, and about sixty persons in all; most of
whom took to their heels at first, but by-and-by
returned, and received our two men kindly,
though they did not allow them to enter their
tents. Among them was the family seen by Mr.
Dease at the mouth of the Coppermine the year
before, and who, as we already knew, had carried
away the rich present left for them on our return
from the sea.* This camp had passed the winter
seal-hunting, on a groupe of islands within view
of the coast, and were now bound on their annual
inland rounds. They seemed rather better off
than Awallook's smaller party; but our dull in
terpreter could add nothing to our own surmises
regarding their mode of life, and the extent of
their peregrinations. We had, in fact, accurately
guessed the whole little circle of their lives.
Emerging from the Coppermine on the 3rd of
July, our first day's progress was only five miles,
the first week's but twenty, and it was the 18th
before we could attain Cape Barrow. Just as we
had effected a landing through the ice, an enor
mous mass of rock fell, with a loud crash, from
one of the opposite islands, several miles distant.
I seized upon this otherwise trivial incident as a
* Indeed the man acknowledged having returned with three
others after his flight, and reconnoitred our encampment in the
night, but was scared by seeing some one sitting at the fire.
2a

354 PASSAGE OF
happy omen to rally the spirits of our Indian com
panions, which were depressed by an evil dream
that had visited one of them. He saw, in his
vision, flames issuing from the mouth of a rude
monumental figure of stones, erected by our peo
ple at a place where the ice detained us several
days, and consuming himself with the rest of the
party. When the cliff broke down, " Hark," I
exclaimed, " the demon that troubled you has
fallen !" After this we heard no more about him.
It would have been in vain to attempt reason
ing down their superstitious belief in dreams.
Even the white men of our crews believed in
ghosts, witchcraft, second-sight, and other similar
absurdities ; and nothing would induce our steers
man M'Kay, though otherwise a bold fellow, to
pass a single night alone.
From the rugged heights of Cape Barrow we
beheld, with equal astonishment and delight, the
wide extent of Coronation Gulph partially open,
whereas long after this period the year before the
whole party might have crossed it on foot ! Be
sides the inferior severity of the preceding winter,
the present summer was considerably warmer than
that of 1838, which satisfactorily accounts for the
wonderful difference in the state of the ice. The
only drawback to our enjoyment of this improved
aspect of affairs was the swaums of musquitoes

CORONATION GULPH. 355
that arose wherever we landed, even from the
stony beaches and naked rocks; but the gales
and cold nights soon delivered us from this short
lived nuisance. As to the natives, their caches
of blubber, sledges, &c. occupied the very same
situations as last year ; but they themselves had
all passed inland for the summer reindeer hunt.
As nearly as we could reckon, the whole popu
lation from Richardson River to Cape Barrow
may comprehend about fifty tents, containing
from three to four hundred souls, of whom not
more than one-fourth were seen by us, as already
related. I obtained satisfactory observations at
Cape Barrow for the dip of the needle, whie'h'
proved to be 87° 13' N.
With the benefit of strong winds, and the fa
cilities afforded by the extensive groupe of Wil-
mot Islands for evading the principal streams of
ice, we safely traversed the broad inlet, and on
the 20th supped at Boathaven, the place of our
former weary detention. The wind here blowing
very fresh off the land, we ran up to Cape Frank
lin, which we reached soon after midnight, just
one month earlier than my arrival at the same
spot with my pedestrian party in 1838 ; and
instead of the grand strait between the' conti
nent and Victoria Land being covered with an
unbroken sheet of ice, as it then was, we now
2 a 2

356 PASSAGE OF
found an open channel, nearly two miles wide,
extending along the main shore. The slopes and
plains too wore a greener and more cheerful
aspect, and the ground was comparatively dry.
Besides mosses and dwarf carices, were to be
seen flowers of various hues, wild sorrel, and
an abundance of the Labrador tea-plant (ledum
palustre), of very diminutive growth, but at this
time covered with fragrant white blossoms. These
yield a beverage less bitter and of a more delicate
flavour than the plant itself.
For the next four days our progress was
arrested by a violent easterly gale, which filled
our tents and food with drift sand ; but we had
the gratification of witnessing the tail of a large
body of ice arrive nearly abreast of our encamp
ment, leaving before us a glorious expanse of
water, now covered with foam.
On the 26th we again encountered the ice
at Point Edwards, and encamped the same even
ing at Cape Alexander, alongside of much heavier
masses than any we had yet seen, which in the
rapid tideway had nearly crushed the boats
against the rocks. In 1838, a month later, we
found the strait of Victoria Land blocked up,
and the- sea to the eastward open ; the case was
now reversed. It was, however, no little satis
faction to us to observe once more two regular

CORONATION GULPH. 357
daily tides. It was high-water to-day at noon;
the flood came from the westward, but did not
exceed two feet; and it was the day of full
moon. The hours of the tide at Cape Alexan
der throughout the year, therefore, correspond
with those at Point Barrow, fifty degrees of lon
gitude to the westward. The soundings in the
strait near the land had augmented from four
fathoms at Cape Franklin to eighteen at Cape
Alexander. The water was thoroughly salt and
beautifully clear, the bottom consisting of sand
or stones. Its temperature four feet below the
surface was 35°, while that of the air at mid
day was 56°. As a substitute for drift wood,
of which I well knew from last year's experi
ence that we were no longer to expect any, we
now began to use dry seaweed and dwarf wil
lows, which, while the weather continued tem
perate, answered sufficiently well. The dip of
the needle at Cape Alexander was 88° 15', shew
ing a great stride towards the magnetic pole.
On the 27th we advanced four or five miles,
in imminent peril of being carried away by
the driving ice ; and it was noon of the following
day before we were able, by the aid of the tide,
to get round Trap Cape, when we found a lane
of water leading along the shore to the extreme
point of my progress the previous year. The

358 ARRIVAL ON NEW GROUND.
top of the cairn erected there had fallen, having
been built of round stones : but we only stopped
to get sights for the watch, and to raise our
portable canoe out of the sand ; which done, we
once more entered upon ground never yet trod
den by civilized man. Since Point Turnagain,
the only indications of man we had observed
were some graves, with arrows and other imple
ments. As for our deer and seal hunts, and
other exploits of " venerie," I shall pass them
over entirely, as they were now become mere
matters of course, while our whole thoughts were
bent upon subjects of far higher interest. The
only fact in natural history worth recording was,
that the large white-backed ducks, of which we
had seen none eastward of the Coppermine in
1838, this season extended their range to Cape
Alexander; probably because they now found
what was then wanting — an edging of open water
betwixt the ice and shore, which it is their de
light to skim along.

359

CHAPTER XV.
Stupendous bay, broken into minor bays, and bordered by
countless islands. — Discovery of the Strait of Boothia. —
Back's Point Ogle doubled in a fog. — Deposit found on
Montreal Island. — Cape Britannia, and discoveries to the
eastward. — Progress arrested by gales. — Return. — Nearest
approach to Ross's Pillar and the Magnetic Pole. — South
ern shores of Boothia and Victoria Land explored. —
Passage of a magnificent strait. — Winter sets in. — Re-entry
of the Coppermine River.
Our course was first directed to the highest
island of the Minto groupe seen by me the pre
vious season, from whence we now obtained a
commanding prospect of the bold rocky indented
shores, running away much farther southward
than I could have anticipated, and skirted by
numerous islands. I at the same time discovered,
that what I had before taken for the opposite
side of the great bay that so aptly bounded our
pedestrian journey, was only the outer end of a
very large island, which afterwards formed a pro
minent object for several days, and was distin
guished by the name of the prime minister of

360 STUPENDOUS BAY.
England, Viscount Melbourne. Our first en
campment was near a very bluff rocky cape, that
afforded another extensive view, and was named
by Mr. Dease after the noble family of Rox-
borough. Beyond it opened Labyrinth Bay, — a
perfect maze of islands ; from whence a range of
picturesque rocky hills, about five hundred feet
high, extended away southward till they became
lost in distance.* It would be an endless task to
attempt to enumerate the bays, islands, and long,
narrow, projecting points that followed. The coast
continued to stretch south and south-east, but lost
its bold character, and became low and stony.
This lowness of the land increased the intricacies
and perplexity of the route, rendering it neces
sary to ascend every elevation that presented
itself to ascertain where to make for next. We
had the disadvantage, too, of some bad foggy
weather ; but, as long as we could pick our way
through the open water among the bays and
islands, we made tolerable progress. Close with
out, the main body of ice lay firm and heavy.
So confused were our people by the devious
course we were obliged to pursue as to lose
* They were called Gloucester Hills, in honour of her
Royal Highness the Duchess of Gloucester ; while the large
peninsula formed by Labyrinth Bay and Melville Sound re
ceived the name of her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent.

