wishes, the latter ran his hand in behind a pile of tobacco and
brought out a number of blue-covered packages marked "Imperial Toffy."
"I think you will find this very nice, sir," said he. "It's made in
the old country, and we sell quite a bit of it here."
John's eyes lighted up at this, and, if truth be told, both of the
other boys were glad enough to divide with him his purchase,
quantities of which he generously shared also with the Indian and
half-breed children whom he presently met in the street.
"I don't see but what this is just the same as any other town," said
he at length, his mouth full.
They were received with great courtesy by the factor of the Hudson Bay
Company, who invited them to have lunch with him. To their surprise
they found on the table all the sorts of green vegetables they had
ever known--potatoes, beans, tomatoes, lettuce, many varieties, and
all in the greatest profusion and excellence.
"We don't encourage this sort of thing," said the factor, smilingly
pointing to these dishes of vegetables, "for the theory of our Company
is that all a man needs to eat is meat and fish. But just to be in
fashion, we raise a few of these things in our garden, as you may see.
When you are at Vermilion, moreover, although that is three hundred
and fifty miles north from here, you'll see all sorts of grain and
every vegetable you ever heard of growing as well as they do twelve or
fifteen hundred miles south of here."
"It's a wonderful country, sir," said Rob. "I don't blame Alex and
Moise for calling this the Land of Plenty."
"Moise said that the old war-trail over from the Little Slave country
used to end about here," ventured John.
The factor smiled, and admitted that such was once said to have been
the case.
"Those days are gone, though, my young friend," said he. "There's a
new invasion, which we think may unsettle our old ways as much as the
invasion of the Crees did those of the Stoneys and Beavers long ago. I
mean the invasion of the wagon-trains of farmers."
"Yes," said Rob, "Alex told us we'd have to go to the Liard River
pretty soon, if we wanted any moose or bear; but anyhow, we're here in
time, and we want to thank you for helping us have such a pleasant
trip. We're going to enjoy the run down the river, I'm sure."
XXVIII
STEAMBOATING IN THE FAR NORTH
Captain Saunders finished the operation of getting wood for the _Peace
River_ by ten o'clock of the next morning, and as the steamer once
more came alongside the steep bank at the landing the hoarse note of
her whistles notified every one to get ready for the journey down the
stream. The boys, who had passed the night in their tent with
Alex--Moise having gone to his own tepee for the night--now began to
bestir themselves before going aboard the steamer.
"What are we going to do with all our things, Alex?" asked Rob.
"How do you mean, sir?"
"Why, our tent and the skins and trophies and blankets and
everything--we won't need them on board the boat, will we?"
"No, sir, and the best way will be to leave them here."
"What! In our tent, with no one to care for them? You know, Moise is
going with us, as I understand it."
"Everything will be perfectly safe right there in the tent, if only
you tie the flaps so the dogs can't get in," answered Alex. "You see,
it's only white men that steal in this country--the Injuns and breeds
won't do that. Until the Klondike pilgrims came through here we didn't
know what theft was. I can answer for these people here. Everything
you leave will be perfectly safe, and, as you say, it will be less
bother than to take this stuff along on the boat."
Rob motioned to his companions, and they stepped aside for a little
while.
"What are we going to do about the stuff we've got left over,
fellows?" asked he. "Of course, we've got to get down by wagon as far
as Little Slave, and we'll need grub enough, if Uncle Dick hasn't got
it, to last us two or three days. But we won't boat, and we've got
quite a lot of supplies which I think we had better give to
Moise--they have to charge pretty good prices for everything they sell
at the store up here, and maybe Moise will like this stuff."
"That suits me," said John, "and I think it would be a good idea. Give
Moise all the meat and such supplies as we don't need going out."
"And then, how about the boats?"
"Well, old Picheu sold us the dugout, and I don't suppose he'll ever
get down here any more, and we certainly couldn't take it out with us.
I'm in favor of making Moise a present of that. He seems to like it
pretty well."
"A good idea," said Rob. "And how about the _Jaybird_? Wouldn't it be
fine to give that to Alex!"
Both the other boys thought this would be a good idea, and they
accordingly proposed these plans to Alex before they went aboard the
steamer.
