Dr. Richardson's Residence at Cumberland House--His Account of the
Cree Indians.
1820. January 19.
From the departure of Messrs. Franklin and Back, on the 19th of January,
for Chipewyan, until the opening of the navigation in the spring, the
occurrences connected with the Expedition were so much in the ordinary
routine of a winter's residence at Fort Cumberland, that they may be,
perhaps, appropriately blended with the following general but brief
account of that district and its inhabitants.
Cumberland House was originally built by Hearne, a year or two after his
return from the Copper-Mine{15} River, and has ever since been
considered by the Hudson's Bay Company as a post of considerable
importance. Previous to that time, the natives carried their furs down
to the shores of Hudson's Bay, or disposed of them nearer home to the
French Canadian traders, who visited this part of the country as early
as the year 1697.
The Cumberland House district, extending about one hundred and fifty
miles from east to west along the banks of the Saskatchawan, and about
as far from north to south, comprehends, on a rough calculation, upwards
of twenty thousand square miles, and is frequented at present by about
one hundred and twenty Indian hunters. Of these a few have several
wives, but the majority only one; and, as some are unmarried, we shall
not err greatly in considering the number of married women as only
slightly exceeding that of the hunters. The women marry very young, have
a custom of suckling their children for several years, and are besides
exposed constantly to fatigue and often to famine; hence they are not
prolific, bearing upon an average not more than four children, of whom
two may attain the age of puberty. Upon these data, the amount of each
family may be stated at five, and the whole Indian population in the
district at five hundred.
This is but a small population for such an extent of country, yet their
mode of life occasionally subjects them to great privations. The winter
of our residence at Cumberland House proved extremely severe to the
Indians. The hooping-cough made its appearance amongst them in the
autumn, and was followed by the measles, which in the course of the
winter spread through the tribe. Many died, and most of the survivors
were so enfeebled as to be unable to pursue the necessary avocations of
hunting and fishing. Even those who experienced only a slight attack, or
escaped the sickness altogether, dispirited by the scenes of misery
which environed them, were rendered incapable of affording relief to
their distressed relations, and spent their time in conjuring and
drumming to avert the pestilence. Those who were able came to the fort
and received relief, but many who had retired with their families to
distant corners, to pursue their winter hunts, experienced all the
horrors of famine. One evening, early in the month of January, a poor
Indian entered the North-West Company's House, carrying his only child
in his arms, and followed by his starving wife. They had been hunting
apart from the other bands, had been unsuccessful, and whilst in want
were seized with the epidemical disease. An Indian is accustomed to
starve, and it is not easy to elicit from him an account of his
sufferings. This poor man's story was very brief; as soon as the fever
abated, he set out with his wife for Cumberland House, having been
previously reduced to feed on the bits of skin and offal, which remained
about their encampment. Even this miserable fare was exhausted, and they
walked several days without eating, yet exerting themselves far beyond
their strength that they might save the life of the infant. It died
almost within sight of the house. Mr. Connolly, who was then in charge
of the post, received them with the utmost humanity, and instantly
placed food before them; but no language can describe the manner in
which the miserable father dashed the morsel from his lips and deplored
the loss of his child. Misery may harden a disposition naturally bad,
but it never fails to soften the heart of a good man.
