_DOWN THE ATHABASCA._
The town of Athabasca Landing consists in all of six log buildings,
picturesquely set in the deep and beautiful valley of one of the greatest
rivers of America. Though not of imposing size, it is nevertheless an
important station of the Hudson’s Bay Company, being the point from which
all supplies for the many northern trading-posts along the Athabasca and
Mackenzie rivers are shipped, and the point at which the furs from these
places are received. In order to provide for this shipping business, the
Company has a large warehouse and wharf.
It is a fact I think not very well known, that from this place up stream
for about one hundred miles and down for fifteen hundred miles to the
Arctic Ocean, this great waterway, excepting at two rapids, is regularly
navigated by large river steamers, owned by the Hudson’s Bay Company and
employed in carrying supplies for their posts and the furs which are
secured in trade. Because of these two impassable rapids the river is
divided into three sections, necessitating the use of three steamers,
one for each section. Goods are transported from one boat to the other
over the greater part of the rapids by means of scows, but for a short
distance, at the Grand Rapid, by means of a tramway built for the purpose.
As we had previously ascertained, the steamer _Athabasca_ was due to
leave the Landing on her down-stream trip on or about the 1st of June,
so, taking advantage of the opportunity, we shipped the bulk of our stuff
to Fort Chippewyan, situated about three hundred and fifty miles down the
river on Lake Athabasca. Everything excepting the canoes and provisions
sufficient to take us to Chippewyan was loaded upon the steamer. Letters
were written and sent back to Edmonton by the drivers, and on the evening
of the last day of May we launched our handsome “Peterboroughs” in the
great stream, and commenced our long canoe voyage.
The arrangement of the party was as follows: My brother occupied a
central position in one canoe, and I a corresponding place in the other.
As steersman he chose the eldest of the Iroquois, Pierre, with Michel
as bowman. The remaining Iroquois, Louis, took the steering paddle of
my canoe, and John, the western man, occupied the bow. Thus were our
little crafts manned, each person, including my brother and myself, being
provided with a broad maple paddle. Our loads being light, we were in
good speeding condition. Just after launching we met some native Indians
in their bark canoes, and by way of amusement and exhibition of speed
paddled completely around them in the current, much to their amazement.
Then with farewell salute, and the stroke of our paddles timed to the
song of the canoemen, we glided swiftly down the stream.
As the start had been made late in the afternoon, not many miles were
passed before it became necessary to look for a camping place. The banks
of the river, formed of boulder clay, were very high, and good landings
were scarce. In places the mud on the shore was soft and deep, but about
seven o’clock a landing was effected and camp pitched for the night. At
this time only two small tents were used, an “A” tent for the canoemen
and a wall tent, affording a little more head room, for ourselves.
The banks being well wooded with white and black poplar, spruce and
birch, plenty of fuel was available. A fire was soon kindled and our
evening meal prepared, in the cooking of which John was given the first
opportunity of distinguishing himself. He was assisted by little Michel,
who proved to be a very good hand. Having some bread and biscuits in
stock, baking was not yet a necessity.
The weather now being fair and cool, and the great pest of camp life, the
mosquito, not having yet arrived, our experience at this time was most
enjoyable. It was the season of spring, and the sweet perfume of the Balm
of Gilead, so abundant in the valley of the Athabasca, permeated the air.
The leaves on many of the trees were just opening, so that everywhere the
woods presented a remarkable freshness and brilliancy of foliage. These
were our environments at the commencement of the canoe voyage, and at our
first camp on the banks of the Athabasca. How different were they to be
at the other end of the journey!
On the morning of the 1st of June camp was called early, and we continued
on our way. As we glided down stream a succession of grand views passed,
panorama-like, before us. The banks were high, towering in some places
three, four or five hundred feet above the river; here abrupt and
precipitous, consisting of cut banks of stratified clay; in other places
more receding, but by a gradual slope rising, beneath dense foliage, to
an equal elevation.
At this season of the year the water being high and the current swift,
we made good time, covering a distance of sixty miles for the first full
day’s travel. About noon on the 2nd, having reached a narrow part of
the river, very remarkable massive walls of ice were found upon either
bank, some distance above the water’s edge. These walls were of irregular
thickness, and from eight to ten feet in height; but the most striking
feature about them was that they presented smooth vertical faces to the
river, although built of blocks of every shape and shade from clear
crystal to opaque mud. They extended thus more or less continuously for
miles down the river, and had the appearance of great masonry dykes.
The explanation of their existence is doubtless as follows: Earlier in
the season the narrowness of the channel had caused the river ice to
jam and greatly raised the water level. After a time, when the water
had reached a certain height and much ice had been crowded up on the
shores, the jam had given way and caused the water to rapidly lower to a
considerable extent, leaving the ice grounded above a certain line. Thus
the material for the wall was deposited, and the work of constructing
and finishing the smooth vertical face was doubtless performed by the
subsequent grinding of the passing jam, which continued to flow in the
deeper channel. After the passing of the first freshet, and the formation
of these great ice walls, the water had gradually lowered to the level at
which we found it.
