Hamilton Inlet, or Ionektoke, as the Esquimaus call it, is the outlet
to the largest river on the Labrador Peninsula, and of great
importance to commerce, Rigolet, the headquarters of the Hudson Bay
Company in this region, being situated on its shores. This inlet is
the great waterway to Central Labrador, extending into the interior
for nearly 200 miles.
This immense basin is undoubtedly of glacial origin, evidences of ice
erosion being plainly seen. It is divided into two general basins,
connected by the "narrows," a small strait, through which the water
rushes with frightful rapidity at each tide. Into the head of the
inlet flows the Hamilton, or Grand River, an exploration of which,
though attended with the greatest danger and privation, has enticed
many men to these barren shores. Perhaps the most successful
expedition thus far was that of Mr. Holme, an Englishman, who, in the
summer of 1888, went as far as Lake Waminikapon, where, by failure of
his provisions, he was obliged to turn back, leaving the main object
of the trip, the discovery of the Grand Falls, wholly unaccomplished.
It has been left for Bowdoin College to accomplish the work left
undone by Mr. Holme, to do honor to herself and her country by not
only discovering, measuring, and photographing the falls, but making
known the general features of the inland plateau, the geological
structure of the continent, and the course of the river.
On Sunday, July 26, a party of the Bowdoin expedition, consisting of
Messrs. Cary, Cole, Young, and Smith, equipped with two Rushton boats
and a complement of provisions and instruments, left the schooner at
the head of the inlet for a five weeks' trip into the interior, the
ultimate object being the discovery of the Grand Falls. The mouth of
the river, which is about one mile wide, is blockaded by immense sand
bars, which have been laid down gradually by the erosive power of the
river. These bars extend far out into Goose Bay, at the head of Lake
Melville, and it is impossible to approach the shores except in a
small boat. Twenty-five miles up the river are the first falls, a
descent of the water of twenty-five feet, forming a beautiful sight.
Here a cache of provisions was made, large enough to carry the party
back to the appointed meeting place at Northwest River. The carry
around the first falls is about one and a half miles in length, and
very difficult on account of the steep sides of the river.
From the first falls to Gull Island Lake, forty miles above, the river
is alternately quick and dead water. Part of it is very heavy rapids,
over which it was necessary to track, and in some places to double the
crews. Each boat had a tow line of fifty feet, and in tracking the end
was taken ashore by one of the crew of two, while the boat was kept
off the bank by the other man with an oar. At the Horseshoe Rapids,
ten miles above Gull Island Lake, an accident happened which
threatened to put a stop to further progress of the expedition. While
tracking around a steep point in crossing these rapids the boat which
Messrs. Cary and Smith were tracking was overturned, dumping
barometer, shotgun, and ax into the river, together with nearly
one-half the total amount of provisions. In the swift water of the
rapids all these things were irrevocably lost, a very serious loss at
this stage in the expedition. On this day so great was the force of
the water that only one mile was made, and that only with the greatest
difficulty.
Just above the mouth of the Nimpa River, which enters the Grand River
twenty-five miles above Gull Island Lake, a second cache of provisions
was made, holding enough to carry the party to their first cache at
the first falls. One of the boats was now found to be leaking badly,
and a stop was made to pitch the cracks and repair her, making
necessary the loss of a few hours. From Nimpa River to the Mouni
Rapids, at the entrance to Lake Waminikapon, the water was found to be
fairly smooth, and good progress was made. The change in the scenery,
too, is noticeable, becoming more magnificent and grand. The
mountains, which are bolder and more barren, approach much nearer to
each other on each side of the river, and at the base of these grim
sentinels the river flows silvery and silently. The Mouni Rapids,
through which the water passes from Lake Waminikapon, presented the
next obstacle to further progress, but the swift water here was soon
passed, and well repaid the traveler with the sight here presented
almost unexpectedly to his view.
The lake was entered about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, and, as the
narrow entrance was passed, the sun poured its full rich light on
rocky mountains stretching as far away as the eye could reach, on each
side of the lake, and terminating in rocky cliffs from 600 to 800 feet
in perpendicular height, which formed the shores or confines of the
lake. Across Lake Waminikapon, which is, more properly speaking, not a
lake at all, but rather a widening of the river bed, the progress was
very good, the water having no motion to retard the boats, and forty
miles were made during the day.