The old hunter smiled with great pleasure at their generosity. "I
don't want to rob you young men," said he, "and without doubt you
could sell both of those boats here if you liked. But if you want us
to keep them, they will be of great value to us. Moise hunts up and
down the river all the time, and can use the dugout. I live on Little
Slave, and hunt miles below here, but I have plenty of friends with
wagons, and they'll take the _Jaybird_ across for me. I'll keep her as
long as she lasts, and be very glad indeed."
"Well, then," said Rob, "I don't see any reason why we shouldn't go
aboard. I'm almost sorry, too, because it seems to me as though we
were pretty near to the end of our trip now."
"Don't be so sure," said the old hunter to him. "Some of the best bear
country on this river is below this point, and unless I am very much
mistaken, you will probably see a dozen or two bear between here and
Vermilion."
On board the steamboat the boys found a long table spread with clean
linen, comfortable bunks with linen sheets, something they had not
seen for a long time, and a general air of shipshapeness which did not
seem to comport with a country so wild and remote as this. Each was
assigned to a room, where he distributed his belongings, and soon they
were all settled down comfortably, Alex and Moise also having rooms
given to them, according to the instructions which Uncle Dick had sent
up to the Company.
During the last few minutes before the mooring-lines of the boat were
cast loose all the party stood along the rail watching the breed
deck-hands carrying aboard the remainder of the boat's cargo. Rob
expressed the greatest surprise at the enormous loads which these men
carried easily from the storehouse down the slippery bank and up the
steep gang-plank. "I didn't think such strong men lived anywhere in
the world," said he. "I never saw anything like it!"
"Yes," said Alex, "there are some pretty good men on the river,
that's true. The man who couldn't shoulder three hundred pounds and
get it aboard would be back of the first rank."
"Three hundred pounds!" said Rob. "That's pretty heavy, isn't it?"
"_Non! Non!_" broke in Moise. "She's no heavy. On the trail those man
he'll take three packets, two hundred seventy poun', an' he'll trot
all same dog--we'll both told you that before. My onkle, Billy Loutit,
he'll carry seex hondred poun' one tam up a heell long tam. He'll take
barrel of pork an' ron on the bank all same deer."
Rob turned a questioning glance on Alex, who nodded confirmation. "Men
have been known to carry four or five hundred pounds considerable
distances on the portage," said he. "It isn't best for them, but
they're always rivaling one another in these feats of strength.
Saunders here, the captain, used to carry five hundred pounds in his
day--all the salt pork and boxes you could rake up on top of him. You
see this is a country of large distances and the seasons are short.
You talk about 'hustling' down in the cities, but I suppose there
never was a business carried on which 'hustled' as long and hard as
the old fur trade a hundred years ago. That's where these men came
from--from fathers and grandfathers who were brought up in the work."
At last the steamer cast loose her mooring-lines and stood off for
midstream with a final roar of her whistles. A row of Indians and
breeds along the bank again gave the salute of the north with a volley
of rifle-fire. They were off for the last lap of their long journey
down the great river, this time under somewhat different circumstances
from those under which they had begun their journey.
The boys rapidly explored the steamboat, and found her a comfortable
side-wheeler, especially built for this river work, with powerful
engines and abundance of room on her lower deck for heavy cargo. Her
cabin-deck provided good accommodations for passengers, and, all in
all, she was quite a wonderful vessel for that far-off country, in
their belief.
"I found something down below," said John, coming up the
companion-stair after a time.
"What's that?" asked Jesse.
"Bear hide nailed on the side of the boat, by the wood-pile below. The
engineer killed it a week ago up the river. About every one on the
boat has a rifle, and they say they get bears every trip. I think we
had better have our guns ready all the time. They say that old
Showan, the pilot in the pilot-house up above, only keeps his job on
this boat because he gets such fine bear hunting all the time."
"Well, he'll have to beat us," said Rob, stoutly.
"Alex," inquired Jesse, after a time, "how many bear did you ever see
on this river in one day?"
"I wouldn't like to say," answered Alex, "for we don't always count
them. I'm told that one of our passengers counted twenty-eight in one
afternoon right on this part of the river where we are now. I've often
seen a dozen a day, I should say."
"You're joking about that, Alex!" said Rob.
