were frequently obliged to continue two or three nights in the same
place. To make up for this inconveniency, deer were so plentiful for the
first eight or ten days, that the Indians killed as many as was
necessary; but we were all so heavy laden that we could not possibly
take much of the meat with us. This I soon perceived to be a great evil,
which exposed us to such frequent inconveniences, that in case of not
killing any thing for three or four days together, we were in great
want of provisions; we seldom, however, went to bed entirely supperless
{15} till the eighth of March; when though we had only walked about
eight miles that morning, and expended all the remainder of the day in
hunting, we could not produce a single thing at night, not even a
partridge! nor had we discerned the track of any thing that day, which
was likely to afford us hopes of better success in the morning. This
being the case, we prepared some hooks and lines ready to angle for
fish, as our tent was then by the side of a lake belonging to Seal
River, which seemed by its situation to afford some prospect of success.
[Sidenote: 9th.]
Early in the morning we took down our tent, and moved about five miles
to the West by South, to a part of the lake that seemed more commodious
for fishing than that where we had been the night before. As soon as we
arrived at this place, some were immediately employed cutting holes in
the ice, while others pitched the tent, got fire-wood, &c.; after which,
for it was early in the morning, those who pitched the tent went a
hunting, and at night one of them returned with a porcupine,[28] while
those who were angling caught several fine trout, which afforded us a
plentiful supper, and we had some trifle left for breakfast.
Angling for fish under the ice in winter requires no other process, than
cutting round holes in the ice from one to two feet diameter, and
letting down a baited hook, which is always kept in motion, not only to
{16} prevent the water from freezing so soon as it would do if suffered
to remain quite still, but because it is found at the same time to be a
great means of alluring the fish to the hole; for it is always observed
that the fish in those parts will take a bait which is in motion, much
sooner than one that is at rest.
[Sidenote: 19th.]
[Sidenote: 1770. March.]
[Sidenote: 20th.]
Early in the morning we again pursued our angling, and all the forenoon
being expended without any success, we took down our tent and pitched it
again about eight miles farther to the Westward, on the same lake, where
we cut more holes in the ice for angling, and that night caught several
fine pike.[29] The next day we moved about five miles to the South West,
down a small river, where we pitched our tent; and having set four
fishing nets, in the course of the day we caught many fine fish,
particularly pike, trout,[30] tittymeg, and a coarse kind of fish known
in Hudson's Bay by the name of Methy.[31][S]
To set a net under the ice, it is first necessary to ascertain its exact
length, by stretching it out upon the ice near the part proposed for
setting it. This being done, a number of round holes are cut in the ice,
at ten or twelve feet distance from each other, and as many in number as
will be sufficient to stretch the net at its full length. A line is then
passed under the ice, by means {17} of a long light pole, which is first
introduced at one of the end holes, and, by means of two forked sticks,
this pole is easily conducted, or passed from one hole to another, under
the ice, till it arrives at the last. The pole is then taken out, and
both ends of the line being properly secured, is always ready for use.
The net is made fast to one end of the line by one person, and hauled
under the ice by a second; a large stone is tied to each of the lower
corners, which serves to keep the net expanded, and prevents it rising
from the bottom with every waft of the current. The Europeans settled in
Hudson's Bay proceed much in the same manner, though they in general
take much more pains; but the above method is found quite sufficient by
the Indians.
In order to search a net thus set, the two end holes only are opened;
the line is veered away by one person, and the net hauled from under the
ice by another; after all the fish are taken out, the net is easily
hauled back to its former station, and there secured as before.
[Sidenote: 1770. March. 21st.]
As this place seemed likely to afford us a constant supply of fish, my
guide proposed to stay here till the geese began to fly, which in those
Northern parts is seldom before the middle of May. His reasons for so
doing seemed well founded: "The weather," he said, "is at this time too
cold to walk on the barren grounds, and the woods from this part lead so
much {18} to the Westward, that were we to continue travelling in any
tolerable shelter, our course would not be better than West South West,
which would only be going out of our way; whereas, if we should remain
here till the weather permit us to walk due North, over the barren
grounds, we shall then in one month get farther advanced on our journey,
than if we were to continue travelling all the remainder of the winter
in the sweep of the woods."
These reasons appeared to me very judicious, and as the plan seemed
likely to be attended with little trouble, it met with my entire
approbation. That being the case, we took additional pains in building
our tent, and made it as commodious as the materials and situation would
admit.
[Sidenote: 1770. March.]
