information of this Journey being set on foot, much less had he received
orders to join me at the place and time here appointed; and had we
accidentally met, he would by no means have undertaken the Journey
without first going to the Factory, and there making his agreement with
the Governor; for no Indian is fond of performing any particular service
for the English, without first knowing what is to be his reward. At the
same time, had I taken that rout on my out-set, it would have carried me
some hundreds of miles out of my road. See my Track on the Map in the
Winter 1770, and the Spring 1771.
[L] I was not provided with instruments for cutting on stone; but for
form-sake, I cut my name, date of the year, &c., on a piece of board
that had been one of the Indian's targets, and placed it in a heap of
stones on a small eminence near the entrance of the river, on the South
side.
[M] There is certainly no harm in making out all Instructions in the
fullest manner, yet it must be allowed that those two parts might have
been omitted with great propriety; for as neither Middleton, Ellis, nor
Christopher were able to penetrate far enough up those inlets to
discover any kind of herbage except moss and grass, much less woods, it
was not likely those parts were so materially altered for the better
since their times, as to make it worth my while to attempt a farther
discovery of them; and especially as I had an opportunity, during my
second Journey, of proving that the woods do not reach the sea-coast by
some hundreds of miles in the parallel of Chesterfield's Inlet. And as
the edge of the woods to the Northward always tends to the Westward, the
distance must be greatly increased in the latitude of Wager Strait.
Those parts have long since been visited by the Company's servants, and
are within the known limits of their Charter; consequently require no
other form of possession.
[N] See the preceding Note.
[O] The Continent of America is much wider than many people imagine,
particularly Robson, who thought that the Pacific Ocean was but a few
days journey from the West coast of Hudson's Bay. This, however, is so
far from being the case, that when I was at my greatest Western
distance, upward of five hundred miles from Prince of Wales's Fort, the
natives, my guides, well knew that many tribes of Indians lay to the
West of us, and they knew no end to the land in that direction; nor have
I met with any Indians, either Northern or Southern, that ever had seen
the sea to the Westward. It is, indeed, well known to the intelligent
and well-informed part of the Company's servants, that an extensive and
numerous tribe of Indians, called E-arch-e-thinnews, whose country lies
far West of any of the Company's or Canadian settlements, must have
traffic with the Spaniards on the West side of the Continent; because
some of the Indians who formerly traded to York Fort, when at war with
those people, frequently found saddles, bridles, muskets, and many other
articles, in their possession, which were undoubtedly of Spanish
manufactory.
I have seen several Indians who have been so far West as to cross the
top of that immense chain of mountains which run from North to South of
the continent of America. Beyond those mountains all rivers run to the
Westward. I must here observe, that all the Indians I ever heard relate
their excursions in that country, had invariably got so far to the
South, that they did not experience any Winter, nor the least appearance
of either frost or snow, though sometimes they have been absent eighteen
months, or two years.[21]
[21] In the year 1745 Anthony Hendry, under instructions from the
Hudson's Bay Company, had travelled inland from York Factory to the
upper waters of the Saskatchewan River, where he met the
E-arch-e-thinnews or Blackfeet Indians.
[P] As to a passage through the continent of America by the way of
Hudson's Bay, it has so long been explored, notwithstanding what Mr.
Ellis has urged in its favour, and the place it has found in the
visionary Map of the American Traveller, that any comment on it would be
quite unnecessary. My latitude only will be a sufficient proof that no
such passage is in existence.
[Illustration: A NORTH-WEST VIEW OF PRINCE OF WALES'S FORT IN HUDSON'S
BAY, NORTH AMERICA
By Samuel Hearne, 1777]
A
JOURNEY
TO THE
NORTHERN OCEAN.
CHAP. I.
Transactions from my leaving Prince of Wales's Fort on my first
expedition, till our arrival there again.