The _origin_ of the Crees, to which nation the Cumberland House Indians
belong, is, like that of the other Aborigines of America, involved in
obscurity; but the researches now making into the nature and affinities
of the languages spoken by the different Indian tribes, may eventually
throw some light on the subject. Indeed, the American philologists seem
to have succeeded already in classing the known dialects into three
languages:--1st. The Floridean, spoken by the Creeks, Chickesaws,
Choctaws, Cherokees, Pascagoulas, and some other tribes, who inhabit the
southern parts of the United States. 2d. The Iroquois, spoken by the
Mengwe, or Six Nations, the Wyandots, the Nadowessies, and
Asseeneepoytuck. 3d. The Lenni-lenapè, spoken by a great family more
widely spread than the other two, and from which, together with a vast
number of other tribes, are sprung our Crees. Mr. Heckewelder, a
missionary, who resided long amongst these people, and from whose paper,
(published in the _Transactions of the American Philosophical Society_,)
the above classification is taken, states that the Lenapè have a
tradition amongst them, of their ancestors having come from the
westward, and taken possession of the whole country from the Missouri to
the Atlantic, after driving away or destroying the original inhabitants
of the land, whom they termed Alligewi. In this migration and contest,
which endured for a series of years, the Mengwe, or Iroquois, kept pace
with them, moving in a parallel but more northerly line, and finally
settling on the banks of the St. Lawrence, and the great lakes from
whence it flows. The Lenapè, being more numerous, peopled not only the
greater part of the country at present occupied by the United States,
but also sent detachments to the northward as far as the banks of the
River Mississippi{16} and the shores of Hudson's Bay. The principal of
their northern tribes are now known under the names of Saulteurs or
Chippeways, and Crees; the former inhabiting the country betwixt Lakes
Winipeg and Superior, the latter frequenting the shores of Hudson's Bay,
from Moose to Churchill, and the country from thence as far to the
westward as the plains which lie betwixt the forks of the Saskatchawan.
These Crees, formerly known by the French Canadian traders under the
appellation of Knisteneaux, generally designate themselves as
Eithinyoowuc (_men_), or, when they wish to discriminate themselves from
the other Indian nations, as Nathehwy-withinyoowuc (_Southern-men_)[5].
[5] Much confusion has arisen from the great variety of names, applied
without discrimination to the various tribes of Saulteurs and
Crees. Heckewelder considers the Crees of Moose Factory to be a
branch of that tribe of the Lenapè, which is named Minsi, or Wolf
Tribe. He has been led to form this opinion, from the similarity
of the name given to these people by Monsieur Jeremie, namely,
Monsonies; but the truth is, that their real name is
Mongsoa-eythinyoowuc, or Moose-deer Indians; hence the name of the
factory and river on which it is built. The name Knisteneaux,
Kristeneaux, or Killisteneaux, was anciently applied to a tribe of
Crees, now termed Maskegons, who inhabit the river Winipeg. This
small tribe still retains the peculiarities of customs and dress,
for which it was remarkable many years ago, as mentioned by Mr.
Henry, in the interesting account of his journeys in these
countries. They are said to be great rascals. The great body of
the Crees were at that time named Opimmitish Ininiwuc, or Men of
the Woods. It would, however, be an endless task to attempt to
determine the precise people designated by the early French
writers. Every small band, naming itself from its hunting-grounds,
was described as a different nation. The Chippeways who frequented
the Lake of the Woods were named from a particular act of
pillage--Pilliers, or Robbers: and the name Saulteurs, applied to
a principal band that frequented the Sault St. Marie, has been by
degrees extended to the whole tribe. It is frequently pronounced
and written _Sotoos_.
The original character of the Crees must have been much modified by
their long intercourse with Europeans; hence it is to be understood,
that we confine ourselves in the following sketch to their present
condition, and more particularly to the Crees of Cumberland House. The
moral character of a hunter is acted upon by the nature of the land he
inhabits, the abundance or scarcity of food, and we may add, in the
present case, his means of access to spirituous liquors. In a country so
various in these respects as that inhabited by the Crees, the causes
alluded to must operate strongly in producing a considerable difference
of character amongst the various hordes. It may be proper to bear in
mind also, that we are about to draw the character of a people whose
only rule of conduct is public opinion, and to try them by a morality
founded on divine revelation, the only standard that can be referred to
by those who have been educated in a land to which the blessings of the
Gospel have extended.
Bearing these considerations in mind then, we may state the Crees to be
a vain, fickle, improvident, and indolent race, and not very strict in
their adherence to truth, being great boasters; but, on the other hand,
they strictly regard the rights of property[6], are susceptible of the
kinder affections, capable of friendship, very hospitable, tolerably
kind to their women, and withal inclined to peace.