Late in the afternoon the first rapid of the trip was sighted, but the
water being high we had no difficulty in running it. In the evening
camp was made on a beautiful sandy beach. During supper-time we had
a visit from an old Cree Indian, who came paddling up the river in
a little bark canoe. Of course he landed at our camp, for it is a
principle strictly observed by every Indian to lose no opportunity of
receiving hospitalities, and in accordance with his ideas of propriety,
refreshments were given him. He received them as those of his race
usually receive all favors, as no more than his right, and without a
smile or the least visible expression of pleasure, seated himself by the
fire to enjoy them.
On the following morning the great walls of ice, which we had been
passing for miles, began to disappear as the channel of the river became
wider. At about 9.30 we reached a place known as the Rapid of the Jolly
Fool. It is said to have received its name from the fact that at one time
an awkward canoeman lost his life by allowing his canoe to be smashed
upon the most conspicuous rock in the rapid. We wasted no time examining
it, as it was reported to be an easy one, but keeping near the left bank,
headed our little crafts into the rushing waters. We had descended only
a short distance, and were turning a bend in the stream, when, a little
ahead of us, my brother noticed moving objects on the shore. One of the
men said they were wolves, while others maintained they were bears, but
my brother getting his rifle in readiness, cut the discussion short by
demanding silence. As we swept swiftly down with the current, the objects
were seen to be a moose deer and her calf. Having no fresh meat on hand,
these new-found acquaintances were hailed as “well met.” Not until our
canoes had approached within about one hundred and fifty yards did the
old moose, standing in the shallow water near the river bank, appear
to notice us. Then, apparently apprehending danger, but without alarm,
she turned toward the shore, and, followed by her calf, walked up the
bank towards the woods. As she did so my brother fired from his canoe,
wounding her in the hind-quarters. I then fired, but struck the clay bank
above the animal’s head, and in attempting to fire again the shell stuck
in my rifle, making it impossible for me to reload. Just as the moose was
disappearing into the woods my brother fired again, and inflicted a body
wound; but in spite of all away went the deer.
As our canoes were thrust ashore I succeeded in extracting the shell from
my rifle, and leaving some of the men in charge of the canoes, my brother
and I gave chase. The trail of blood was discovered on the leaves, but
it led into such a jungle of fallen timber and thicket that it was no
easy matter to follow. Scouts were sent out on either side, while with
our rifles we followed the trail, running when we were permitted, jumping
logs that came in the way, and clambering over or through windfalls that
the moose had cleared at a bound. Presently through the leafy thicket we
had a glimpse of our prey. Bang went both rifles and away bounded the
moose with two more slugs in her body.
We were now pretty badly winded, but being anxious to complete the work
we had undertaken, the chase was kept up. We knew from the wounds already
inflicted that the capture was only a matter of physical endurance on our
part, and we were prepared to do our best. More than once the trail was
lost in the windfalls and jungle, but at length, getting another side
view, I shot her through the heart, bringing the noble beast with a thud
to the ground. Nothing had been seen of the calf since the beginning of
the hunt, but going back to the shore to get assistance, I found that
the men had captured and made it a prisoner beside the canoes. Taking
charge of the captive myself, I sent the men into the woods to skin the
deer and “pack” the meat out to shore. The little calf, which I held by
the ear, was very young, and not at all wild. Indeed, though I let go my
hold, the little creature did not care to go away, but kept on calling
for its mother in such a pitiful way that it made me heartily sorry for
having bereft it. After the space of an hour or so my brother and the men
returned, well loaded with fresh meat and a fine moose-hide. The meat was
placed in sacks and stowed away in the canoes, but the hide being heavy
and of little value to us, was placed on a big stone in the sun to dry
and await the ownership of the first Indian who should pass that way.
As it was now nearly noon, it was decided to take dinner before
re-embarking, and while the cooks were devoting their attention to
bannocks and moose-steaks my brother and I were debating as to what we
should do with the calf. We had not the heart to deliberately shoot it,
but were unable to take it with us alive, as we would like to have done.
Through a suggestion of one of the men a happy alternative was decided
on. Other moose were doubtless in the vicinity, so that the calling of
the calf would likely attract some of them, and in the event of this
taking place it was said that the little moose would attach itself to
another female. With the hope that such kind fortune would befall it, my
brother, after having taken its photograph, led it away by the ear into
the shelter of the woods, and there left the little creature to its fate.