STUPENDOUS BAY. 361
all idea of the true direction, few of them be
ing able to indicate it within eight points of
the compass. I even overheard one stoutly main
taining, in a cloudy day, that west was east!
Our Indian companions were quite as wide of
the mark as the rest ; and I was now fully con
vinced that their peculiar faculty of finding their
way over pathless wilds has its origin in memory,
in the habitual observation and retention of local
objects, even the most trifling, which a white
man, less interested in storing up such know
ledge, would pass without notice.
On the last day of July we encamped near
the mouth of a river, much larger than the
Coppermine, with a strong current, that fresh
ened the water among the reefs for some dis
tance from the shore. Its banks appeared much
frequented at this season by reindeer aud musk-
cattle, and no fewer than five fat bucks were
killed by some of the party while the rest were
pitching the tents and preparing supper. A
couple of Esquimaux sledges lay by the river
side ; and as we had found many old stone caches,
both upon islands and points of the mainland,
it seemed more than probable that, like the na
tives near the Coppermine, the people to whom
they belonged had come from their winter sta
tions over the ice in June to ascend this fine

362 STUPENDOUS BAY.
stream. It falls into the sea in lat. 68° 2' N.,
long. 104° 15' W., and was named after the Right
Hon. Edward Ellice.* As we found nothing but
drift willows on its banks, it must be entirely
destitute of wood, and probably takes its rise in
large lakes not far from Lake Beechey, dis
covered by Sir George Back. The bordering
country consisted of green flats, varied by little
lakes and rocky knolls. The latter, with low
intervening beaches, form the general features
of this part of the coast, and render it very diffi
cult, at any distance, to distinguish the line of
the mainland from a chain of islands. Our most
useful rule in such cases was, that, while the
former presented patches of green, the latter
were in general perfectly barren. The bottom
is a soft mud, and the water is discoloured and
shallow, as will be seen by the soundings on
the map : but, even were it otherwise, no ship
would ever steer for shores so beset with hidden
dangers; the first point of the mainland that
she durst approach would be Cape Alexander.
The highest, lowest, and mean temperatures for
July, the warmest month of the Arctic year, were
respectively 77, 32, andf degrees of Fahren
heit. The winds were strong and variable. The
* The rise and fall of the tide here was two feet and a half.
t A blank in MS.

STUPENDOUS BAY. 363
accumulating duties of the survey, and frequent
want of needful rest, rendered it impossible to
continue the meteorological register any longer.
From the 1st to the 5th of August we were
detained, by a crush of very heavy ice, on a point
that jutted out beyond all the islands. A num
ber of observations were procured here, giving
the following results: lat. 68° 7' 8-5" N., long.
103° 36' 45" W. ; variation, 54° 45' E. ; dip, 88°
20' 25" N. The tides occurred regularly twice
a-day, the rise and fall varying from 1^ to 2
feet, and the flood coming from the eastward.
On this point we found the bones of a whale,
and marks of the recent tents of a family or
two of natives, who had left behind them the
skin of a Polar bear ; from which circumstance
we called the spot White Bear Point.
On the 5th we worked our way out through
the ice ; and at half-past 10 at night, while in
the act of encamping on an island in lat. 67° 56',
saw the first stars, the atmosphere being beau
tifully clear. Several days of remarkably fine
weather succeeded, and enabled us rapidly to un
ravel our intricate path. Had we been enveloped
in continual fogs, as in 1837, success on such a
coast as this must have been hopeless ; as, in ad
dition to the perplexity of the route, the compass,
from our increasing proximity to the- magnetic

364 STUPENDOUS BAY.
pole, soon became totally useless. The daily re
currence of astronomical observations was, there
fore, of inestimable value ; and no words can
express our deep sense of gratitude to Providence
for its great goodness towards us.
The coast, with its succession of bays and
numberless islands, still kept edging away south
eastward, as far as Ogden Bay, in lat. 67° 36' N.,
long. 101° 15' W. ; and then made a turn to the
north-east. The rocks had again become some
what bolder, with a striped and variegated sur
face ; but the colour of the water still merited
the epithet of the Red Sea, bestowed by our men
upon the southern part of this stupendous bay,
till near Point Johnson, when the variegated
rocks gave place to a very low line of granite or
gneiss, extending from east to east-south-east,
bordered with very small isles of the same for
mation, amongst which the sea became clear as
crystal. As for the main ice, it hung close upon
the island fringe ; but, within, we generally had
the benefit of open water.
On the 8th the coast suddenly turned up north
ward in a fine curve, in lat. 67° 43' N., long.
99° 15' W. ; which we denominated M'Loughlin
Bay, out of respect for the officer in charge of
the Columbia Department. We next reached a
space clear of islands, but much encumbered with

STUPENDOUS BAY. 365
ice, with eleven and twelve fathoms' water; and
then there appeared green sloping hills and large
islands, the favourite resort of reindeer. This,
after a short interval of sand, was in its turn
succeeded (at Point Grant) by a large tract of
shingle and limestone. It was here that the
traces of Esquimaux became frequent. Not a
point nor an island could we land upon but ex
hibited old caches, camping-places, or graves.
One of their tent sites — an oval — measured
twenty feet the longest way; and in another
place we found several deposits of marrow-bones !
On the 10th we proceeded north-eastward all
day among the islands, and some began to appre
hend that we had lost the continent altogether,
till in the evening we opened a strait, running
in to the southward of east ; whilst the rapid rush
of the tide from that quarter left no longer any
room to doubt the neighbourhood of an open sea,
leading to the mouth of Back's Great Fish River.
The ebb left on the sandy beach many little fish,
which Ooligbuck called " Oonglak," and which,
he said, are highly relished by the Churchill and
Ungava Esquimaux, on whose coasts they are
caught of a much larger size. In this strait too
we saw the first salmon since crossing Coronation
Gulph. They came from under a heavy mass of
ice, behind which the men were resting on their

366 DISCOVERY OF
oars ; and, as seals were exceedingly numerous,
there can be no question that various fish, on
which they prey, abound in these transparent
waters. I must candidly acknowledge that we were not
prepared to find so southerly a strait leading to
the estuary of the Great Fish River ; but rather
expected first to double Cape Felix of Captain
James Ross, towards whieh the coast had been
latterly trending. The extensive lands on which
that conspicuous cape stands forms the northern
shore of the strait through which we passed on
the 11th ; and which led us, the same afternoon,
by an outlet only three miles wide, to the much
desired eastern sea. That glorious sight was first
beheld by myself from' the top of one of the high
limestone islands, and I had the satisfaction of
announcing it to some of the men, who, incited
by curiosity, followed me thither. The joyful
news was soon conveyed to Mr. Dease,. who was
with the boats at the end of the island, about
half a mile off; and even the most desponding of
our people forgot, for the time, the great distance
we should have to return to winter quarters,
though a wish that a party had been appointed
to meet us somewhere on the Great Fish River,
or even at Fort Reliance, was frequently ex
pressed. Point Seaforth — the eastern outlet of

THE STRAIT OF BOOTHIA. 367
this remarkable strait — is situated in lat. 68° 32'
N, long. 97° 35' W. On the continent, on
Ross's Land, and on the larger islands, reindeer
were seen browsing the scanty herbage that springs
up amongst the shingle ; and stone marks, set up
by the natives to deceive or decoy them, appeared
in many well-chosen places. While pursuing a
small herd, seen from our encampment, about
twelve miles south-south-east of the strait, I had
a fine view, from an eminence, of the inland
country, rising into stony elevations, shaded with
green and diversified by many small lakes.
The 12th of August was signalized by the most
tremendous thunderstorm I ever witnessed in
these northern regions, accompanied by torrents
of rain, and some heavy showers of hail. I after
wards ascertained that this storm passed violently
over Great Slave Lake, and lightly over Fort
Simpson on Mackenzie River, the day before^ —
the 11th ; appearing in both cases to come from
the north-east, while, with us, it came in the
opposite direction. It must, therefore, have tra
velled from south-west to north-east, with a ro
tatory motion, agreeably to the theory of Colonel
Reid. Towards evening, when its fury was some
what spent, I took advantage of the impossibility
of proceeding to make a set of observations with
the dipping-needle. The result,, considering the

368 BACK'S POINT OGLE
highly electrical state of the atmosphere, was
satisfactory, the dip being 89° 29' 35" N. ; the
variation, taken roughly with the horizontal
needle of the instrument, and a single glimpse of
the sun about 6 p.m., from one to one and a half
points easterly. Thunder Cove — the snug little
nook in which we lay — is one hundred and five
miles S., 7° W., from Ross's magnetic pole. It
may be proper to remark, that here, as upon
every other occasion, the observations were con
ducted on a sandy beach, two or three hundred
yards removed from the boats and encampment.
The instrument was levelled on a stout wooden
stake, firmly driven into the sand ; and there was
not the smallest article of iron either about the
tent or my own person. The vertical vibrations
of the needle were as free, and performed in
almost the same time, as at Fort Confidence and
the intermediate places.
On the 13th it blew strongly from the west
ward, with a very dense cold fog, that prevented
our starting till 8 a.m. We then ran rapidly
south-east and east, and at the end of fifteen or
twenty miles got clear of the countless islands
that had all along, from my last year's pedestrian
limit, embarrassed us beyond measure, and hailed
with real transport the open sea, though mantled
in fog. After rounding a long point, we sailed

DOUBLED IN A FOG. 369
some distance down a seemingly deep bay, which,
as soon as we could make out land on the op
posite side, we crossed, and then coasted along
the flat shore, which was bristled with shoals and
breakers. On doubling a very sharp point, that
offered a lee spot for the boats, I landed, and
saw before me a perfect sandy desert. It was
Back's Point Sir C. Ogle that we had at length
reached. M'Kay and Sinclair did not at first
recognise the place, in consequence of the thick
fog: nor could I venture at the time to assert
its identity, as we had made a long run from
Thunder Cove, without either sun or compass
to direct us ; having, for our only guide, the
direction of the wind when we set out in the
morning, with the various tacks we had made,
and the time occupied on each. We continued
on to the southward till past 10 p.m., when the
darkness, the rocks, and the increasing gale com
pelled us to put ashore — as it afterwards proved — ¦
beyond Point Pechell. Our long shivering fast
was not compensated by the usual warm evening
meal. The little store of wood we had carefully
hoarded up in the boats being entirely spent,
pemican and cold water formed, for some time,
our standing fare. The want of even good water
had been not unfrequently felt, particularly whilst
we were amongst the rocky and shingle islands.
2b