_Set off from the Fort--Arrive at Po-co-ree-kis-co River--One of
the Northern Indians desert--Cross Seal River, and walk on the
barren grounds--Receive wrong information concerning the
distance of the woods--Weather begins to be very cold,
provisions all expended and nothing to be got--Strike to the
Westward, arrive at the woods, and kill three deer--Set forward
in the North West quarter, see the tracks of musk-oxen and deer,
but killed none--Very short of provisions--Chawchinahaw wants us
to return--Neither he nor his crew contribute to our
maintenance--He influences several of the Indians to
desert--Chawchinahaw and all his crew leave us--Begin our return
to the factory; kill a few partridges, the first meal we had had
for several days--Villany of one of the home Indians and his
wife, who was a Northern Indian woman--Arrive at Seal River,
kill two deer; partridges plenty--Meet a strange Northern
Indian, accompany him to his tent, usage received there; my
Indians assist in killing some beaver--Proceed toward home, and
arrive at the Fort._
[Sidenote: 1769. November 6th.]
[Sidenote: 1769. November.]
Having made every necessary arrangement for my departure on the sixth of
November, I took leave of the Governor, and my other friends, at Prince
of Wales's Fort, and began my journey, under the salute of seven
cannon.
[Sidenote: 8th.]
{2} The weather at that time being very mild, made it but indifferent
hauling,[Q] and all my crew being heavy laden, occasioned us to make but
short journeys; however, on the eighth, we crossed the North branch of
Po-co-ree-kis-co River,[22] and that night put up in a small tuft of
woods, which is between it and Seal River. In the night, one of the
Northern Indians deserted; and as all the rest of my crew were heavy
laden, I was under the necessity of hauling the sledge he had left,
which however was not very heavy, as it scarcely exceeded sixty pounds.
[Sidenote: 9th.]
The weather still continued very fine and pleasant; we directed our
course to the West North West, and early in the day crossed Seal River.
In the course of this day's journey we met several Northern Indians, who
were going to the factory with furs and venison; and as we had not
killed any deer from our leaving the Fort, I got several joints of
venison from those strangers, and gave them a note on the Governor for
payment, which seemed perfectly agreeable to all parties.
[Sidenote: 1769. November.]
When on the North West side of Seal River, I asked Captain Chawchinahaw
the distance, and probable time it would take, before we could reach the
main woods; which he assured me would not exceed four or five days
journey. This put both me and my companions in good {3} spirits, and we
continued our course between the West by North and North West, in daily
expectation of arriving at those woods, which we were told would furnish
us with every thing the country affords. These accounts were so far from
being true, that after we had walked double the time here mentioned, no
signs of woods were to be seen in the direction we were then steering;
but we had frequently seen the looming of woods to the South West.
[Sidenote: 19th.]
The cold being now very intense, our small stock of English provisions
all expended, and not the least thing to be got on the bleak hills we
had for some time been walking on, it became necessary to strike more to
the Westward, which we accordingly did, and the next evening arrived at
some small patches of low scrubby woods, where we saw the tracks of
several deer,[23] and killed a few partridges. The road we had traversed
for many days before, was in general so rough and stony, that our
sledges were daily breaking; and to add to the inconveniency, the land
was so barren, as not to afford us materials for repairing them: but the
few woods we now fell in with, amply supplied us with necessaries for
those repairs; and as we were then enabled each night to pitch proper
tents, our lodging was much more comfortable than it had been for many
nights before, while we were on the barren grounds, where, in general,
we thought ourselves well off if we could scrape together as many shrubs
as would make a fire; but it {4} was scarcely ever in our power to make
any other defence against the weather, than by digging a hole in the
snow down to the moss, wrapping ourselves up in our clothing, and lying
down in it, with our sledges set up edgeways to windward.
[Sidenote: 21st.]
[Sidenote: 1769. November.]
On the twenty-first, we did not move; so the Indian men went a hunting,
and the women cut holes in the ice and caught a few fish in a small
lake, by the side of which we had pitched our tents. At night the men
returned with some venison, having killed three deer, which was without
doubt very acceptable; but our number being great, and the Indians
having such enormous stomachs, very little was left but fragments after
the two or three first good meals. Having devoured the three deer, and
given some necessary repairs to our sledges and snow shoes, which only
took one day, we again proceeded on toward the North West by West and
West North West, through low scrubby pines,[24] intermixed with some
dwarf larch,[25] which is commonly called juniper in Hudson's Bay. In
our road we frequently saw the tracks of deer, and many musk-oxen,[26]
as they are called there; but none of my companions were so fortunate as
to kill any of them: so that a few partridges were all we could get to
live on, and those were so scarce, that we seldom could kill as many as
would amount to half a bird a day for each man; which, considering we
had nothing else for the twenty-four hours, was in reality next to
nothing.