Here a misfortune, which had been threatening for several days, came
upon the party. Mr. Young's arm was so swollen, from the shoulder to
finger tips, that he could scarcely move it, the pain being excessive.
It had been brought on doubtless by cold and exposure. Seeing that he
could be of no further use to the party, it was decided to divide
forces, Mr. Smith returning with the sick man to Rigolet for medical
assistance. The separation took place August 8, when the party had
been on the river eleven days. The party were very sorry to return at
this point, since from the best information which they could get in
regard to the distance, the falls were but fifty miles above them.
Under the circumstances, however, there was no help for it. So Smith
and Young, bidding their friends good fortune, started on their return
trip. The mouth of the river was reached in three days, a little less
than one-third the time consumed in going up, and that, too, with only
one man to handle the boat.
On the way down the river another party, composed of Messrs. Bryant
and Kenaston of Philadelphia, was met, who were on the same business
as the Bowdoin party, the discovery of the falls. Mr. Bryant handed to
Mr. Young a twenty-five pound can of flour, which, he said, he had
found in the whirlpool below the first falls. It had been in the boat
which was overturned in the Horseshoe Rapids, and had made the journey
to the first falls, a distance of over fifty miles, without denting or
injuring the can in any way. It was a great relief to the Bryant party
to learn the cause of the mishap, as they had feared a more serious
calamity.
After the departure of the other two, Messrs. Cary and Cole
encountered much rapid water, so that their progress was necessarily
slow. On the third day, when they had proceeded sixty-five miles above
Lake Waminikapon, and had seen no indications of any falls, the
rapidity of the current forced them to leave the river and make any
further progress on foot. The boat was cached at this point, together
with all that was left of provisions and instruments except the
compass and food for six days. They left just enough provisions to
carry them to their last cache at Ninipi River, and hoped, by careful
use of the remainder, to find the object of their search. If they had
not enough provisions, then they must turn back, leaving reports of
falls as destitute of confirmation as ever.
The land bordering the river at this point was heavily wooded, and in
places where the river shore could not be followed on account of the
cliffs, their progress was necessarily slow. Finding an elevation of
land at no great distance from them, they ascended it for a general
survey of the country. Far away in the distance could be seen the
current of the Grand River flowing sluggishly but majestically on its
course to the sea. Lakes on all sides were visible, most of them
probably of glacial origin. Descending from this mountain, which the
explorers christened Mount Bowdoin, a course was laid on the river
bank, where camp was made that night. Being now somewhat weak from
hard labor and insufficient food, their progress was slow through the
thick wood, but on the next night camp was made on the edge of the
plateau or table land of Labrador.
After proceeding a short distance on the next day, Aug. 13, a loud
roar was heard in the distance, and a course was laid for the river at
the nearest point. The river at this point, about one mile above the
falls, was 500 yards wide, narrowing to fifty yards a short distance
below, where great clouds of spray floating in the air warned the
weary travelers that their object had been attained. Quickly they
proceeded to the scene, and a magnificent sight burst upon their view.
Grand Falls, though not approaching the incredible height attributed
to it by legendary accounts of the Indians, is a grand fall of water.
Its total descent is accomplished in a series of falls aggregating
nearly 500 feet. The greatest perpendicular descent is not over 200
feet. The half dozen falls between this grand descent and the bed of
the river on the plateau vary from ten to twenty-five feet, adding to
the majesty and grandeur of the scene. It was with great difficulty
that the bottom of the falls was reached and a photograph of the scene
taken.