370 DEPOSIT FOUND
A genuine north-easter raged during the two
following days, when our new hands first be
held the northern ocean in its majesty, rolling in
a heavy surf upon the beach.
On the 15th the storm chased away the fog,
and two deer were killed; but, as might have
been expected from the surrounding sterility,
they were very lean. A young Arctic fox was
caught by one of the Indians, and, after being
fondled and fed, the pretty little creature was
restored to liberty.
The weather becoming moderate on the 16th,
we directed our course, with flags flying, to the
Montreal Island, which had been distinguished
from the main shore. Shortly before noon we
landed in a little bay, where Sir George Back
encamped, on his return from Point Ogle to the
Great Fish River. Directed by M'Kay, our
people soon found a deposit among the rocks,
containing two bags of pemican, several pounds
of chocolate, two canisters of gunpowder, a box
of percussion caps, and an old japanned tin vas-
culum inclosing three large fish-hooks. The pe
mican, or " taureau," as the voyageurs call it,
was literally alive ; and it was wittily remarked,
" L'isle de Montreal sera bientot peuplee de
jeunes taureaua?" The chocolate, though wrapped
in oil-skin, was so rotten, that our men could

ON MONTREAL ISLAND. 371
scarcely extract " a kettle-full" out of it to ce
lebrate the grand event of the day. As for the
minor articles, Mr. Dease and I took possession
of them, as memorials of our having breakfasted
on the identical spot where the tent of our gal
lant, though less successful, precursor stood that
very day five years before.
Finding it impossible to reconcile Back's lon
gitude of the Montreal Island with that as
signed by Franklin to Point Turnagain, I have
adhered to my own observations, which agree
closely with the latter. The longitude of the
island will thus be 96° 24' 45", instead of 95°
18' 15"; and the extent of our discoveries be
diminished by about twenty- five miles.
All the objects for which the expedition was
so generously instituted were now accomplished,
but Mr. Dease and myself were not quite sa
tisfied. We had determined the northern limits
of America to the westward of the Great Fish
River ; it still remained a question whether
Boothia Felix might not be united to the con
tinent, on the other side of the estuary. The
men, who had never dreamed of going any
further, were therefore summoned, and the im
portance of proceeding some distance to the east
ward explained to them ; when, to their honour,
all assented without a murmur. A fog that had
2 b 2

372 CAPE BRITANNIA,
come on dispersed towards evening, and unfolded a
full view of the picturesque shores of the estuary.
Far in the south-east, Victoria Headland stood
out; so boldly defined, that, even without the
help of the chart, we should have instantly re
cognised it from Back's exquisite drawing. Cape
Beaufort we almost seemed to touch ; rocky islets
here and there studded the gulph ; and with the
telescope we were able to discern a continuous
line of high land, as far round as north-east,
about two points more northerly than Cape Hay,
the extreme eastern point seen by Sir George
Back. This being ascertained, and the men
having had their supper, we struck out for the
farthest visible land, at 9 p.m., or about half an
hour after sunset.
It was a lovely night. The fury of the north
lay chained in repose. The Harp, the Eagle,
the Charioteer, and many other bright constel
lations gemmed the sky and sparkled on the
waters, while the high Polar star seemed to
crown the glorious vault above us. The passage
occupied six hours' unremitting labour at the
oar; and long before morning we were almost
drenched with the heavy dew, whilst the rising
swell indicated the approach of another gale.
Just at sunrise on the 17th I climbed the
bluff cape to which our course had been directed,

AND DISCOVERIES TO THE EASTWARD. 373
and saw the coast turn off sharply and decidedly
eastward. Thence, round to the north-west,
stretched a sea free from ice, and devoid of all
land, except what looked like two very distant
islands. On the rocky summit, about two hun
dred feet in height, the natives of this barren
region had erected a ponderous stone slab for
a landmark. Some of their old encampments
were found in. the valley below, also several
stone forms for building skin canoes. A line of
blue hills rose, and spread away, in the south.
Observations were obtained, placing this remark
able and singularly shaped cape in lat. 68° 3'
52" N., long. 95° 41' 30" W. The azimuth
compass, by Jones, settled exactly in the true
meridian, and agreed with two others, by the
same maker, placed on the ground. The pro
montory was, in consequence, at first called Cape
No Variation ; subsequently altered to Cape
Britannia, in affectionate remembrance of our
native land, whose glory we trust may never
know change or decay.
The cruel north-east wind having again arisen,
we were only able to attain the farthest angle
of the cape, about three miles distant, where we
remained wind-bound for two days. Here the
dip of the needle was found to have decreased
to 89° 16' 40", as might have been expected

374 DISCOVERIES
from our increasing distance from the magnetic
pole. The rise and fall of the tide scarcely
amounted to one foot, probably because the gales
from sea kept the water constantly in. A couple
of deer shot by our hunters were in wretched
condition. The refuse of the meat soon attracted
several white wolves ; one of which attempted to
drag off a head and antlers entire as I came up,
but dropped his heavy booty before I got within
sure distance. The interior country is chequered
with little lakes; and green swamps interpose
between the hills of naked granite. On the
beetling rock that sheltered our little camp from
the sea, and forms the most commanding station
on this part of the coast, we erected a conical
pile of ponderous stones, fourteen feet high ;
which, if it be not pulled down by the natives,
may defy the rage of a thousand storms. In it
was placed a sealed bottle, Containing an outline
of our proceedings ; and possession was taken
of our extensive discoveries, in the name of Vic
toria the First, amidst the firing of guns and
the enthusiastic cheers of the whole party. It
was only on occasions like this that we regretted
the want of any kind of liquor with which to
treat our faithful crews. At this time we were
not a little concerned at Sinclair's being attacked
by a fit of illness. This man, active, careful, and

TO THE EASTWARD. 375
ambitious in the discharge of his duty, proved
unable to endure the deprivation of fire and
warm food. Some medicines, seasonably admi
nistered, brought him round ; and, in fair wea
ther, we managed to gather moss and dry sea
weed enough for the preparation of our meals,
which happily prevented others of the party
from being laid up.
On the 19th, the wind having shifted to E.S.E.,
we set out at an early hour. Crossing a small
inlet adjoining our encampment, we opened a
fine bay, where the sea ran strong and high.
For three hours our poor fellows pulled into
the bay with great spirit, hoping to gain some
shelter from the land; while Mr. Dease and
myself had no sinecure in baling out our old and
leaky boats. At last, finding that we receded
instead of advancing, sail was hoisted, not in
the expectation of gaining the opposite point,
but with the resolution of at least seeing beyond
it, and then putting about for Cape Britannia,
should it be found impossible to land. As we
advanced, the coast began to rise more and
more outwards, till at last it assumed a north
east bearing; and, after a fine cool run of thirty
miles, we made the land to breakfast at 4 p. m.
on a cape called Cape Selkirk, after the noble
Earl of that name.

376 DISCOVERIES
This point is formed of lime and sand-stone,
through which protrude huge granite boulders,
of every grain and hue. We then advanced
six miles farther, with the oars, along the shore,
which now trended E.N.E. ; a flat barren lime
stone tract. In the night some flocks of Canada
geese flew over the tents southward ; a sure
sjgn of an approaching change in the season.
Next day (20th) the wind returned to its
old quarter, and after buffeting the waves, among
shoals and breakers, for three miles, we were
compelled to put into a small river, that op
portunely presented a deep channel. It was now
quite evident to us, even in our most sanguine
mood, that the time was come for commencing
our return to the distant Coppermine River, and
that any further foolhardy perseverance could only
lead to the loss of the whole party, and also of
the great object which we had so successfully
achieved. The men were therefore directed to
construct another monument in commemoration
of our visit ; while Mr. Dease and I walked to
an eminence three miles off, to see the farther
trending of the coast. Our view of the low
main-shore was limited to about five miles, when
it seemed to turn off more to the right. Far
without, lay several lofty islands ; and in the north
east, more distant still, appeared some high blue

TO THE EASTWARD. 377
land : this, which we designated Cape Sir John
Ross, is in all probability one of the south-eastern
promontories of Boothia. We could therefore
hardly doubt being now arrived at that large
gulph, uniformly described by the Esquimaux
as containing many islands, and, with numerous
indentations, running down to the southward,
till it approaches within forty miles of Repulse
and Wager bays. The exploration of such a
gulph, to the Strait of the Fury and Hecla,
would necessarily demand the whole time and
energies of another expedition, having some point
of retreat much nearer to the scene of opera
tions than Great Bear Lake ; and we felt as
sured that the Honourable Company, who had
already done so much in the cause of discovery,
would not abandon their munificent work till
the precise limits of this great continent were
fully and finally established. I must here be
allowed to express our admiration of Sir John
Ross's extraordinary escape from this neighbour
hood, after the protracted endurance of hardships
unparalleled in Arctic story. The mouth of the
stream which bounded the last career of our
admirable little boats, and received their name,
lies in lat. 68" 28' 23" N, long .* 94° 14' W. ;
* Adopting Back's position of the Montreal Island, this
longitude would be 93° T 30" W.