"Wait and see--I may show you pretty soon," was the answer.
The boys, always ready enough when there was game to be seen, secured
their rifles and took their stand at the front rail of the cabin-deck,
ready for anything which might appear.
"I don't see how you can shoot off this boat," said Jesse, trying to
sight his rifle. "It wobbles all the time when the engine goes."
Alex gave him a little advice. "I think you'll find it better to stand
with your feet pretty close together," said he, "and keep your hands
as close together as you can on your rifle, too. Then, when you catch
sight of your mark as you swing by, pull, and don't try to hold dead
on."
For some time they saw nothing, and, leaning their rifles against the
cabin walls, were talking about something else, when all at once they
heard the whistle of the steamer boom out above them. At about the
same time, one of the deck-hands at the bow deck below picked up a
piece of plank and began to beat loudly with it upon the side
structure of the boat.
"What's the matter?" asked Rob. "Has everybody gone crazy, Alex?"
"No; they're just trying to beat up the game," said Alex, smiling.
"You see that island below? It nearly always has bears feeding on it,
where the berries are thick. When the boat comes down above them the
men try to scare the bears out into the river. Just wait a minute, and
perhaps you'll see some of the strangest bear hunting you ever heard
of in your life."
Almost as he spoke they all heard the crack of a rifle from the
pilot-house above them, and saw the spit of a bullet on the water many
hundreds of yards below them.
"I see him," said Rob, "I see him--there he goes! Look at that little
ripple on the water."
"Yes," said Alex, quietly, "there was one on the island, as I supposed
there would be. He is swimming off now for the mainland. Too far yet,
I should say. Just take your time, and let Showan waste his
ammunition."
It was all the boys could do to hold their fire, but presently, since
almost every one else on the boat began to shoot, Alex signaled to his
young charges to open up their battery. He knew very well that the
rifles they were using were more powerful than the carbines which made
the usual arm in that country.
"Be careful now, young men," said he, "and watch where your bullets
go."
For the first few shots the boys found the difficulty which Jesse had
prophesied, for shooting from an unstable platform is always
difficult. They had the added advantage, however, of being able to
tell where their bullets were falling. As they were all firing close
together, and were using rifles of the same caliber, it was difficult
to tell who really was the lucky marksman, but, while the little
triangle of moving water still seemed two or three hundred yards below
the boat, suddenly it ceased to advance. There lay upon the surface of
the water a large oblong, black mass.
"Through the head!" said Alex, quietly. "I don't know which one."
All the deck-hands below began to laugh and shout. The captain of
the boat now came forward. "I don't know which one of you to
congratulate," said he, "but that was good work. Now my men will
have plenty of meat for the trip down, that's sure."
He now passed down to the floor of the deck, and under his
instructions one of the deck-hands picked up a long, stout pole
which had a hook fastened on the end of it.
"Look down there below now, young gentlemen," said Alex, "and you'll
see something you never will see anywhere but here. We gaff a bear
here, the same as you do a salmon."
This literally was true. The engineer now shut off his engines, and
the great boat drifted slowly down upon the floating body of the dead
bear, with just steerageway enough to enable the pilot to lay her
alongside. At last the deck-hand made a quick sweep with his
gaff-hook, and calling two of his fellows to hold onto the pole with
him, and so stopping the tremendous pull which the body of the bear
made on the pole, they finally succeeded in easing down the strain and
presently brought the dead bear close alongside. Then a noose was
dropped over its neck and it was hauled aboard. All this time the
boys were excitedly waiting for the end of their strange hunt, and to
them this sort of bear hunting seemed about the most curious they had
ever known.
The deck-hands now, in obedience to a word in their own language from
the captain, rapidly began to skin and quarter the dead bear.
Moise explained to them that his young hunters wanted the skin saved
for them, with the claws and the skull, so that they were more
particular than they usually are in skinning a bear which they intend
to eat. Truth to say, the carcass of this bear scarcely lasted for the
rest of the voyage, for black bear is a regular article of diet for
these people, although they will not often eat the grizzly.