[Sidenote: 26th.]
{5} By this time I found that Captain Chawchinahaw had not the
prosperity of the undertaking at heart; he often painted the
difficulties in the worst colours, took every method to dishearten me
and my European companions, and several times hinted his desire of our
returning back to the factory: but finding I was determined to proceed,
he took such methods as he thought would be most likely to answer his
end; one of which was, that of not administering toward our support;
so that we were a considerable time without any other subsistence, but
what our two home-guard (Southern) Indians procured, and the little that
I and the two European men could kill; which was very disproportionate
to our wants, as we had to provide for several women and children who
were with us.
[Sidenote: 29th.]
Chawchinahaw finding that this kind of treatment was not likely to
complete his design, and that we were not to be starved into compliance,
at length influenced several of the best Northern Indians to desert in
the night, who took with them several bags of my ammunition, some pieces
of iron work, such as hatchets, ice chissels, files, &c., as well as
several other useful articles.
[Sidenote: 30th.]
[Sidenote: 1769. November.]
When I became acquainted with this piece of villany, I asked
Chawchinahaw the reason of such behaviour. To which he answered, that he
knew nothing of the affair: but as that was the case, it would not be
{6} prudent, he said, for us to proceed any farther; adding, that he and
all the rest of his countrymen were going to strike off another way, in
order to join the remainder of their wives and families: and after
giving us a short account which way to steer our course for the nearest
part of Seal River, which he said would be our best way homeward, he and
his crew delivered me most of the things which they had in charge,
packed up their awls, and set out toward the South West, making the
woods ring with their laughter, and left us to consider of our unhappy
situation, near two hundred miles from Prince of Wales's Fort, all
heavily laden, and our strength and spirits greatly reduced by hunger
and fatigue.
Our situation at that time, though very alarming, would not permit us to
spend much time in reflection; so we loaded our sledges to the best
advantage (but were obliged to throw away some bags of shot and ball),
and immediately set out on our return. In the course of the day's walk
we were fortunate enough to kill several partridges, for which we were
all very thankful, as it was the first meal we had had for several days:
indeed, for the five preceding days we had not killed as much as
amounted to half a partridge for each man; and some days had not a
single mouthful. While we were in this distress, the Northern Indians
were by no means in want; for as they always walked foremost, they {7}
had ten times the chance to kill partridges, rabbits, or any other thing
which was to be met with, than we had. Beside this advantage, they had
great stocks of flour, oatmeal, and other English provisions, which they
had embezzled out of my stock during the early part of the journey; and
as one of my home Indians, called Mackachy, and his wife, who is a
Northern Indian woman, always resorted to the Northern Indians tents,
where they got amply supplied with provisions when neither I nor my men
had a single mouthful, I have great reason to suspect they had a
principal hand in the embezzlement: indeed, both the man and his wife
were capable of committing any crime, however diabolical.
[Sidenote: 1769. December. 1st.]
This day we had fine pleasant weather for the season of the year: we set
out early in the morning, and arrived the same day at Seal River, along
which we continued our course for several days. In our way we killed
plenty of partridges, and saw many deer; but the weather was so
remarkably serene that the Indians only killed two of the latter. By
this time game was become so plentiful, that all apprehensions of
starving were laid aside; and though we were heavily laden, and
travelled pretty good days' journeys, yet as our spirits were good, our
strength gradually returned.
[Sidenote: 5th.]
In our course down Seal River we met a stranger, a Northern Indian, on a
hunting excursion; and though {8} he had not met with any success that
day, yet he kindly invited us to his tent, saying he had plenty of
venison at my service; and told the Southern Indians, that as there were
two or three beaver houses near his tent, he should be glad of their
assistance in taking them, for there was only one man and three women at
the tent.
[Sidenote: 1769. December.]