378 NEAREST APPROACH
variation 16° 20' West. Here, as indeed wher
ever we landed, appeared old stone circles, traps
and caches, but no recent traces of inhabitants
were discoverable.
The strong wind, that had forbidden our ad
vance, gave wings to our retreat, and bore us
the same night back to Cape Britannia. Early
next morning we stood out direct for Point
Ogle ; but, the wind shifting more to the north,
we were only able — though carrying sail till
the old boats creaked again — to make Point
Pechell, which we reached in four hours and a
half, the width of the inlet being eighteen miles.
Poor Ooligbuck and Hope suffered severely in
the heavy sea ; and it must not be supposed that
our crews, though good and true men in their
way, were all good sailors. Besides the steers
men, we had, in fact, but two Europeans in each
boat, entitled to the name ; the remaining six,
comprising a Canadian, an Iroquois, a Cree, two
Hare Indians, and an Esquimaux, knew about
as much of handling a sail, as they did of geo
graphy or geology.
On the 22nd, cutting off Point Ogle by making
a portage over a narrow neck of sand, we turned
down a deep inlet, thinking it might possibly
communicate with Wilmot and Crampton Bay,
on the western side of the peninsula, which we

TO THE MAGNETIC POLE. 379
had the honour of naming after her Majesty
Queen Adelaide. As we passed down, in a south
westerly direction, M'Kay and Sinclair pointed
out to us the sandy knoll — called Mount Barrow
— from whence they returned, when sent forward
by Sir George Back from Point Ogle to view the
coast. The following day we got no further than
Point Richardson, under shelter of the land.
From thence we crossed over, on the 24th, to
what had from the continent looked like islands,
but which I had rightly conjectured to be part of
the southern shore of Boothia. This shore we
had the satisfaction of tracing, for nearly sixty
miles, till it turned up to the north, in lat. 68°
41' 16" N, long. 98° 22' W., only fifty-seven miles
from Captain James Ross's Pillar. The dip of the
needle, here, was 89° 28' 45" N. ; the variation
four points easterly ; and the magnetic pole bore
N.N.E., distant ninety miles — which was our
nearest approach to that mysterious spot. The
objects seen on this coast are easily enumerated.
A limestone country, low and uninteresting, but
abounding in reindeer, musk-cattle, and old
native encampments. To seaward a good deal of
ice appeared, and vast numbers of snow-geese
passed high overhead in long triangular flights,
bound for milder skies. While employed in

380 SOUTHERN SHORES
taking observations, our people erected another
lofty cairn, to commemorate our discoveries ; and
the place was called Cape Herschel, after that
distinguished astronomer.
Then recrossing the strait, which is here, as
at Point Richardson, ten miles in breadth, we
resumed for a while our outward route, only keep
ing more along the seaward verge of the islands,
so as to shape a straighter course. We thus fell
in with several places that had been occupied by
Esquimaux during the preceding spring ; and
found two or three caches of blubber, snow-
shovels, &c. These spots afforded what was now
of the utmost value to us, chips of the drift wood
which the natives had been fashioning into sledges
and various utensils. From such appearances we
judged these people to be pretty numerous ; that
they never assemble in large parties ; and that
each family, or little band, has its inland beat,
to which they resort in summer to hunt rein
deer, and provide themselves with warm clothing
for the ensuing winter, when they withdraw to
their respective groups of islands, to pass that
long and dreary season, as best they may, in kill
ing seals, which abound in these seas.
The weather, latterly boisterous and threaten
ing, now became unequivocally severe. On the
three last days of August we had many heavy

OF BOOTHIA. 381
snow-squalls, attended with sharp frost ; and, as
the winds were perseveringly adverse, our pro
gress homewards was miserably slow.
On the 1st of September the west wind in
creased to a strong gale, and next morning (at
Point BOwes) we awoke amidst perfect winter,
the rocks on which we lay being covered with
snow, and the pools among them frozen strong
enough to bear a man. The storm turned to
the north-west, and became more furious; and
several of our company recalled to mind that
we were still five or six hundred miles from our
Arctic home.
On the 4th the weather began to moderate,
and I walked to a hill about four miles distant,
to obtain a view of the interior country. It pre
sented no new feature, and consisted of rocky
heights, with intervening swamps, and many small
lakes ; where a few does with their fawns cropped
the stunted and withered herbage. Along shore
the water, stirred up from its muddy bottom
by the gales, was of a dark red ; but to seaward
the separation of this turbid colour from the clear
green was marked by a long continuous line.
The north-west gales were now happily suc
ceeded by strong breezes from the opposite quar
ter, which brought us one more week of fair
weather. On the 5th we ran a little way up

382 SOUTHERN SHORES
the Ellice, the principal channel of which has
two fathoms on the bar, and five within ; the
breadth varying from a quarter to half a mile.
Then, forsaking the continent altogether, we made
for Melbourne Island, which we reached next
day, and coasted for above twenty miles. It
presented nothing more remarkable than some
hills clothed with the new-fallen snow, be
tween which and the sandy beach stretched al
most impassable quagmires. A well-trodden deer-
path wound along the base of the rising grounds,
but the animals themselves seemed to have al
ready recrossed to the main land.
At sunset, on the 6th, we stood out almost
due north for the nearest point of Victoria Land,
named Cape Colborne, after the heroic defender
of Canada : this point proved to be fully twenty
miles distant. I have seldom seen anything
more brilliant than the phosphoric gleaming of
the waves when darkness closed in. The boats
seemed to cleave a flood of molten silver; and
the spray, dashed from their bows before the fresh
breeze, fell back in glittering showers into the
deep. It was a cold night ; and, when we at last
made the land, cliffs faced with everlasting ice
obliged us to run on for a couple of leagues
before we could take the shore with safety.
This is indeed a bold coast. Frequently no bot-

OF VICTORIA LAND. 383
torn could be found with thirty-five fathoms of
line ; and the cerulean blue colour of the water,
especially in the bays, indicated a profound
depth. On the 7th and 8th we crossed two magni
ficent bays, named after his Royal Highness of
Cambridge, and the illustrious Duke of Wel
lington. At the bottom of the first stands
Mount Pelly, an enormous perpendicular mass
of rock, fronted by a low beach, which led to
my mistaking the mount, when seen from the
continent in 1838, for a cape, and the bay for
a strait, separating Victoria Land from a nearer
island. Wellington Bayi twenty-two miles wide,
and apparently running an equal distance in
land, stretches northward to 69° 30', the highest
latitude of this voyage. It is crowned by a
range of snowy mountains, which received the
name of his Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex.
Its eastern cape (where we breakfasted) is formed
of huge blocks of red sand-stone, amongst which
was discovered a small cavern, entered by the
sea. But what rendered the place still more
interesting, was my finding, as I walked along
the bay, the site of two or three old snow-huts
on the banks of a little lake, under shelter of
some overhanging rocks. Not far distant were
deposits of oil, a wretched sledge, whalebone

384 SOUTHERN SHORES
drying-frames, stone lamps, and other utensils,
horns of the musk-ox, with pieces of wood care
fully reserved for working up into implements
necessary to the existence of the owners. A
whole array of marks stood upon the stony heights
adjoining, most of which pointed south-east to
wards Cape Alexander, the nearest part of the
mainland. Other caches of the natives, with si
milar contents, were found elsewhere ; and an
arrow, sparingly headed with copper, was picked
up on the beach. A few awls, iron hoops, &c.
were left for these poverty-stricken beings ; and
we amused ourselves with imagining their won
der, their exclamations, their jumps and ges
tures, on opening their stores, and finding in
them these strange articles, whose presence they
will doubtless ascribe to supernatural agency.
In consequence of sailing too late, we got
amongst shoals on the night of the 8th, and had
much difficulty in effecting a safe landing through
the breakers. The men declared that the chill
of the salt-water " cut them to the heart" as
they waded ashore with the baggage, prepa
ratory to hauling the boats on dry land ; a pre
caution that the length of the nights had, for
some time, rendered necessary. From Cape
Peel,* westward, the land rises from the beach
* Called after the distinguished statesman.

OF VICTORIA LAND. 385
in shingle slopes or steps, scarred by dry ravines,
to the height of a hundred or a hundred and
fifty feet. Next day, at noon, we found our
selves nearly Opposite Cape Franklin, at a dis
tance, by observation, of twenty miles. Then
crossing Byron Bay, which is nine miles wide,
and was named after the immortal bard, the land
turned down south-west. We traced it till it
began again to diverge to the northward of west,
at the farthest high point seen by me from Cape
Franklin the year before, and honoured with
the name of his Majesty King Louis-Philippe.
We had now explored the southern shore of
this vast island, including the eastern and west
ern visible extremes, — respectively denominated
Point Back and Point Parry, in compliment to
these celebrated navigators, — for the space of one
hundred and fifty-six geographical miles. It pro
bably exceeds Boothia in size, and is separated
from it by a wide arm of the sea, down which
came the heavy press of ice that detained us in
the beginning of August at White Bear Point.
From the quantities of ice that linger between
the Coppermine and Bathurst Inlet, I should
infer that Victoria Land is, in like manner, di
vided, on the western side, by another wide
opening from Wollaston Land, the last of the
2 c

386 PASSAGE OF
great insular series, beginning with Cockburn
Island, that lie off the north-east shores of
America. Many deer were seen on Victoria Land, some
of which already appeared in their winter garb ;
and Arctic foxes and Alpine hares — the latter
perfectly white — 'also abounded. Great white
owls (stria? nyctea) sat perched on every knoll,
and on the borders of lakes numerous snow-geese
had bred. Some pin tailed and myriads of large
brown sea-ducks were congregated along-shore,
and the merriment of our crews was excited by
seeing one of the latter rise with a long Esqui
maux arrow protruding from her tail. We tried
to shoot this queen-bird; but misfortune had
rendered her wary, as she kept ahead of the rest
of the flock, with small chance, however, of
reaching winter quarters.
At 8 a. m. on the 10th we quitted this noble
coast, and, favoured by a strong E.S.E. or side
wind, struck out for Cape Barrow, which, by
computation, lay S. S.W., distant fifty miles. Old
and worn-out as our little boats were, they crossed
this truly magnificent strait in a style surpassing
our most sanguine expectations. About mid
way a large seal, who was enjoying a comfort
able siesta, his flippers turned to windward and