[6] This is, perhaps, true of the Cumberland House Crees alone: many
of the other tribes of Crees are stated by the traders to be
thieves.
Much of the faulty part of their character, no doubt, originates in
their mode of life; accustomed as a hunter to depend greatly on chance
for his subsistence, the Cree takes little thought of to-morrow; and the
most offensive part of his behaviour--the habit of boasting--has been
probably assumed as a necessary part of his armour, which operates upon
the fears of his enemies. They are countenanced, however, in this
failing, by the practice of the ancient Greeks, and perhaps by that of
every other nation in its ruder state. Every Cree fears the medical or
conjuring powers of his neighbour; but at the same time exalts his own
attainments to the skies. "I am God-like," is a common expression
amongst them, and they prove their divinity-ship by eating live coals,
and by various tricks of a similar nature. A medicine bag is an
indispensable part of a hunter's equipment. It is generally furnished
with a little bit of indigo, blue vitriol, vermilion, or some other
showy article; and is, when in the hands of a noted conjurer, such an
object of terror to the rest of the tribe, that its possessor is
enabled to fatten at his ease upon the labours of his deluded
countrymen.
A fellow of this description came to Cumberland House in the winter of
1819. Notwithstanding the then miserable state of the Indians, the
rapacity of this wretch had been preying upon their necessities, and a
poor hunter was actually at the moment pining away under the influence
of his threats. The mighty conjurer, immediately on his arrival at the
House, began to trumpet forth his powers, boasting, among other things,
that although his hands and feet were tied as securely as possible, yet
when placed in a conjuring-house, he would speedily disengage himself by
the aid of two or three familiar spirits, who were attendant on his
call. He was instantly taken at his word; and that his exertions might
not be without an aim, a _capot_ or great coat was promised as the
reward of his success. A conjuring-house having been erected in the
usual form, that is, by sticking four willows in the ground and tying
their tops to a hoop at the height of six or eight feet, he was fettered
completely by winding several fathoms of rope round his body and
extremities, and placed in its narrow apartment, not exceeding two feet
in diameter. A moose-skin being then thrown over the frame, secluded him
from our view. He forthwith began to chant a kind of hymn in a very
monotonous tone. The rest of the Indians, who seemed in some doubt
respecting the powers of a devil when put in competition with those of a
white man, ranged themselves around and watched the result with anxiety.
Nothing remarkable occurred for a long time. The conjurer continued his
song at intervals, and it was occasionally taken up by those without. In
this manner an hour and a half elapsed; but at length our attention,
which had begun to flag, was roused by the violent shaking of the
conjuring-house. It was instantly whispered round the circle, that at
least one devil had crept under the moose-skin. But it proved to be only
the "God-like man" trembling with cold. He had entered the lists, stript
to the skin, and the thermometer stood very low that evening. His
attempts were continued, however, with considerable resolution for half
an hour longer, when he reluctantly gave in. He had found no difficulty
in slipping through the noose when it was formed by his countrymen; but,
in the present instance, the knot was tied by Governor Williams, who is
an expert sailor. After this unsuccessful exhibition his credit sunk
amazingly, and he took the earliest opportunity of sneaking away from
the fort.
About two years ago a conjurer paid more dearly for his temerity. In a
quarrel with an Indian he threw out some obscure threats of vengeance
which passed unnoticed at the time, but were afterwards remembered. They
met in the spring at Carlton House, after passing the winter in
different parts of the country, during which the Indian's child died.
The conjurer had the folly to boast that he had caused its death, and
the enraged father shot him dead on the spot. It may be remarked,
however, that both these Indians were inhabitants of the plains, and had
been taught, by their intercourse with the turbulent Stone Indians, to
set but comparatively little value on the life of a man.