To pitch an Indian's tent in winter, it is first necessary to search for
a level piece of dry ground; which cannot be ascertained but by
thrusting a stick through the snow down to the ground, all over the
proposed part. When a convenient spot is found, the snow is then cleared
away in a circular form to the very moss; and when it is proposed to
remain more than a night or two in one place, the moss is also cut up
and removed, as it is very liable when dry to take fire, and occasion
much trouble to the inhabitants. A quantity of poles are then procured,
which are generally proportioned both in number and length to the {19}
size of the tent cloth, and the number of persons it is intended to
contain. If one of the poles should not happen to be forked, two of them
are tied together near the top, then raised erect, and their buts or
lower ends extended as wide as the proposed diameter of the tent; the
other poles are then set round at equal distances from each other, and
in such order, that their lower ends form a complete circle, which gives
boundaries to the tent on all sides: the tent cloth is then fastened to
a light pole, which is always raised up and put round the poles from the
weather side, so that the two edges that lap over and form the door are
always to the leeward. It must be understood that this method is only in
use when the Indians are moving from place to place every day; for when
they intend to continue any time in one place, they always make the door
of their tent to face the south.
The tent cloth is usually of thin Moose leather, dressed and made by the
Indians, and in shape it nearly resembles a fan-mount inverted; so that
when the largest curve incloses the bottom of the poles, the smaller one
is always sufficient to cover the top; except a hole, which is
designedly left open to serve the double purpose of chimney and window.
The fire is always made on the ground in the center, and the remainder
of the floor, or bottom of the tent, is covered all over with small
branches of the pine tree, {20} which serve both for seats and beds. A
quantity of pine tops and branches are laid round the bottom of the
poles on the outside, over which the eaves of the tent is staked down; a
quantity of snow is then packed over all, which excludes great part of
the external air, and contributes greatly to the warmth within. The tent
here described is such as is made use of by the Southern Indians, and
the same with which I was furnished at the Factory; for that made use of
by the Northern Indians is made of different materials, and is of a
quite different shape, as shall be described hereafter.
[Sidenote: 1770. March.]
The situation of our tent at this time was truly pleasant,[32]
particularly for a spring residence; being on a small elevated point,
which commanded an extensive prospect over a large lake, the shores of
which abounded with wood of different kinds, such as pine, larch, birch,
and poplar; and in many places was beautifully contrasted with a variety
of high hills, that shewed their snowy summits above the tallest woods.
About two hundred yards from the tent was a fall, or rapid, which the
swiftness of the current prevents from freezing in the coldest winters.
At the bottom of this fall, which empties itself into the above lake,
was a fine sheet of open water near a mile in length, and at least half
a mile in breadth; by the margin of which we had our fishing nets set,
all in open view from the tent.
{21} The remaining part of this month passed on without any
interruption, or material occurrence, to disturb our repose, worth
relating: our fishing nets provided us with daily food, and the Indians
had too much philosophy about them to give themselves much additional
trouble; for during the whole time not one of them offered to look for a
partridge, or anything else which could yield a change of diet.
As the time may now be supposed to have lain heavy on my hands, it may
not be improper to inform the reader how I employed it. In the first
place, I embraced every favourable opportunity of observing the latitude
of the place, the mean of which was 58° 46' 30" North; and the longitude
by account was 5° 57' West, from Prince of Wales's Fort. I then
corrected my reckoning from my last observation; brought up my journal,
and filled up my chart, to the place of our residence. I built also some
traps, and caught a few martins; and by way of saving my ammunition, set
some snares for partridges. The former is performed by means of a few
logs, so arranged that when the martin attempts to take away the bait
laid for him, he with very little struggle pulls down a small post that
supports the whole weight of the trap; when, if the animal be not killed
by the weight of the logs, he is confined till he be frozen to death, or
killed by the hunter going his rounds.
[Sidenote: 1770. April.]
{22} To snare partridges requires no other process than making a few
little hedges across a creek, or a few short hedges projecting at right
angles from the side of an island of willows, which those birds are
found to frequent. Several openings must be left in each hedge, to admit
the birds to pass through, and in each of them a snare must be set; so
that when the partridges are hopping along the edge of the willows to
feed, which is their usual custom, some of them soon get into the
snares, where they are confined till they are taken out. I have caught
from three to ten partridges in a day by this simple contrivance; which
requires no further attendance than going round them night and morning.
[Sidenote: 1st.]
I have already observed that nothing material happened to disturb our
repose till the first of April, when to our great surprise the fishing
nets did not afford us a single fish. Though some of the preceding days
had been pretty successful, yet my companions, like true Indians, seldom
went to sleep till they had cleared the tent of every article of
provision. As nothing was to be caught in the nets, we all went out to
angle; but in this we were equally unsuccessful, as we could not procure
one fish the whole day. This sudden change of circumstances alarmed one
of my companions so much, that he began to think of resuming the use of
his gun, after having laid it by for near a month.
{23} Early in the morning we arose; when my guide Conne-e-quese went a
hunting, and the rest attended the nets and hooks near home; but all
with such bad success, that we could not procure enough in one day to
serve two men for a supper. This, instead of awakening the rest of my
companions, sent them to sleep; and scarcely any of them had the
prudence to look at the fishing nets, though they were not more than two
or three hundred yards from the tent door.