A MAGNIFICENT STRAIT. 387
his nose to the sky with a most audible snore,
was treacherously shot by two of my men, at the
same instant as we darted past. Unlike those
pierced through the head while awake, this mon
ster floated dead on the surface ; but the waves
were too rough to admit of his being taken on
board, which I regretted, on account of his hand
some spotted hide.
At the end of thirty miles we fell in with
the first islands, which stretch from thence, in a
chain of stratified trap cliffs, to within a league
of Cape Barrow. Passing this bold headland at
sunset, we ran on as far as Wentzel River, which
we reached at 10 p. m., and encamped. Our poor
fellows absolutely capered and whooped for joy
on finding the beach strewed with drift wood,
and enjoyed once more the luxury of a rousing
fire, to which we had been strangers since cross
ing Bathurst Inlet in July.
Next day we were again under sail with the
dawn, 4 a. m., and were felicitating ourselves on
our extraordinary good-fortune, when the lower
ing sky and cross swell, that succeeded a sus
picious lull, too plainly told us of an approaching
change. Before evening a furious north-west
gale suddenly sprang up, and raised so heavy a
surf upon the rocks as rendered it a critical
2 c 2

388 RE-ENTRY OF THE COPPERMINE.
business to find a landing-place on the exposed
coast, half-way between Cape Barrow and our
desired refuge, the Coppermine River.
Stress of weather sadly retarded our return.
The last of the Canada and snow geese quitted
the shores of the Polar Sea, and our deer-hunt
ers' excursions were fruitless, the animals having
already made a move inland. One night there
was a most superb display of the aurora, with
out the prismatic tints; and on another, that
was pitch-dark, the flashing of the sea almost
rivalled that strange lustre of the heavens. We
pursued our way unremittingly night and day,
fair and foul, whenever the winds permitted ; : and
on the 16th, in a bitter frost, and the surround
ing country covered with snow, we made our
entrance into the Coppermine, after by far the
longest voyage ever performed in boats on the
Polar Sea, the distance we had gone not being
less than 1408 geographical, or 1631 statute
miles.

389

CHAPTER XVI.
Wintry return to Fort Confidence. — Passage of Great Bear
Lake, and ascent of the Mackenzie.— Arrival at Fort Simp
son, and journey on the snow from thence to Red River.
Ascending to the Bloody Fall on the evening
of the 16th of September, the first thing we saw
was a long pole, to which was attached the pair
of boots promised by the " Dancer," as we called
him, to Mr. Dease in June. Though he and all
his friends had already taken their departure, the
Dancer will be no loser by this extraordinary trait
of good-faith. At the Bloody Fall we left one of
our sweet little craft, the sails, masts, ironworks,
some dressed leather, skins, old nets, and oil
cloths, besides the surplus of our pemican,*
which, from age and long exposure to sea-damp,
* Total consumption on this voyage :
15 1 bags of pemican.
4| ditto of flour.
1 ditto of grease.

21 pieces, or 6 per month.

390 WINTRY RETURN
was become very mouldy. The whole was se
curely covered up, and will prove a valuable
acquisition to the poor natives, who are not
likely soon again to see the face of a white man.
With the strength and dexterity of our double
crew the remaining boat was worked expedi
tiously up the stream. Escape Rapid was pass
ed, and the first little withered trees attained
on the 17th. It was completely winter. Snow
continued falling and driving before the wind ;
the frost was severe and permanent. From the
ledges of the cliffs hung enormous clusters of
icicles ; and the tracking-ground became doubly
dangerous, the rocks being in many places
sheeted with ice. Poor Ooligbuck nearly lost
his life, in consequence of becoming giddy while
climbing a steep place which the rest of the
party had surmounted. Fortunately he retained
presence of mind enough to cast himself flat
on the point of a rock and bellow for assist
ance. The alarm being given, two or three of
his companions hurried back, and hauled him
up with a rope. Our Hare Indians were nearly
as bad crag-climbers, and were of very little
service in this part of the journey. The river
was considerably higher than in the preceding
September ; and the power of the water so great,
that the towing-line, formed of the spliced rig-

TO FORT CONFIDENCE. 391
ging, twice snapped asunder. To Mr. Dease and
myself, who walked across the country, each in
his own direction, the severe weather was rather
advantageous than otherwise, as the swamps were
frozen, and the snow on the hills was not yet
sufficiently deep to impede our progress much.
The day we left the Bloody Fall, while still
together, we gave chase to a huge grizzly bear,
that terror of the Indians. Bruin, with his
shuffling gait, proved too nimble for us, and
four shots were fired after him without effect.
We followed up his track for some distance,
thinking he was wounded, but in vain : his foot
prints in the snow measured fifteen inches by
six ! The monster had been amusing himself
with digging up marmots and lemmings ; the
deep furrows in the frozen ground, and the
large stones removed, bearing witness to his
prodigious strength.
All the birds of passage had fled; the only
species that remained being ravens, owlets, snow
buntlings, and partridges, now white. There
were few deer near the coast; but among the
Copper Mountains, which I crossed on the 20th,
the bucks and does were congregating in great
numbers. That evening we reached the point
where our over-land journey to Great Bear Lake
was to commence. Here our remaining boat, our

392 WINTRY RETURN
tents, powder, ice-trenches, in short, everything
but books, instruments, and absolute necessaries,
were shared between our two faithful Hare
Indians, Larocque and Maccaconce, who were
to return to the spot with their friends at some
future day for this valuable present.
The fore-part of the 21st was employed in pre
paring for the journey across the barren grounds.
Every man provided himself with a lump of pe
mican proportioned to his appetite ; and, after
bidding a last adieu to the Coppermine, and our
forlorn and deserted little bark, we set out for
Kendall River. Stopping on the way to quench
our thirst at a brook, we were surprised, on
breaking the ice, to see a swarm of small fish
dart past, which from their shape and colour
we concluded to be the fry of the Arctic salmon.
Though piercingly cold, we set to Work amongst
the stones, and in a short time caught a suffi
cient number with our hands (Scottice gumped)
to furnish us with a luxurious supper. Our fire
that night, on the south bank of Kendall River,
attracted to us six young Indians, whom Ritch
had despatched a week before to bring us news
of the arrival, on the 8th, of the fall-boat from
Mackenzie River. Their assistance was most
acceptable to our people, as the snow lay deep
on our line of march.

TO FORT CONFIDENCE. 393
On the 22nd and 23rd we bivouacked on the
south branches of Kendall and Dease Rivers, in
the only two clumps of pine on the route. The
snow continued falling, and it drove before the
biting north and west winds; and often, when
we were plunging over the knees in mountain
hollows, or amongst the rocks, vain regrets were
muttered at having left our snow-shoes on the
coast. We, however, trudged on stoutly, crossed
many small lakes on the ice, and were glad to
find much less snow on the Bear Lake side of the
height of land.
On the 24th we breakfasted at the somewhat
early hour of 3 a.m., being resolved to reach the
establishment by a forced march. On the way
we picked up several more Indians, who proved
a hinderance to us, as some were suffering from
having had their feet frost-bitten before they
joined us. This was a most bitter day of wind
and frost on the bare hill-sides. At noon we
gained the shelter of the woods that fringe Dease
River, near the " Old Man of Hoy." There we
made a fire to thaw and dry our shoes, and wait
for stragglers. Then, directing our course for the
lower rapid, we found a boat lying ready for us,
into which the whole party — now numbering
twenty-eight souls — embarked; and in the teeth
of a strong north-west gale, with blinding snow,

394 PASSAGE OF
and a temperature of 14°, we reached at dusk the
friendly shelter of Fort Confidence.
Its solitary inmates rejoiced at our return ; and
for once we learned, without apprehension, that
the fall fisheries were a total failure. I despair
of conveying an idea of the scene enacted by the
natives during the two following days, which were
occupied in settling with them, and packing up
our own goods. They hurried in from all quarters ;
and, as everybody wanted everything, the distri
bution of our commodities was rather a difficult
problem. As for the clamour of young and old,
Bedlam itself cannot match the ordeal we under
went. Ritch having already recompensed the
Indians for all services rendered during the
summer, the supplies we were now enabled to
dispense were mostly gratuitous. Our spare
guns, kettles, ironwork, dogs, and sledges were
given to the most deserving : all were furnished
with ammunition for hunting their way to the re
gular trading-posts on the Mackenzie; our old
clothes graced the persons of our young fellow-
travellers; and last, not least, the whole assem
blage was abundantly fed.
In the afternoon of the 26th this noisy scene
was brought to a close, and we took a last leave
of Fort Confidence. Larocque and Maccaconce,
some of the old men, find the youths who had

GREAT BEAR LAKE. 395
been most about us, appeared affected as we
shook hands with them; but all the rest were
too busily engaged in rifling our forlorn abode to
notice our departure. Even before finally quit
ting the house, the parchment windows were cut
out by the women and children ; the legs of the
few miserable chairs and tables were torn off;
and, by the time we were out of sight, I verily
believe that not a single nail remained undrawn,
or a scrap of any sort unappropriated, on the
premises. Including four servants, and three Indians from
Mackenzie River, our party numbered twenty-six
souls, besides twenty dogs. The Goliah and the
Fort Simpson boat carried us all. Our passage
across Great Bear Lake was cold and boisterous in
the extreme. For four whole days we were unable
to shew our faces to the wintry storms ; and in
crossing the wide traverses of the lake we took
in much water, which, freezing as it fell, con
verted the sails, oars, cordage, the boats them
selves, and everything in them, into shapeless
masses of ice. But so happy were all at the
prospect of quitting this dismal region, that the
present hardships were borne with the utmost
good-humour. We even found subject for mirth
in the mishaps of those whom the rude waves
splashed over, converting their outer garments