It might be thought that the Crees have benefited by their long
intercourse with civilized nations. That this is not so much the case as
it ought to be, is not entirely their own fault. They are capable of
being, and I believe willing to be, taught; but no pains have hitherto
been taken to inform their minds[7], and their white acquaintances seem
in general to find it easier to descend to the Indian customs, and
modes of thinking, particularly with respect to women, than to attempt
to raise the Indians to theirs. Indeed such a lamentable want of
morality has been displayed by the white traders in their contests for
the interests of their respective companies, that it would require a
long series of good conduct to efface from the minds of the native
population the ideas they have formed of the white character.
Notwithstanding the frequent violations of the rights of property they
have witnessed, and but too often experienced, in their own persons,
these savages, as they are termed, remain strictly honest. During their
visits to a post, they are suffered to enter every apartment in the
house, without the least restraint, and although articles of value to
them are scattered about, nothing is ever missed. They scrupulously
avoid moving any thing from its place, although they are often prompted
by curiosity to examine it. In some cases, indeed, they carry this
principle to a degree of self-denial which would hardly be expected. It
often happens that meat, which has been paid for, (if the poisonous
draught it procures them can be considered as payment,) is left at their
lodges until a convenient opportunity occurs of carrying it away. They
will rather pass several days without eating than touch the meat thus
intrusted to their charge, even when there exists a prospect of
replacing it.
[7] Since these remarks were written the union of the rival companies
has enabled the gentlemen, who have now the management of the fur
trade, to take some decided steps for the religious instruction
and improvement of the natives and half-breed Indians, which have
been more particularly referred to in the introduction.
The hospitality of the Crees is unbounded. They afford a certain asylum
to the half-breed children when deserted by their unnatural white
fathers; and the infirm, and indeed every individual in an encampment,
share the provisions of a successful hunter as long as they last. Fond
too as a Cree is of spirituous liquors, he is not happy unless all his
neighbours partake with him. It is not easy, however, to say what share
ostentation may have in the apparent munificence in the latter article;
for when an Indian, by a good hunt, is enabled to treat the others with
a keg of rum, he becomes the chief of a night, assumes no little
stateliness of manner, and is treated with deference by those who regale
at his expense. Prompted also by the desire of gaining a _name_, they
lavish away the articles they purchase at the trading posts, and are
well satisfied if repaid in praise.
Gaming is not uncommon amongst the Crees of all the different districts,
but it is pursued to greater lengths by those bands who frequent the
plains, and who, from the ease with which they obtain food, have
abundant leisure. The game most in use amongst them, termed _puckesann_,
is played with the stones of a species of _prunus_ which, from this
circumstance, they term _puckesann-meena_. The difficulty lies in
guessing the number of stones which are tossed out of a small wooden
dish, and the hunters will spend whole nights at the destructive sport,
staking their most valuable articles, powder and shot.
It has been remarked by some writers that the aboriginal inhabitants of
America are deficient in passion for the fair sex. This is by no means
the case with the Crees; on the contrary, their practice of seducing
each other's wives, proves the most fertile source of their quarrels.
When the guilty pair are detected, the woman generally receives a severe
beating, but the husband is, for the most part, afraid to reproach the
male culprit until they get drunk together at the fort; then the
remembrance of the offence is revived, a struggle ensues, and the affair
is terminated by the loss of a few handfuls of hair. Some husbands,
however, feel more deeply the injury done to their honour, and seek
revenge even in their sober moments. In such cases it is not uncommon
for the offended party to walk with great gravity up to the other, and
deliberately seizing his gun, or some other article of value to break it
before his face. The adulterer looks on in silence, afraid to make any
attempt to save his property. In this respect, indeed, the Indian
character seems to differ from the European, that an Indian, instead of
letting his anger increase with that of his antagonist, assumes the
utmost coolness, lest he should push him to extremities.
Although adultery is sometimes punished amongst the Crees in the manner
above described, yet it is no crime, provided the husband receives a
valuable consideration for his wife's prostitution. Neither is chastity
considered as a virtue in a female before marriage, that is, before she
becomes the exclusive property of one hunter.