[Sidenote: 1770. April.]
My guide, who was a steady man, and an excellent hunter, having for many
years been accustomed to provide for a large family, seemed by far the
most industrious of all my crew; he closely pursued his hunting for
several days, and seldom returned to the tent till after dark, while
those at the tent passed most of their time in smoking and sleeping.
[Sidenote: 10th.]
Several days passed without any signs of relief, till the 10th, when my
guide continued out longer than ordinary, which made us conjecture that
he had met with strangers, or seen some deer, or other game, which
occasioned his delay. We all therefore lay down to sleep, having had but
little refreshment for the three preceding days, except a pipe of
tobacco and a draught of water; even partridges had become so scarce
that not one was to be got; the heavy thaws had driven them all out
towards the barren grounds. About midnight, to our {24} great joy, our
hunter arrived, and brought with him the blood and fragments of two deer
that he had killed. This unexpected success soon roused the sleepers,
who, in an instant, were busily employed in cooking a large kettle of
broth, made with the blood, and some fat and scraps of meat shred small,
boiled in it. This might be reckoned a dainty dish at any time, but was
more particularly so in our present almost famished condition.
[Sidenote: 11th.]
After partaking of this refreshment, we resumed our rest, and early in
the morning set out in a body for the place where the deer were lying.
As we intended to make our stay but short, we left our tent standing,
containing all our baggage. On our arrival at the place of destination,
some were immediately employed in making a hut or barrocado with young
pine trees; while one man skinned the deer, the remainder went a
hunting, and in the afternoon returned to the hut, after having killed
two deer.
Several days were now spent in feasting and gluttony; during which the
Indians killed five more deer and three fine beavers; finding at last,
however, that there was little prospect of procuring either more deer or
beavers, we determined to return to our tent, with the remains of what
we had already obtained.
[Sidenote: 1770. April. 22d.]
The flesh of these deer, though none of the largest, might with
frugality have served our small number, (being {25} only six) for some
time; but my companions, like other Indians, feasted day and night while
it lasted; and were so indolent and unthinking, as not to attend
properly to the fishing nets; so that many fine fish, which had been
entangled in the nets, were entirely spoiled, and in about twelve or
fourteen days we were nearly in as great distress for provisions as
ever.
During the course of our long inactivity, Saw-sop-o-kishac, commonly
called Sossop, my principal Southern Indian, as he was cutting some
birch for spoons, dishes, and other necessary household furniture, had
the misfortune to cut his leg in such a manner as to be incapable of
walking; and the other Southern Indian, though a much younger man, was
so indolent as not to be of any service to me, except hauling part of
our luggage, and eating up part of the provisions which had been
provided by the more industrious part of my companions.
[Sidenote: 24th.]
On the twenty-fourth, early in the day, a great body of Indians was seen
in the South West, on the large lake by the side of which our tent
stood. On their arrival at our tent we discovered them to be the wives
and families of the Northern Indian goose-hunters, who were gone to
Prince of Wales's Fort to attend the season. They were bound toward the
barren ground, there to wait the return of their husbands and relations
from the Fort, after the termination of the goose-season.
[Sidenote: 27th.]
{26} My guide having for some days past determined to move toward the
barren ground, this morning we took down our tent, packed up our
luggage, and proceeded to the Eastward in the same track we came; but
Sossop being so lame as to be obliged to be hauled on a sledge, I easily
prevailed on two of the Indians who had joined us on the 24th, and who
were pursuing the same road, to perform this service for him.
[Sidenote: 1770. April. 29th.]
[Sidenote: May. 13th.]
After two days good walking in our old track, we arrived at a part of
Seal River called She-than-nee,[33] where we pitched our tent and set
both our fishing-nets, intending to stay there till the geese began to
fly. Though we had seen several swans and some geese flying to the
Northward, it was the thirteenth of May before we could procure any. On
that day the Indians killed two swans and three geese. This in some
measure alleviated our distress, which at that time was very great;
having had no other subsistence for five or six days, than a few
cranberries, that we gathered from the dry ridges where the snow was
thawed away in spots; for though we set our fishing-nets in the best
judged places, and angled at every part that was likely to afford
success, we only caught three small fish during the whole time. Many of
the Northern Indians, who had joined us on the 24th of April, remained
in our company for some time; and though I well knew they had had a
plentiful winter, and had then good stocks of dried meat by them, and
{27} were also acquainted with our distress, they never gave me or my
Southern companions the least supply, although they had in secret amply
provided for our Northern guides.
[Sidenote: 19th.]
[Sidenote: 23d.]
[Sidenote: 1770. May.]