These operations were scarcely well advanced before once more the
whistle began to roar, and once more the rifle-fire began from
Showan's place up in the pilot-house. This time they all saw a big
bear running up the bank, but perhaps half a mile away. It made good
speed scrambling up over the bare places, and was lost to sight from
time to time among the bushes. But it had no difficulty in making its
escape unhurt, for now the boys, although they fired rapidly at it,
could not tell where their bullets were dropping, and were unable to
correct their aim.
"I don't care," said Rob, "if it did get away. We've got almost bears
enough now, and besides, I don't know whether this is sportsmanlike or
not, shooting bears from a boat. Anyhow, when an animal is swimming in
the water and can't get away, I don't see the fun in killing it. Let's
wait on the next one and let the pilot shoot it."
They did not have half an hour to wait before they saw that very thing
happen. The whistles once more stirred the echoes as they swung down
to a group of two or three islands, and this time two bears started
wildly across the channel for the mainland. Rob and his friends did
not shoot at these, but almost every one else did. One escaped unhurt,
but another, although it almost reached the bank, was shot dead with a
bullet from Showan's rifle. Once more the manoeuvers of the
gaff-hook were repeated, and once more a great black bear was hauled
on board. In fact, they saw during the afternoon no less than six
full-grown bears, none of which got away unsaluted, but only two of
which really were "bagged," as Alex called it, by the men with the
gaff-hook.
XXIX
A MOOSE HUNT
The great flues of the _Peace River_ devoured enormous quantities of
the soft pine fuel, so that soon after noon of the second day they
found it well to haul alongshore at a wood-yard, where some of the
employes of the company had stacked up great heaps of cord-wood. It
was the duty of the deck-hands to get this aboard the boat, an
operation which would require perhaps several hours.
"You might prefer to go ashore here," said Alex, "while we're lying
tied up. We'll blow the whistle in time to call you in before we cast
off."
As Alex did not think there would be any hunting, he concluded to
remain on the boat, but Moise volunteered to walk along the beach with
the boys, to explain anything they might see, and to be of assistance
in case they should happen to meet with any game, although no one
suspected that such would be the case, since the arrival of the boat
had necessarily made considerable disturbance.
"Maybe so we'll seen some of these mooses somewhere," said Moise after
a time. "You'll seen his track on the sand all along."
"That's so," said Rob. "They look just like cattle, don't they? I
should think all the game in the country must be coming down into this
valley to see what's going on. Here's a wolf track, too, big as a
horse's foot, almost. And what are all of these little scratches, like
a cat, on the beach, Moise?"
"Some beevaire, he'll sweem across an' come out here. He'll got a
house somewhere, I'll s'pose. Plenty game on this part of the river
all tam. Plenty meat. My people he'll live here many year. I got some
onkle over on Battle River, an' seven, five, eight cousin on Cadotte
River, not far from here. All good honter, too."
"I can believe that, Moise, after seeing you," said John.
The happy-go-lucky Moise laughed light-heartedly. "If she'll don' hont
on this land, she'll starve sure. A man he'll mus' walk, he'll mus'
hont, he'll mus' portage, he'll mus' trap, he'll mus' walk on the
track-line, an' know how for paddle an' pole, else he'll starve sure."
They walked on down along the narrow beach covered with rough stones,
and showing only here and there enough of the sand or earth to hold a
track. At length, however, Moise gave a sharp word of caution, and
hurriedly motioned them all to get under cover at the bank.
"What is it, Moise?" whispered Rob, eagerly.
"Moose!" He pointed down the bank. For a long time the boys could
discover nothing, but at last they caught sight of a little splash of
water four or five hundred yards below, where a trickling stream
entered the main river at a low place.
"He'll stood there an' fight the fly, maybe so," said Moise. "Ha-hum!
Why he'll don' see us I don' know, me. Why the boat he'll not scare
heem I'll don' know, me, too. How we'll get heem I don' know, me. But
we'll try. Come!"
The boys now found that Moise was once more turned hunter, and rather
a relentless and thoughtless one at that, for he seemed to pay no
attention to the weakness of other members of his company. They
scarcely could keep him in sight as he made his way through the heavy
cover to an upper bench, where the forest was more open. Here he
pointed to the steep slope which still rose above them.
"We must make surround," said he, in a whisper.
Not so bad a general was Moise, for, slight as was his chance to
approach so wary an animal as a moose under these conditions, he used
the only possible plan by which success might have been attained.