During the afternoon of the same day, the head of the Grand Rapid of the
Athabasca, situated just 165 miles below the Landing, was reached. Here
we met a detachment of the Mounted Police, in charge of Inspector Howard;
and as it was late in the day, and Saturday evening, it was decided to
pitch camp. The police camp was the only other one in the neighborhood,
so the first question which suggested itself was: What possible duty
could policemen find to perform in such a wild, uninhabited place? The
answer, however, was simple. The place, though without any settled
habitation, is the scene of the transhipment of considerable freight on
its way to the various trading-posts and mission stations of the great
Mackenzie River District. The river steamer _Athabasca_, belonging to
the Hudson’s Bay Company, was now daily looked for with its load from
the Landing. Mission scows, loaded with freight for Fort Chippewyan and
other points, were expected, and free-traders’ outfits were liable to
arrive at any time. It was for the purpose of inspecting these cargoes
and preventing liquor from being carried down and sold for furs to the
Indians, that Inspector Howard and his detachment were stationed here.
[Illustration: TROOPER, N.-W. MOUNTED POLICE, IN WINTER UNIFORM.]
From the Grand Rapid, down stream for about eighty miles to Fort
McMurray, the river is not navigable for steamers, and so all goods have
to be transported over this distance by scows built for the purpose.
The head of the Grand Rapid is thus the northern steamboat terminus
for the southern section of the river. The whole distance of eighty
miles is not a continuous rapid, but eleven or twelve more or less
impracticable sections occur in it, so that no great length of navigable
water is found at any place. As its name suggests, the Grand Rapid is
the main rapid of the river, and has a fall of seventy or eighty feet.
This fall occurs mostly within a distance of half a mile, though the
total length of the rapid is about four times that. The upper part is
divided by a long narrow island into two channels, and it is through
these comparatively narrow spaces that the cataract rushes so wildly.
Above and below the island, the river may with great care be navigated
by the loaded scows, but the water upon either side is so rough that
goods cannot be passed down or up in safety. The method of transportation
adopted is as follows: About a mile above the island, at the head of the
rapid, the steamer _Athabasca_ ties up to the shore. There she is met by
a number of flat-bottomed boats or scows capable of carrying about ten
tons each, and to these the boat’s cargo is transferred. When loaded the
scows are piloted one by one to the head of the island in the middle of
the river, where a rough wharf is built, and to it all goods are again
transferred, whence they are carried to the lower end of the island by
means of a tramway. The unloaded scows, securely held with ropes by a
force of men on the shore, and guided with poles by a crew on board,
are then carefully lowered down stream to the foot of the island, where
they again receive their loads. Accidents frequently happen in passing
down the unloaded scows, for the channel (the eastern one always being
chosen) is very rough and rocky. From the foot of the island in the
Grand Rapid the scows are then floated down the river, with more or less
difficulty, according to the height of water, through the long succession
of rapids to Fort McMurray, where they are met by the second steamer, the
_Grahame_, which receives their freight and carries it down the river
to Fort Chippewyan on Lake Athabasca, and thence onward to Fort Smith,
on Great Slave River, where a second transhipment has to be made over
about sixteen miles of rapids. From the lower end of these rapids the
steamer _Wrigley_, under the command of Captain Mills, takes charge of
the cargo and delivers it at the various trading-posts along the banks of
the Mackenzie River, for a distance of about twelve hundred miles, to the
Arctic Ocean.
But to return to our camp at the head of the Grand Rapid. Inspector
Howard and his men proved to be interesting companions. I soon
discovered, to my surprise, that the Inspector was a cousin of my
wife’s, and that I had met him in former years in Toronto. Meeting with
even so slight an acquaintance in such a place was indeed a pleasure;
and in justice to the occasion a banquet, shall I call it, was given
us, at which moose-steak and bear-chops cut a conspicuous figure. In
conversation with the Inspector some information was obtained regarding
the character of the rapids now before us, and all such was carefully
noted, since none of our party had ever run the Athabasca. We had with
us the reports of William Ogilvie, D.L.S., and Mr. McConnell, who had
descended the river and published much valuable information regarding it,
but even they could not altogether supply the place of a guide. We were
putting great confidence in the skill of our Iroquois men at navigating
rapids, and now in the succeeding eighty miles of the trip there would be
ample opportunity of testing it.
[Illustration: LANDING OF SCOWS ABOVE GRAND RAPID.]