396 ASCENT OF
into unseemly humps and concretions of ice.
Some, who lay down in this condition against the
sides of the boats, got firmly frozen to the planks ;
and a wag remarked to his comrades, " It's all up
with us, boys ! don't you see we are fast already?"
Our canine companions too were transformed into
the most grotesque objects. In the body of the
lake, betwixt Cape M'Donell and the Scented-
grass Mountain, white partridges lay dead upon
the waves, having been drowned in attempting to
cross over in the stormy weather.
The bay of Fort Franklin was much encum
bered with ice as we crossed it to the river-head
on the evening of the 4th of October. It was,
indeed, high time for us to escape from Great
Bear Lake ; for the temperature, which was — 4°
when we encamped, fell ten degrees lower in the
course of the night, and the vast lake shut its
portals behind us. We descended Bear Lake
River amongst thick driving ice ; but on reaching
the Mackenzie, on the morning of the 6th, were
rejoiced to find its majestic stream still clear,
though lined with ice and snow. There was, in
fact, a sensible diminution of the cold imme
diately on issuing from the northern tributary.
Nearly the whole of the following day was
spent at Fort Norman in thawing the boats with

THE MACKENZIE. 397
fire, by which process we relieved them of at
least a ton of ice. The baggage was at the
same time dried, and various articles left behind,
to lighten the boats as much as possible; since
the very early and rigorous commencement of
the winter threat en eC serious obstructions on the
voyage to Fort Simpson, still before us. Mr.
M'Beath had been unusually successful with his
garden, and treated us to some tolerable potatoes,
the first vegetables we had tasted for more than
two years.
After three days' tracking the weather resumed
all its severity, accompanied, fortunately for us, by
violent northerly winds, which, while they shat
tered and dispersed the rapidly forming ice, en
abled us to stem the current under close-reefed
sails. The boats once more, became uncouth
masses of ice, and nearly all our people suffered
from acute pains and swellings in the limbs,
caused by the excessive cold. We saw a good
many Indians, who supplied us with some fresh
moose meat, of which they appeared to have an
ample store.
At noon of the 14th, after forcing our way, at
no small risk, through the torrent of ice poured
out by the River of the Mountains, we reached
Fort Simpson, to the surprise and joy of our

398 ARRIVAL AT FORT SIMPSON.
valuable friend Chief Trader M'Pherson, who had
for some time abandoned all hopes of our arrival
this year.
The ice continued driving down the River of
the Mountains till the 3rd of November, when it
finally stopped; and, nineteen days later, the broad
surface of the Mackenzie itself became one solid
rugged mass, the temperature at the time being
below — 20°. Mr. M'Pherson informed me that
the coldest winter-winds felt at Fort Simpson
are the south-eastern, being those which blow
over the frozen expanse of Great Slave Lake ;
while the westerly, which descend from the
Rocky Mountains, sometimes produce a thaw !
The variation of the compass I found had de
creased from 37° 10' in June 1837, to 35° 15' in
October 1839. .
The winter subsistence of the few people who
are enabled to remain at this establishment
consists almost wholly of fish, brought down in
boats from Great Slave Lake by the last open
water. Mr. M'Pherson had, indeed, succeeded
this season in raising five hundred bushels of
potatoes; but these, and other vegetables, are
considered by the voyageurs and their families
throughout the country as merely ewtra to the
almost incredible rations of fish and flesh
which they consume. Our evening recreations at

JOURNEY TO RED RIVER. 399
Fort Simpson were chiefly musical ; and, as Mr.
M'Pherson's cook excelled on that martial but
decried instrument the bagpipes, the people were
frequently entertained with a dance in the hall.
My own time was fully occupied in completing
the calculations, and drawing the map of our
eastern discoveries.
Winter travelling with dogs being impracti
cable through the dense and fallen woods which
cover the face of the country, I was obliged to
wait till the river-ice was considered safe, and
sufficiently covered with snow.
On Monday the 2nd of December I took
leave of my kind friends, and set out for Great
Slave Lake with a party of ten men, partly
belonging to the expedition, partly to Fort Simp
son. We found the ice terribly rough, tossed up
like the waves of the sea ; proving the struggle
made by the mighty stream against the all-con
quering power of the frost. It often required
a couple of men, walking ahead with axes, to
hew a way for their companions and the dog-
sledges; and on one occasion we had to mount
the steep bank of the river, and cut a lane
through the woods. Some of my men lagged
very much, through fatigue ; but on the eighth
morning the whole party, with one exception,
reached " Big Island," which divides into two

400 JOURNEY ON THE SNOW
huge arms the waters of Great Slave Lake as
they pour into the Mackenzie.
Here I found Mr. Mowat, with about twenty
men, — all the spare hands of Mackenzie River
district, — fishing for their subsistence ; also seve
ral Indian families, living in the same manner.
I had brought with me several nets and other
necessaries for this party, which was now in
creased by several of my men. With the rest
I crossed Great Slave Lake, which was nearly
as rugged as the Mackenzie itself; rendering
it necessary to steer straight out from each en
campment, and not approach land again till the
evening. I generally roused my companions at
2 a. M., and in about an hour we had our fire
kindled, breakfast despatched, and commenced
our day's journey ; which continued till after
sunset, without any other interruption than stop
ping to drink at cracks in the ice.
From Fort Resolution, which we reached at
noon on the 13th, I sent back the expedition
men and dogs ; with instructions to employ the
month of January in making caches of fish from
Big Island, at daily stages, down the Macken
zie ; and about the 1st of February to repair
to Fort Simpson, for the purpose of conveying
Mr. Dease and family from thence to Athabasca.
I retained with myself our two steersmen, M'Kay

TO RED RIVER. 401
and Sinclair, in order that the poor fellows might
have the earliest opportunity of rejoining their
families at Red River. A cariole and dogs, the
valued gift of my friend and relative Mr. M'Pher
son, materially lightened my own fatigue,: for
when the road was good I rode ; when bad, I
put on my snow-shoes.
Starting again on the 28th, and travelling
with great rapidity, I entered the romantic
Clear- water River on the 1st of January, crossed
the lofty ridge of Portage la Loche on the
3rd, and in the dead of night on the 5th, after
a day of seventy miles with two of my com
panions, reached Isle a la Crosse. My worthy
friend Mr. Mackenzie was astonished to learn
that I had accomplished in nine days a jour
ney never before performed under eleven or
twelve, and more frequently occupying fifteen
or eighteen. Our reception, as usual, was most
hospitable ; and the fatigue of my party, the
rear-guard of whom arrived the following even
ing, did not prevent their enjoying a ball and tea-
supper. Quitting Isle a la Crosse on the 8th, I tra
velled to Carlton with a party which is annually
sent across to the Saskatchewan to fetch grease
for making pemican. We reached Green Lake
on the second day; and in two days more, im-
2 D

402 JOURNEY TO RED RIVER.
mediately on emerging into the plain country,
fell in with buffaloes. To a stranger, the buffalo
bull, with his large hump, fierce aspect, and long
beard that almost sweeps the ground, would, I
think, appear the most formidable animal in
America, even more so than the panther or
grizzly bear.
On the 13th, after losing our way long before
daylight, and finding it again by the compass,
we arrived at Carlton, where I remained till
the 15th. The buffaloes were so numerous about
this place, that I found Mr. Small removing
his haystacks to the fort, to save them from
being entirely devoured. In the vicinity were
three camps of Assiniboines, whom that gentle
man seemed to consider disagreeable and dan
gerous neighbours. Each camp had its buffalo
pound, into which they drove forty or fifty ani
mals daily ; and I afterwards learned that, in
other places, these pounds were actually formed
of piled-up carcases! As might be supposed, the
stores of Carlton were groaning with meat, and
the very dogs were fed on beef-steaks.
At Red River the buffaloes are now seldom
taken in pounds. In the summer and fall, large
parties of the half-breed hunters, all mounted
on their small Indian horses, which are well
broke in to this sport, scatter themselves over

NATIVE BUFFALO HUNTERS. 403
the plains, camping generally in the open air, or
in leather lodges, and under their provision carts.
As soon as the buffaloes are perceived, the young
men gallop after them, and either partially sur
round them on the plain, or endeavour to drive
them into some little valley, or neck of land
projecting into a lake, where escape is difficult.
A running fire then opens all along the line.
The hunters reload their guns while their horses
are in full career; the bullets are carried in the
mouth, and dropped into the barrel without any
wadding ; their small whips are attached by a
band to the right wrist; the sagacious horse of
his own accord follows the animal his master
has singled out, and brings him alongside, like
a war-ship laying herself by the enemy. In this
way many buffaloes in succession are shot by the
same hunter, and hundreds fall in a single, race.
No sight can be livelier than a camp of suc
cessful hunters. They generally pitch in some
clump or point of woods ; the provision carts
form the outer circle, to which the horses are
tied ; fires blaze in every direction ; the men
smoke their pipes, or arrange their fire-arms ;
while the women are employed in cooking.
Everywhere you hear the laugh and the jest,
and the repasts are sumptuous. While the men
hunt, the females are occupied in drying the
2 d 2

404 NATIVE BUFFALO HUNTERS.
spare meat, or converting it into pemican. This
now far-famed provender of the wilderness is
formed by pounding the choice parts of the
meat very small, putting it into bags made of
the skin of the slain animal, into which a pro
portion* of melted fat is then poured; and the
whole being strongly compressed, and sewed
up, constitutes the best and most portable article
of provision for the voyageur, and one which
with proper care will keep for a long period.
In the winter season this sport assumes a more
various character. When the snow is not deep,
the buffaloes may be run on horseback, as in the
summer ; indeed, if numerous, they beat such a
track with their broad hoofs that they are easily
pursued : at other times they are approached by
the hunter " crawling" on the snow. He walks
cautiously up to within a certain distance, far
enough not to alarm the herd ; then prostrates
himself on the snow ; drags himself along on his
belly, with his gun trailing after him ; and in this
manner frequently proceeds a long way before he
can get within reach, when the buffaloes are shy.
When fatigued with this laborious and unnatural
motion, he stops to draw breath, and throws up
a little heap of snow before him, to screen him
* SOlbs. pounded meat, and 40lbs. grease, make a bag of
pemican.