The little trickle of water in which the moose stood at the beach
below came down out of a steep _coulee_, which at the point where they
stood ran between deep banks, rapidly shallowing farther up the main
slope. Fortunately the wind was right for an approach. Moise left John
at a rock which showed on an open place pretty well up the hill, and
stationed Jesse a little closer to the _coulee_. Moise and Rob
scrambled across the steep slopes of the ravine, and hurried on as
fast as they could go, to try to get below the moose in case it should
attempt to take the water. Thus they had four rifles distributed at
points able to cover the course of the moose should it attempt to
escape up the bank, and close enough to hear it if it passed beneath
in the forest growth.
Rob and Moise paused only long enough partly to get their breath
before Moise motioned to Rob to remain where he was, while he himself
hastened to the right and down toward the beach.
For some time the half-breed hunter remained at the edge of the cover,
listening intently. Apparently he heard no sound, and neither he nor
Rob could detect any ripple on the water showing that the moose was
going to undertake escape by swimming. Thus for a time, for what
indeed seemed several minutes, all the hunters continued in their
inaction, unable to determine upon a better course than simply to wait
to see what might happen.
What did happen was something rather singular and unexpected. Suddenly
Rob heard a rifle-shot at the left, and turning, saw the smoke of
Jesse's rifle, followed by a second and then a third report. He saw
Jesse then spring to his feet and run up to the slope, shouting
excitedly as he went and waving his cap. Evidently the hunt was over
in very unexpected fashion. Moise, Rob, and John also ran up as fast
as their legs and lungs would allow them.
They saw lying almost at the head of the _coulee_, which here
had shallowed up perceptibly, a great, long-legged, dark body,
with enormous head, tremendously long nose, and widely palmated
antlers--the latter in the velvet, but already of extreme size.
For a time they could hardly talk for fatigue and excitement, but
presently each could see how the hunt had happened to terminate in
this way. The moose, smelling or hearing Moise when he got on the wind
below, at the edge of the cover, had undertaken to make its escape
quietly under the cover of the steep _coulee_ down which it had come.
With the silence which this gigantic animal sometimes can compass, it
had sneaked like a rabbit quite past Rob and almost to the head of the
_coulee_. A little bit later and it might have gained the summit and
have been lost in the poplar forest beyond. Jesse, however, had
happened to see it as it emerged, and had opened fire, with the result
which now was obvious. His last bullet had struck the moose through
the heart as it ran and killed it almost instantly.
"Well, Jess," said Rob, "I take off my hat to you! That moose must
have passed within a hundred yards of me and I never knew it, and from
where you killed him he must have been three hundred yards at least."
"Those boy she'll be good shot," said Moise, approvingly, slapping
Jesse warmly on the shoulder. "Plenty meat now on the boat, _hein_?"
"When I shot him," said Jesse, simply, "he just fell all over the
hill."
"I was just going to shoot," said John, "but I couldn't see very well
from where I was, and before I could run into reach Jesse had done
the business."
"Well," said Moise, "one thing, she'll been lucky. We'll make those
deck-hand come an' carry in this meat--me, I'm too proud to carry some
more meat, what?"
He laughed now as he began to skin out and quarter the meat in his
usual rapid and efficient fashion.
They had finished this part of their work, and were turning down the
hill to return to the steamer when they were saluted by the heavy
whistle of the boat, which echoed in great volume back and forth
between the steep banks of the river, which here lay at the bottom of
a trough-like valley, the stream itself several hundred yards in
width.
"Don't hurry," said Moise; "she'll wait till we come, an' she'll like
plenty moose meat on his boat."
All of which came out as Moise had predicted, for when they told
Captain Saunders that they really had a dead moose ready to be brought
aboard the latter beamed his satisfaction.
"That's better than bear meat for me!" said he. "We'll just lie here
while the boys go out and bring in the meat."
"Now," said Rob to his friends, as, hot and dusty, they turned to
their rooms to get ready for dinner, "I don't know what you other
fellows think, but it seems to me we've killed about all the meat
we'll need for a while. Let's wait now until we see Uncle Dick--it
won't be more than a day or so, and we've all had a good hunt."
XXX
FARTHEST NORTH