Though we were at that time far from being in want of provisions, yet we
accepted his offer, and set off with our new guide for his tent, which,
by a comparative distance, he told us, was not above five miles from the
place where we met him, but we found it to be nearer fifteen; so that it
was the middle of the night before we arrived at it. When we drew near
the tent, the usual signal for the approach of strangers was given, by
firing a gun or two, which was immediately answered by the man at the
tent. On our arrival at the door, the good man of the house came out,
shook me by the hand, and welcomed us to his tent; but as it was too
small to contain us all, he ordered his women to assist us in pitching
our tent; and in the mean time invited me and as many of my crew as his
little habitation could contain, and regaled us with the best in the
house. The pipe went round pretty briskly, and the conversation
naturally turned on the treatment we had received from Chawchinahaw and
his gang; which was always answered by our host with, "Ah! if I had
been there, it should not have been so!" when, notwithstanding his
hospitality on the present occasion, he {9} would most assuredly have
acted the same part as the others had done, if he had been of the party.
Having refreshed ourselves with a plentiful supper, we took leave of our
host for a while, and retired to our tent; but not without being made
thoroughly sensible that many things would be expected from me before I
finally left them.
[Sidenote: 6th.]
Early in the morning, my Indians assisted us in taking the beaver houses
already mentioned[27]; but the houses being small, and some of the
beavers escaping, they only killed six, all of which were cooked the
same night, and voraciously devoured under the denomination of a feast.
I also received from the Indians several joints of venison, to the
amount of at least two deer; but notwithstanding I was to pay for the
whole, I found that Mackachy and his wife got all the prime parts of the
meat; and on my mentioning it to them, there was so much clanship among
them, that they preferred making a present of it to Mackachy, to selling
it to me at double the price for which venison sells in those parts: a
sufficient proof of the singular advantage which a native of this
country has over an Englishman, when at such a distance from the
Company's Factories as to depend entirely on them for subsistence.
[Sidenote: 7th.]
{10} Thinking I had made my stay here long enough, I gave orders to
prepare for our departure; and as I had purchased plenty of meat for
present use while we were at this tent, so I likewise procured such a
supply to carry with us, as was likely to last us to the Fort.
[Sidenote: 8th.]
[Sidenote: 1769. December. 11th.]
Early in the morning we took a final leave of our host, and proceeded on
our journey homewards. One of the strangers accompanied us, for which at
first I could not see his motive; but soon after our arrival at the
Factory, I found that the purport of his visit was to be paid for the
meat, said to be given _gratis_ to Mackachy while we were at his tent.
The weather continued very fine, but extremely cold; and during this
part of my journey nothing material happened, till we arrived safe at
Prince of Wales's Fort on the eleventh of December, to my own great
mortification, and to the no small surprise of the Governor, who had
placed great confidence in the abilities and conduct of Chawchinahaw.
FOOTNOTES:
[Q] The colder the weather is, the easier the sledges slide over the
snow.
[22] On modern maps this stream is known as Pauk-athakuskow River. The
Chipewyan Indians of Fort Churchill and vicinity know it by the name of
Beskai dézé or Knife River, while the white people at Churchill know it
as North River. Churchill River is called by the Chipewyans 'Tsan dézé,
meaning Iron or Metal River.
[23] _Rangifer arcticus_ (Rich.).--E. A. P.
[24] _Picea alba_ (Ait.).--E. A. P.
[25] _Larix laricina_ (Du Roi).--E. A. P.
[26] _Ovibos moschatus_ (Zimm.).--E. A. P.
[27] _Castor canadensis_ Kuhl. This is the most northerly record near
the coast.--E. A. P.
{11} CHAP. II.
Transactions from our arrival at the Factory, to my leaving it
again, and during the first part of my second journey, till I
had the misfortune to break the quadrant.