NATIVE BUFFALO HUNTERS. 405
from his prey ; and some are said to be so dex
terous in this mode of approach as actually to
drive aside with their guns the old bulls, who
form the outer guard of the band, in order to
select the choicest of the cows. As a disguise,
a close dun-coloured cap, furnished with upright
ears, is often worn by the experienced hunter, to
give him the appearance of a wolf; for, from
constant association, that ravenous beast is re
garded by the buffalo without dread. In the
spring of the year, when there is a hard crust on
the snow, produced by alternate thaw and frost
the buffaloes are frequently run down by the
hunters, and stabbed with their daggers, while
floundering in the deep drifts, which yield to
their weight, but support their pursuers, who wear
snow-shoes ; and in this way, which is the easiest
and safest of all, the unfortunate animals fall a
prey even to women and boys. Among the Assi-
niboines, and other Plain tribes, who lead this
unlaborious and almost enviable life, the bow is
still more used than the gun ; and it is to this
circumstance that the preservation of the whites
in the trading-posts on the banks of the Sas
katchewan and Missouri is mainly owing.
In the New York Albion of the 23rd Novem
ber, 1839, I fell in with, an admirable article
on the colonization of New Zealand ; the follow-

406 JOURNEY ON THE SNOW
ing extract from which presents, I fear, too true
a picture of savage life. " We are not aware of
any authentic instance of a tribe of savage fishers
or hunters becoming settled and agricultural, even
by any pressure from without, much less from
their own unaided efforts. So far from adopting
civilized habits, the experience of America and
New Holland has shewn that the savage hovers
on the advancing frontier of civilization, till he
finally disappears along with the game which af
forded him support. There appears to be some
thing in the unsettled life of a hunter which
produces a change in the bodily organization, gra
dually unfitting the individual, and perhaps ulti
mately the race, from being brought under the
influence of a sedentary life. Those Europeans
who have lived among the Indians of America
for some years can seldom be reconciled to a
steady and uniform course of life; and in In
dians themselves the tendency becomes heredi
tary and almost incurable. Hence even the In
dian child, when brought up in a populous city,
and educated in the arts and religion of civilized
men, often betrays his dislike to a settled life,
and endeavours by all means to rejoin his wild
countrymen of the woods."
For six days beyond Carlton we travelled
amongst the buffaloes, which covered the open

TO RED RIVER. 407
country in myriads. Our dogs, habituated to the
sight, shewed no inclination to pursue them, and
we ourselves had little time to spare for hunting.
On one occasion, when we were benighted ift the
plains near Quill Lake, we took up our quarters
in a willow-bush, evacuated the moment before
by an old bull and his followers, whose lair served
us for an encampment. There are few sounds
more melancholy than the nightly howling of the
troops of wolves that attend the motions of the
buffalo. The mind is oppressed, as it were, with
a feeling of intense loneliness. The only Indians
we met on this part of our route were a small
party of Plain Crees, and two or three Saul
teaux. In the afternoon of the 22nd we reached Fort
Pelly, where we were very kindly welcomed by
Dr. Todd, and where we remained the following
day. The weather was very cold, the thermo
meter being at — 37° ; the snow grew deeper as
we advanced, and the encampments were open
and bad.
I passed this time by way of Qu'appelle, in
stead of Manitobah, and halted on the 27th at
a post called "Beaver Creek," though the bea
vers have long since disappeared. Arriving there
late in the evening, I found that I had only
missed, by an hour or two, a famous Plain chief

408 JOURNEY TO RED RIVER.
called " The Man who holds the Knife," with his
large and troublesome gang, who in all proba
bility would have dogged my little party had they
known of our approach. We passed far to the
southward of our old landmarks the Duck and
Dauphin Mountains, which overlook, on this side,
a varied landscape of wood and plain ; crossed the
southern arm of Manitobah Lake, fifteen miles
wide, in a perfect tempest ; and were next day
met by an old Saulteaux acquaintance, " Terre
Grasse," returning comfortably drunk from this
settlement, with his wife and party, whose ap
pearance struck me as squalid, and inferior to
that of the tribes more remote from civilization.
On the 2nd of February I was welcomed at the
White Horse Plain with unbounded hospitality
by Mr. Cuthbert Grant, Warden of the Plains ;
and, on proceeding to Fort Garry, received the
hearty congratulations of my excellent friends
Chief Factors Finlayson and Ross, the former of
whom had lately succeeded Mr. Christie as
Governor of Red River.

APPENDIX.

LIST OF THE PLANTS
COLLECTED DURING THE
ARCTIC JOURNEY OF MESSRS. SIMPSON AND DEASE.
BY SIR W. J. HOOKER, K.H.

The collection from which the following list is made, formed
by Mr. Dease amidst many privations and difficulties, pos
sesses peculiar interest ; the specimens being beautifully pre
served, and arranged in three geographical groupes. — 1. The
first of these collections, as we shall here enumerate them, was
made between the mouth of the Coppermine River, lat. 67°
54' N, long. 115° SI' W., and Point Turnagain, in 1838. —
2. The second was formed about Fort Confidence, Great Bear
Lake, lat. 66° 55' N., long. 118° 48' W.; also in the summer
of 1838. — 3. The third in the most western point of the
journey, namely, between the mouth of the Mackenzie River
and Boat Extreme, lat. 71° 3' 24" N., W. long. 154° 26' 30",
in the summer of 1837.

410 APPENDIX.
I. — Plants collected between the mouth of the Coppermine
River, lat. 67° 54' N., long. 115° 31' W., and Point Turn-
again. Ranunculace^.
Anemone parviflora. Mick. — Hook. Fl. Bor. Am.*
Ranunculus aquatilis. L. — /3. capillaceus. D.C. — Hook. I. c. i.
p. 10.
Ranunculus affinis. Br. — Hook. I. c. i. p. 12.
Papaverace.e.
Papaver nudicaule. L. — Hook. I. c. i. p. 34.
Crucifeb^.
Cardamine digitata. Rick. — Hook. I. c. i. p. 45.
Parrya arctica, Br. — Hook. I. c. i. p. 47.
Draba algida. Adams. — Hook. I. c. i. p. 50.
Draba hirta. L. — Hook. 1. c. i. p. 52.
Draba alpina. L. — S. Hook. I. c. i. p. 50. (floribus albis.)
Cabyophylle.e:.
Silene acaulis. L. — Hook. I. c. i. p. 87.
Stellaria teta. Rick. — Hook. I. c. i. p. 96.
Arenaria peploides. L. — Hook. U c. i. p. 102.
Cerastium alpinum. L. — Hook. I. c. i. p. 104.
LinejE.
Linum perenne. L, — Hook. I. c i. p. 106. — Specimens small :
from 8 to 10 inches high. Leguminosje.
Phaca frigida. L. — Hook. l.c. i. p. 140.
* As the species are all described in the author's" " Flora Boreali- Ameri
cana," where synonyms and remarks are given, it has been thought sufficient
to refer to that work for further information respecting them.

LIST OF PLANTS. 411
Phaca astragalina. B.C.— Hook. I. c. i. p. 145.
Oxytropis Uralensis. B.C.— Hook. I. c. i. p. 1 45.
Oxytropis campestris. B.C. — Hook. l.c. i. p. 147.
Hedysarum boreale. Nutt. — Hook. I. c. i. p. 154.
Hedysarum Mackenzii. Rick.— Hook. I. c. i. p. 158.
Lupinus perennis. L. — Hook. I. c. i. p. 163.
Rosacea.
Dryas integrifolia. VaM, — Hook. I. c. i. p. 174.
Potentilla nivea. L. — Hook. I. c. i. p. 195.
Potentilla rubricaulis. Lekm — Hook. l.c. i. p. 191.
Potentilla biflora. Lekm. — Hook. I. c. i. p. 195.
Onagrabi^i.
Epilobium latifolium. L. — Hook. 1. c. i. p. 205.
Saxifrages.
Saxifraga oppositifolia. L. — Hook. I. c. i. p. 243.
Saxifraga csespitosa. L. — Hook. I. c. i. p. 244.
Saxifraga cernua. L. — Hook. I. c. i. p. 246.
Saxifraga punctata. L. — Hook. 1. c. i. p. 251.
Saxifraga tricuspidata. Retz, — Hook. I. c. i. p. 254.
Saxifraga aizoides. Sm. — Hook. I. c. i. p. 255.
Composite.
Chrysanthemum arcticum. L. — Hook. L c. i. p. 319.
Chrysanthemum integrifolium. Rick. — Hook. l.c. i. p. 319.
Tab. cix.
Artemisia arctica. Bess. — Hook. I. c. i. p. 323.
Arnica montana. L — ft. Hook. 1. c. i. p. 330.
Aster alpinus. L. — Hook. I. c. ii. p. 6.
Erigeron uniflorus. L. — Hook. 1. c. ii. p. 1 7.