On the morning following our arrival at the Grand Rapid, being the 4th
of June, a number of mission scows, loaded with goods for Chippewyan and
other mission stations, arrived. As they appeared, following each other
in quick succession around a bend in the river, each boat manned by its
wild-looking crew of half-naked Indians, all under the command of Schott,
the big well-known river pilot, who is credited by Mr. Ogilvie with being
the fastest dancer he has ever seen, they drew in towards the east bank,
and one after the other made fast to the shore. The boats were at once
boarded by Inspector Howard and his men, and a careful search made for
any illegal consignments of “firewater.” Liquor in limited quantities
is allowed to be taken into the country when accompanied by an official
permit from the Lieut.-Governor of the Territories, but without this it
is at once confiscated when found. Out of deference to those for whom
these cargoes were consigned, I had better not say whether a discovery
was made on this occasion or not. When confiscations are made, however,
the find is, of course, always destroyed. The news of the arrival of
the scows was welcomed by us, not because of anything they brought with
them, but because we expected to obtain directions from Schott regarding
the running of the many rapids in the river ahead, and the transport of
the bulk of our canoe loads to Fort McMurray, below the rapids. After
some consideration, rather less than most Indians require to take, these
matters were arranged with Schott, and all but our instruments, tents,
blankets and three or four days’ provisions were handed over to him.
[Illustration: GRAND RAPID, ATHABASCA RIVER.]
On the evening of the 4th, the steamer _Athabasca_ also put in an
appearance, and made fast to the shore a little above the scows. Grand
Rapid was no longer an uninhabited wilderness, but had now become
transformed into a scene of strange wild life. Large dark, savage-looking
figures, many of them bare to the waist, and adorned with head-dresses of
fox-tails or feathers, were everywhere to be seen. Some of them, notably
those of the Chippewyan tribe, were the blackest and most savage-looking
Indians I had ever seen. As it was already nearly night when the last of
them arrived by the steamer, the work of transhipping was left for the
morning. In the dark woods the light of camp-fires began soon to appear,
and around them the whole night long the Indians danced and gambled, at
the same time keeping up their execrable drum music.
[Illustration: ENGLISH-CHIPPEWYAN HALF-BREED.]
At daylight the next morning the overhauling of cargoes was commenced.
One by one the scows were loosened and piloted down the middle of the
rapid to the wharf at the head of the island. Here they were unloaded,
and after being lightened, were lowered down through the boiling waters
by means of lines from the shore and the assistance of poles on board, to
again receive their loads at the foot of the island. Two or three scows
were also similarly engaged in transporting the cargo of the steamer, of
which our supplies formed part, and, much to our annoyance, there was
considerable delay on account of having to repair the tramway across
the island. We were informed that the _Grahame_ could not now reach
Chippewyan before the 20th of June, which would be ten days later than
we had expected to be able to leave that place. However, we could only
accept the inevitable, and try to make the best use of the time.
While Schott and his crews were thus engaged with their transport, our
own men were not idle. They had been told that the rapid would have to
be portaged, as no canoeman would venture to run it; but having walked
down the shore and themselves examined the river, the Iroquois asked and
obtained permission to run it by taking one canoe down at a time. Schott
and his Indians thought them mad to try such a venture, but seeming
to have every confidence in their own abilities, we determined to see
what they could do. John gladly chose the work of portaging along the
rough boulder shore and over precipitous rocks in preference to taking
a paddle, but the three Iroquois took their places, Louis in the bow,
Michel in the middle, and old Pierre in the stern. As the three daring
fellows pushed off from the shore into the surging stream, those of us
who gazed upon them did so with grave forebodings. They had started,
and now there was nothing to do but go through or be smashed upon the
rocks. Their speed soon attained that of an express train, while all
about them the boiling waters were dashed into foam by the great rocks in
the channel. Presently it appeared as if they were doomed to be dashed
upon a long ugly breaker nearly in mid-stream; but no! with two or three
lightning strokes of their paddles the collision was averted. But in a
moment they were in worse danger, for right ahead were two great rocks,
over and around which the tumbling waters wildly rushed. Would they try
the right side or the left? Only an instant was afforded for thought,
but in that instant Pierre saw his only chance and took it—heading his
canoe straight for the shoot between the rocks. Should they swerve a foot
to one side or the other the result would be fatal, but with unerring
judgment and unflinching nerve they shot straight through the notch,
and disappeared in the trough below. Rising buoyantly from the billows
of foam and flying spray, they swept on with the rushing waters until,
in a little eddy half-way down the rapid, they pulled in to the shore
in safety. They were all well soaked by the spray and foam, but without
concern or excitement returned for the second canoe. In taking this down
a valise of stationery and photographic supplies, inadvertently allowed
to remain in the canoe, got a rather serious wetting, but as soon as
possible its contents were spread out upon the smooth clean rocks to
dry. Past the remainder of the rapid a portage was made and camp pitched
at the foot. While our Iroquois were thus occupied, Schott and his men
had been hard at work running down their scows and had been unfortunate
enough to get one of them stranded on a big flat rock in the middle of
the rapid. Had it not been for the timely assistance of our party and the
generalship of old Pierre, he would probably never have gotten it off. As
it was, the accomplishment of the task occupied our united energies for
several hours.
[Illustration: NECK DEVELOPED BY THE TUMP-LINE.]