_Transactions at the Factory--Proceed on my second
journey--Arrive at Seal River--Deer plentiful for some
time--Method of angling fish under the ice--Set our fishing
nets--Methods of setting nets under the ice--My guide proposes
to stay till the geese began to fly; his reasons accepted--Pitch
our tent in the best manner--Method of pitching a tent in
winter--Fish plentiful for some time; grow very scarce; in great
want of provisions--Manner of employing my time--My guide killed
two deer--Move to the place they were lying at; there kill
several more deer, and three beavers--Soon in want of provisions
again--Many Indians join us from the Westward--We begin to move
towards the barren ground--Arrive at She-than-nee, and there
suffer great distress for want of provisions--Indians kill two
swans and three geese--Geese and other birds of passage
plentiful--Leave She-than-nee, and arrive at Beralzone--One of
my companions guns bursts, and shatters his left hand--Leave
Beralzone, and get on the barren ground, clear of all
woods--Throw away our sledges and snow shoes--Each person takes
a load on his back; my part of the luggage--Exposed to many
hardships--Several days without victuals--Indians kill three
musk oxen, but for want of fire are obliged to eat the meat
raw--Fine weather returns; make a fire; effects of long fasting;
stay a day or two to dry some meat in the sun--Proceed to the
Northward, and arrive at Cathawhachaga; there find some tents of
Indians--A Northern leader called Keelshies meets us; send a
letter by him to the Governor--Transactions at Cathawhachaga;
leave it, and proceed to the Northward--Meet several Indians--My
guide not willing to proceed; his {12} reasons for it--Many more
Indians join us--Arrive at Doobaunt Whoie River--Manner of
ferrying over rivers in the Northern Indian canoes--No rivers in
those parts in a useful direction for the natives--Had nearly
lost the quadrant and all the powder--Some reflections on our
situation, and the conduct of the Indians--Find the quadrant and
part of the powder--Observe for the latitude--Quadrant
broke--Resolve to return again to the Factory._
[Sidenote: 1770. February.]
During my absence from Prince of Wales's Fort on my former journey,
several Northern Indians arrived in great distress at the Factory, and
were employed in shooting partridges for the use of our people at the
Fort. One of those Indians called Conne-e-quese, said he had been very
near to the famous river I was engaged to go in quest of. Accordingly
Mr. Norton engaged him and two other Northern Indians to accompany me on
this second attempt; but to avoid all incumbrances as much as possible,
it was thought advisable not to take any women,[R] that the Indians
might have fewer to provide for. I would not permit any European to go
with me, but two of the home-guard (Southern) Indian men were to
accompany me as before. Indeed the Indians, both Northern and Southern,
paid so little attention to Isbester and Merriman on my former journey,
particularly in times of scarcity, that I was determined not to take
them with me in future; though the former was very desirous to accompany
me again, and was well calculated to encounter the hardships of {13}
such an undertaking. Merriman was quite sick of such excursions, and so
far from offering his service a second time, seemed to be very thankful
that he was once more arrived in safety among his friends; for before he
got to the Factory he had contracted a most violent cold.
Having come to the above resolutions, and finally determined on the
number of Indians that were to accompany us, we were again fitted out
with a large supply of ammunition, and as many other useful articles as
we could conveniently take with us, together with a small sample of
light trading goods, for presents to the Indians, as before.
[Sidenote: 1770. February.]
My instructions on this occasion amounted to no more than an order to
proceed as fast as possible; and for my conduct during the journey, I
was referred to my former instructions of November 6th, 1769.
[Sidenote: 23rd.]
Every thing being in readiness for our departure, on the twenty-third of
February I began my second journey, accompanied by three Northern
Indians and two of the home-guard (Southern) Indians. I took particular
care, however, that Mackachy, though an excellent hunter, should not be
of our party; as he had proved himself, during my former journey, to be
a sly artful villain.
The snow at this time was so deep on the top of the ramparts, that few
of the cannon were to be seen, {14} otherwise the Governor would have
saluted me at my departure, as before; but as those honours could not
possibly be of any service to my expedition, I readily relinquished
everything of the kind; and in lieu of it, the Governor, officers, and
people, insisted on giving me three cheers.
After leaving the Factory, we continued our course in much the same
direction as in my former journey, till we arrived at Seal River; when,
instead of crossing it, and walking on the barren grounds as before, we
followed the course of the river, except in two particular places, where
the bends tended so much to the South, that by crossing two necks of
land not more than five or six miles wide, we saved the walking of near
twenty miles each time, and still came to the main river again.
[Sidenote: 1770. March. 8th.]