412 APPENDIX. ERICE/E.
Andromeda tetragona. L. — Hook. I.e. ii. p. 38.
Andromeda polifolia. L. — Hook. I. c. ii. p. 38.
Rhododendron Lapponicum. L. — Hook. I. c. ii. p. 43.
Ledum palustre. L. — Hook. 1. c. ii. p. 44.
BORAGINES.
Lithospermum maritimum. Lekm. — Hook. I. C. ii. p. 86. — A
very small Arctic form of the species.
ScBOPHULARINS.
Gymnandra Stelleri. Cham. etSchlecht. — Hook. I. c. ii. p. 102.
Castilleja pallida. Kth. — Hook. I. c. ii. p. 105.
Pedicularis capitata. Adams. — Hook. l.c. ii. p. 106.
Pedicularis hirsuta. L. — Hook. 1. c. ii. p. 109.
Pedicularis Lapponica. L  Hook. I. c. ii. p. 108.
Primulaces.
Androsace septentrionalis. L. — Hook. l.c. ii. p. 119.
PLUMBAGINEiE.
Statice Armeria. L. — Hook. I. c. ii. p. 123.
Empetres.
Empetrum nigrum. L. — Hook. I. c. ii. p. 1 40.
AMENTACEiE.
Salix arctica. Br. — Hook. I. c. ii. p. 1 52.
Gramine.e.
Bromus purgans. L. — Hook. I. c. ii. p. 252. — This is a small
variety, with very deep purple spikelets.

LIST OF PLANTS. 41 &
II. — Plants collected about Fort Confidence, Great Bear
Lake, lat. 66° 55' N., long. 118" 48' W.
RANUNCULACEjE.
Anemone patens. L. — Hook. 1. c. i. p. 4.
Anemone parviflora. Mich, supra.
Crucifers.
Draba hirta. L. supra. — This solitary specimen is very large,
nearly a foot high. CaRYOPHYLLEjE .
Stellaria laeta. Rich, supra. HYPERICINS.^.
Parnassia Kotzebui. Ckam. et Schleckt. — Hook. I.e. i. p. 83.
LEGUMINOSiE.
Phaca aboriginum. Hook. I. c. i. p. 143. Astragalus abori
ginum. Rich.
Phaca astragalina. B.C. supra.
Oxytropis campestris. B.C. supra.
Hedysarum boreale. Nutt. supra.
Rosacea,
Dryas integrifolia. Vahl, supra.
Rubus acaulis. Mick. — Hook. I. c. i. p. 1 82.
Rubus Chamaemorus. L — Hook. l.c. i. p. 183.
Potentilla rubricaulis. Lekm. supra.
Onagraria
Epilobium palustre. L, — Hook. I. c. i. p. 207.

414 APPENDIX.
Saxifeageje.
Chrysosplenium altemifolium. L. — Hook. 1. c. i. p. 242.
Saxifraga caespitosa. L. supra.
Saxifraga tricuspidata. Rets, supra.
Composite.
Arnica montana. L. ft. supra.
Senecio lugens. Rick. — Hook. 1. c. i. p. 331.
Erigeron alpinus. L. — y. Hook. I. c. ii. p. 1 8.
Erices.
Andromeda tetragona. L. supra.
Arbutus alpina. L. — Hook. 1. c. ii. p. 87.
Monotropes.
Pyrola secunda. L. — Hook. I. c. ii. p. 45.
Pyrola rotundifolia. L. — Hook. I. c. ii. p.. 47.
SCROPHULARINiE.
Castilleja pallida. Kth. supra.
Pedicularis Lapponica. L. supra.
Pedicularis euphrasioides. Stepk. — Hook. I. c. ii. p. 109.
Pedicularis Sudetica. Willd. — Hook. I. c. ii. p. 109.
Pbimulaces.
Primula Sibirica. Jacq. — Hook. I. c. ii. p. 121.
Plumbagines.
Statice Armeria. L. supra. Amentaces.
Salix reticulata. L. — Hook. 1. c. ii. p. 151.

LIST OF PLANTS. 415
JuNCAGINEjE.
Triglochin maritimum. L. — Hook. I. c ii. p. 168.
CyPERACEjE.
Eriophorum capitatnm. Host, — Hook. L c. ii. p. 231 .
FlLICES.
Aspidium (Lastrea) fragrans. Sw. — Hook. I. c. ii. p. 261.
Cistopteris fragilis. Bernh. — Hook. I. c. ii. p. 260.
Muscr.
Sphagnum acutifolium. Ehrk. — Rich. App. to Frankl. Journ.
p. 39. LlCHENES.
Cetraria Richardsoni. Hook. — Rich. I. c. p. 46. Tab. xxxi.

HL — Plants collected to the westward of the Mackenzie
River, between that and Boat Extreme, lat. 71° 3' 24" N,
long. 154" 26' 30" W. Ranunculace^.
Ranunculus nivalis. L. — Hook. I. c. i. p. 17.
Aconitum Napellus. L. — Hook. I. c i. p. 26.
Papavebacejb.
Papaver nudicaule. L. — Hook, supra.
CrociferjE.
Cardamine digitata. Rick, supra.

416 APPENDIX.
Parrya macrocarpa. Br. — Hook. I. c. i. p. 48. This fine
species of Parrya never seems to pass to the eastward of
the Mackenzie River.
Draba algida. Adams, supra.
Draba alpina. L. — fl. alb. supra.
Cochlearia Danica. L, — Hook. I. c. i. p. 57.
CaBYOPHYLLEjE.
Silene acaulis. L. — Hook. I. c. i. p. 87.
Lychnis apetala. L. — Hook. I. c. j. p. 91.
Stellaria humifusa. Rottb. — Hook. 1. c. i. p. 97.
Cerastium alpinum. L. supra.
Arenaria arctica. Stev. — Hook. I. c. i. p. 100. Tab. xxxiv.
Leguminoss.
Phaca frigida. L. supra.
Phaca astragalina. B.C. supra.
Oxytropis arctica. Br. — Hook. 1. c. i. p. 1 46.
Lupinus perennis. L. supra. Rosaces.
Dryas integrifolia. Vahl, supra.
CbASSULACEjE.
Sedum Rhodiola. B.C. — Hook. I. c. i. p. 227. These speci
mens, though in full flower, scarcely exceed two inches in
height. Saxifrages.
Saxifraga oppositifolia. L. supra.
Saxifraga punctata. L. supra.
Saxifraga Hirculus. L. — Hook. I. c. i. p. 252.
Saxifraga flagellaris. Willd. — Hook. I. c. i. 253. Tab. lxxxvii.

LIST OF PLANTS. 417
Saxifraga Richardsoni. Hook. 1. c. i. p. 247. S. Nelsoniana,
Hook, et Am. in Bot. of Beech. Voy. p. 124. Tab. xxix.
(not of Pursh.~) Composite.
Senecio palustris. ft. congestus. Hook. I. c. i. p. 334.
Senecio frigidus. Less. — Hook. 1. c. i. p. 334. Tab. cxii.
Ericbs.
Arbutus alpina. L. supra. Polemoniaces.
Polemonium coeruleum. L. — ft. humile. Hook. I. c. ii. p. 71.
Boragines.
Lithospermum maritimum. Lehm. supra.
Myosotis alpestris. Schmidt. — Hook. I. c. ii. p. 81.
Scrophularins.
Gymnandra Stelleri. Cham, et Schleckt. — Hook. 1. c. ii. p. 102.
Pedicularis capitata. Adams, supra.
Pedicularis hirsuta. L. supra.
Pedicularis Sudetica. Willd. supra.
Primulaces.
Primula Hornemanni. Lehm. — Hook. I. c. ii. p. 120.
Polygonea
Oxyria reniformis. Hook. I. c.
Polygonum Bistorta. L.—ft. elliptica. Hook. I. c. ii. p. 130.
P. ellipticum. Willd. Herb. — P. bistortoides. Pursh.
Amentacea
Salix arctica. Br. supra.

418 APPENDIX.
Salix reticulata. L. supra.
Salix nivalis. Hook. L c. ii. p. 152. This was discovered in
the Rocky Mountains by Mr. Drummond during Sir John
Franklin's journey : and it is the only plant, of the above
lists, which was not detected on the same Arctic shores by
Dr. Richardson during his and Sir John Franklin's over
land journey.

419

TABLE OF THE MAGNETIC VARIATION AND DIP

OBSERVED BY MR. SIMPSON.

Lat. N.

Long. W.

Variation.

Dip.

Place of Observation.

o /
5145

102 5

17 OE.

o ;

Fort Pelly.

58 43

111 18

26 6 „

Fort Chipewyan.

61 11

11345

37 16 „

Fort Resolution.

61 51

121 25

37 10 „

Fort Simpson.

66 16

128 31

44 12 „

Fort Good Hope.
68 54
136 21
49 22 „
Shoal-water Bay.
69 18
138 8
49 0 „
Point Kay.
69 41
141 0
48 23 „
Point Demarcation.
70 10
147 30
45 0 „
Point Anxiety.
70 43
152 14
43 8 „
Point Comfort.
71 2
154 23
42 36 „
Boat Extreme.
67 11
117 5
49 30 „
Kendall River.
67 7
11621
48 0 „
Mouth of Kendall River.
66 54
11849
48 30 „
84 48
Fort Confidence.
67 43
115 50
54 17 „
Bloody Fall.
68 48
11531
53 48 „
Mouth of Coppermine River.
68 16
109 21
46 0 „
Boathaven.
68 52
106 20
63 0 „
Trap Cape.
68 44
106 3
60 38 „
Simpson's furthest, 1838.
67 54
11556
52 10 „
Mouth of Richardson's River.
68 4
11059
87 13
Cape Barrow.
68 56
106 40
88 15
Cape Alexander.
68 7
103 87
54 45 E.
88 20
White-bear Point.
68 21
97 25
89 80
Thunder Cove.
68 4
95 41
ltolip,8.E.
No var.
Cape Britannia.
68 28
9414
16 20W.
Castor and Pollux River.
68 41
98 22
4pts.E.
89 29
Cape Herschel.
LONDON :
Printed by S. & J. Bentley, Wilson, and Fley,
Bangor House, Shoe Lane.

3 9002

^E

^-i