The Cree women are not in general treated harshly by their husbands, and
possess considerable influence over them. They often eat, and even get
drunk, in consort with the men; a considerable portion of the labour,
however, falls to the lot of the wife. She makes the hut, cooks, dresses
the skins, and for the most part, carries the heaviest load: but, when
she is unable to perform her task, the husband does not consider it
beneath his dignity to assist her. In illustration of this remark, I may
quote the case of an Indian who visited the fort in winter. This poor
man's wife had lost her feet by the frost, and he was compelled, not
only to hunt, and do all the menial offices himself, but in winter to
drag his wife with their stock of furniture from one encampment to
another. In the performance of this duty, as he could not keep pace with
the rest of the tribe in their movements, he more than once nearly
perished of hunger.
These Indians, however, capable as they are of behaving thus kindly,
affect in their discourse to despise the softer sex, and on solemn
occasions, will not suffer them to eat before them, or even come into
their presence. In this they are countenanced by the white residents,
most of whom have Indian or half-breed wives, but seem afraid of
treating them with the tenderness or attention due to every female, lest
they should themselves be despised by the Indians. At least, this is the
only reason they assign for their neglect of those whom they make
partners of their beds and mothers of their children.
Both sexes are fond of, and excessively indulgent to, their children.
The father never punishes them, and if the mother, more hasty in her
temper, sometimes bestows a blow or two on a troublesome child, her
heart is instantly softened by the roar which follows, and she mingles
her tears with those that streak the smoky face of her darling. It may
be fairly said, then, that restraint or punishment forms no part of the
education of an Indian child, nor are they early trained to that
command over their temper which they exhibit in after years.
The discourse of the parents is never restrained by the presence of
their children, every transaction between the sexes being openly talked
of before them.
The Crees having early obtained arms from the European traders, were
enabled to make harassing inroads on the lands of their neighbours, and
are known to have made war excursions as far to the westward as the
Rocky Mountains, and to the northward as far as Mackenzie's{17} River;
but their enemies being now as well armed as themselves, the case is
much altered.
They shew great fortitude in the endurance of hunger, and the other
evils incident to a hunter's life; but any unusual accident dispirits
them at once, and they seldom venture to meet their enemies in open
warfare, or to attack them even by surprise, unless with the advantage
of superiority of numbers. Perhaps they are much deteriorated in this
respect by their intercourse with Europeans. Their existence at present
hangs upon the supplies of ammunition and clothing they receive from the
traders, and they deeply feel their dependent{18} situation. But their
character has been still more debased by the passion for spirituous
liquors, so assiduously fostered among them. To obtain the noxious
beverage, they descend to the most humiliating entreaties, and assume an
abjectness of behaviour which does not seem natural to them, and of
which not a vestige is to be seen in their intercourse with each other.
Their character has sunk among the neighbouring nations. They are no
longer the warriors who drove before them the inhabitants of the
Saskatchawan, and Missinippi. The Cumberland House Crees, in particular,
have been long disused to war. Betwixt them and their ancient enemies,
the Slave nations, lie the extensive plains of Saskatchawan, inhabited
by the powerful Asseeneepoytuck, or Stone Indians, who having whilst yet
a small tribe, entered the country under the patronage of the Crees, now
render back the protection they received.
The manners and customs of the Crees have, probably since their
acquaintance with Europeans, undergone a change, at least, equal to that
which has taken place in their moral character; and, although we heard
of many practices peculiar to them, yet they appeared to be nearly as
much honoured in the breach as the observance. We shall however briefly
notice a few of the most remarkable customs.