By the nineteenth, the geese, swans, ducks, gulls, and other birds of
passage, were so plentiful, that we killed every day as many as were
sufficient for our support; and having stopped a few days to recruit our
spirits after so long a fast, on the twenty-third we began once more to
proceed toward the barren ground. Sossop having now perfectly recovered
from his late misfortune, everything seemed to have a favourable
appearance; especially as my crew had been augmented to twelve persons,
by the addition of one of my guide's wives, and five others, whom I had
engaged to assist in carrying our luggage; and I well knew, from the
season of the year, that hauling would soon be at an end for the summer.
The thaws having been by this time so great as to render travelling in
the woods almost impracticable, we continued our course to the East on
Seal River, about sixteen miles farther, when we came to a small river,
and a string of lakes connected with it, that tended to the North.
[Sidenote: June. 1st.]
The weather for some time was remarkably fine and pleasant. Game of all
kinds was exceedingly plentiful, {28} and we continued our course to the
Northward on the above river and lakes till the first of June, when we
arrived at a place called Beralzone.[34] In our way thither, beside
killing more geese than was necessary, we shot two deer. One of my
companions had now the misfortune to shatter his hand very much by the
bursting of a gun; but as no bones were broken, I bound up the wound,
and with the assistance of some of Turlington's drops, yellow basilicon,
&c., which I had with me, soon restored the use of his hand; so that in
a very short time he seemed to be out of all danger.
[Sidenote: 4th.]
After stopping a few days at Beralzone, to dry a little venison and a
few geese, we again proceeded to the Northward on the barren ground; for
on our leaving this place we soon got clear of all the woods.
[Sidenote: 5th.]
[Sidenote: 6th.]
[Sidenote: 10th.]
[Sidenote: 1770. June.]
The snow was by this time so soft as to render walking in snow-shoes
very laborious; and though the ground was bare in many places, yet at
times, and in particular places, the snow-drifts were so deep, that we
could not possibly do without them. By the sixth, however, the thaws
were so general, and the snows so much melted, that as our snow-shoes
were attended with more trouble than service, we all consented to throw
them away. Till the tenth, our sledges proved serviceable, particularly
in crossing lakes and ponds on the ice; but that mode of travelling now
growing dangerous on account of the great thaws, we {29} determined to
throw away our sledges, and every one to take a load on his back.
This I found to be much harder work than the winter carriage, as my part
of the luggage consisted of the following articles, viz. the quadrant
and its stand, a trunk containing books, papers, &c., a land-compass,
and a large bag containing all my wearing apparel; also a hatchet,
knives, files, &c., beside several small articles, intended for presents
to the natives. The awkwardness of my load, added to its great weight,
which was upward of sixty pounds, and the excessive heat of the weather,
rendered walking the most laborious task I had ever encountered; and
what considerably increased the hardship, was the badness of the road,
and the coarseness of our lodging, being, on account of the want of
proper tents, exposed to the utmost severity of the weather. The tent we
had with us was not only too large, and unfit for barren ground service,
where no poles were to be got, but we had been obliged to cut it up for
shoes, and each person carried his own share. Indeed my guide behaved
both negligently and ungenerously on this occasion; as he never made me,
or my Southern Indians, acquainted with the nature of pitching tents on
the barren ground; which had he done, we could easily have procured a
set of poles before we left the woods. He took care, however, to procure
a set for himself and his wife; and when the tent was divided, though he
made shift to get a piece large enough to serve him for {30} a complete
little tent, he never asked me or my Southern Indians to put our heads
into it.
Beside the inconvenience of being exposed to the open air, night and
day, in all weathers, we experienced real distress from the want of
victuals. When provisions were procured, it often happened that we could
not make a fire, so that we were obliged to eat the meat quite raw;
which at first, in the article of fish particularly, was as little
relished by my Southern companions as myself.
[Sidenote: 1770. June.]
Notwithstanding these accumulated and complicated hardships, we
continued in perfect health and good spirits; and my guide, though a
perfect niggard of his provisions, especially in times of scarcity, gave
us the strongest assurance of soon arriving at a plentiful country,
which would not only afford us a certain supply of provisions, but where
we should meet with other Indians, who probably would be willing to
carry part of our luggage. This news naturally gave us great
consolation; for at that time the weight of our constant loads was so
great, that when Providence threw any thing in our way, we could not
carry above two days provisions with us, which indeed was the chief
reason of our being so frequently in want.
[Sidenote: 23d.]
From the twentieth to the twenty-third we walked every day near twenty
miles, without any other subsistence {31} than a pipe of tobacco, and a
drink of water when we pleased: even partridges and gulls, which some
time before were in great plenty, and easily procured, were now so
scarce and shy, that we could rarely get one; and as to geese, ducks,
&c., they had all flown to the Northward to breed and molt.
[Sidenote: 1770. June.]