After leaving the plateau and plunging over the falls, the waters
enter an immense cañon or gorge, nearly 40 miles long and 300 yards
wide, the perpendicular sides of which rise to a height of from 300 to
500 feet. The sides of this cañon show it to be hollowed out of solid
Archæan rock. Through this cañon the water rushes with terrific
rapidity, making passage by boat wholly impossible. Many erroneous
stories have been told in regard to the height of these falls, all of
them greatly exaggerating the descent of the water. The Indians of
this locality of the tribe of the Nascopee or the race of Crees have
long believed the falls to be haunted by an evil spirit, who punished
with death any one who might dare to look upon them. The height of
land or plateau which constitutes the interior of the Labrador
peninsula is from 2,000 to 2,500 feet above the sea level, fairly
heavily wooded with spruce, fir, hackmatack, and birch, and not at all
the desolate waste it has been pictured by many writers. The
barrenness of Labrador is confined to the coast, and one cannot enter
the interior in any direction without being struck by the latent
possibilities of the peninsula were it not for the abundance of flies
and mosquitoes. Their greed is insatiable, and at times the two men
were weakened from the loss of blood occasioned by these insects.
The object of the expedition being attained, the return trip was
begun, and the sight of the cached boat and provisions eagerly watched
for. On Aug. 15 the camp was sighted, but to their horror they saw
smoke issuing from the spot. It at once flashed upon their minds what
had taken place, and when they arrived they found that their fears had
been all too truly realized. Charred remains of the boat, a burned
octant, and a few unexploded cartridges were all that remained of the
meager outfit upon which they depended to take them to the mouth of
the river, a distance of over 250 miles. The camp fire, not having
been completely extinguished, had burned the boat and destroyed all
their provisions.
It was truly a hard outlook for them, but no time must be lost if
provisions were to be obtained. Hastily a raft was constructed, the
logs being bound together with spruce roots. In this way, by
alternately walking and rafting, the mouth of the river was reached
Aug. 29. On the way down the river five rafts had been made and
abandoned. The only weapon was a small pocket revolver, and with the
products of this weapon, mostly red squirrels and a few fish, they
lived until they reached the different caches. Many a meal was made of
one red squirrel divided between them, and upon such food they were
compelled to make the best time possible. On the way up the river the
shoes of one of the party had given wholly out, and he was obliged to
make a rude pair of slippers from the back of a leather pack. With
torn clothes and hungry bodies they presented a hard sight indeed when
they joined their friends at Rigolet on the 1st of September. The
party composed of Messrs. Bryant and Kenaston was passed by Cary and
Cole while on the way down, but was not seen. Probably this occurred
on Lake Waminikapon, the width of the lake preventing one party from
seeing the other. It seemed a waste of time and energy that two
expeditions in the same summer should be sent upon the same object,
but neither party knew of the intention of the other until it was too
late to turn back.
Grand River has long been a highway for the dependents of the Hudson
Bay Company. The company formerly had a post on Lake Waminikapon, and
another, called Height of Land, on the plateau. Provisions were
carried to these posts, and furs brought from them by way of Grand
River, the parties proceeding as far as the lake, and then, leaving
Grand River some distance below the cañon, no longer being able to
follow it on account of the swiftness of the water, they carried their
canoes across the land to a chain of lakes connecting with the post.
This station has been given up many years, and the river is used now
chiefly be Indians and hunters in the winter.
It has long been known that Hamilton Inlet was of glacial origin, the
immense basin hollowed out by this erosive agent being 150 miles in
length. How much further this immense valley extended has never been
known. Mr. Cary says that the same basin which forms Hamilton Inlet
and enters Lake Melville, the two being connected by twelve miles of
narrows, extends up the Grand River Valley as far as Gull Island Lake,
the whole forming one grand glacial record. From Lake Melville to Gull
Island the bed was being gradually filled in by the deposits of the
river, but the contour of the basin is the same here as below. The bed
of the country here is Archæan rock, and many beautiful specimens of
labradorite dot the shores. In the distance the grim peaks of the
Mealy Mountains stand out in bold relief against the sky.
The country about this interior basin is heavily wooded, and spars of
75 feet can be obtained in generous numbers. Were it not for the
native inhabitants, mosquitoes, and flies, the interior would present
conditions charming enough to tempt any lover of nature. It is the
abundance of these invincible foes which make interior life a burden
and almost an impossibility. To these inhabitants alone Grand Falls
has ceased to chant its melodious tune. Hereafter its melodious ripple
will be heard by Bowdoin College, which, in the name of its explorers,
Cary and Cole, claims the honor of its discovery.--_New York Times_.
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