When a hunter marries his first wife, he usually takes up his abode in
the tent of his father-in-law, and of course hunts for the family; but
when he becomes a father, the families are at liberty to separate, or
remain together, as their inclinations prompt them. His second wife is
for the most part the sister of the first, but not necessarily so, for
an Indian of another family often presses his daughter upon a hunter
whom he knows to be capable of maintaining her well. The first wife
always remains the mistress of the tent, and assumes an authority over
the others, which is not in every case quietly submitted to. It may be
remarked, that whilst an Indian resides with his wife's family, it is
extremely improper for his mother-in-law to speak, or even look at him;
and when she has a communication to make, it is the etiquette that she
should turn her back upon him, and address him only through the medium
of a third person. This singular custom is not very creditable to the
Indians, if it really had its origin in the cause which they at present
assign for it, namely, that a woman's speaking to her son-in-law is a
sure indication of her having conceived a criminal affection for him.
It appears also to have been an ancient practice for an Indian to avoid
eating or sitting down in the presence of the father-in-law. We received
no account of the origin of this custom, and it is now almost obsolete
amongst the Cumberland House Crees, though still partially observed by
those who frequent Carlton.
Tattooing is almost universal with the Crees. The women are in general
content with having one or two lines drawn from the corners of the mouth
towards the angles of the lower jaw; but some of the men have their
bodies covered with a great variety of lines and figures. It seems to be
considered by most rather as a proof of courage than an ornament, the
operation being very painful, and, if the figures are numerous and
intricate, lasting several days. The lines on the face are formed by
dexterously running an awl under the cuticle, and then drawing a cord,
dipt in charcoal and water, through the canal thus formed. The punctures
on the body are formed by needles of various sizes set in a frame. A
number of hawk bells attached to this frame serve by their noise to
cover the suppressed groans of the sufferer, and, probably for the same
reason, the process is accompanied with singing. An indelible stain is
produced by rubbing a little finely-powdered willow-charcoal into the
punctures. A half-breed, whose arm I amputated, declared, that tattooing
was not only the most painful operation of the two, but rendered
infinitely more difficult to bear by its tediousness, having lasted in
his case three days.
A Cree woman, at certain periods, is laid under considerable restraint.
They are far, however, from carrying matters to the extremities
mentioned by Hearne in his description of the Chipewyans, or Northern
Indians. She lives apart from her husband also for two months if she has
borne a boy, and for three if she has given birth to a girl.
Many of the Cree hunters are careful to prevent a woman from partaking
of the head of a moose-deer, lest it should spoil their future hunts;
and for the same reason they avoid bringing it to a fort, fearing lest
the white people should give the bones to the dogs.
The games or sports of the Crees are various. One termed the game of the
mitten, is played with four balls, three of which are plain, and one
marked. These being hid under as many mittens, the opposite party is
required to fix on that which is marked. He gives or receives a feather
according as he guesses right or wrong. When the feathers which are ten
in number, have all passed into one hand, a new division is made; but
when one of the parties obtains possession of them thrice, he seizes on
the stakes.
The game of Platter is more intricate, and is played with the claws of a
bear, or some other animal, marked with various lines and characters.
These dice, which are eight in number, and cut flat at their large end,
are shook together in a wooden dish, tossed into the air and caught
again. The lines traced on such claws as happen to alight on the platter
in an erect position, indicate what number of counters the caster is to
receive from his opponent.
They have, however, a much more manly amusement termed the _Cross_,
although they do not engage even in it without depositing considerable
stakes. An extensive meadow is chosen for this sport, and the articles
staked are tied to a post, or deposited in the custody of two old men.
The combatants being stript and painted, and each provided with a kind
of battledore or racket, in shape resembling the letter P, with a handle
about two feet long and a head loosely wrought with net-work, so as to
form a shallow bag, range themselves on different sides. A ball being
now tossed up in the middle, each party endeavours to drive it to their
respective goals, and much dexterity and agility is displayed in the
contest. When a nimble runner gets the ball in his cross, he sets off
towards the goal with the utmost speed, and is followed by the rest, who
endeavour to jostle him and shake it out; but, if hard pressed, he
discharges it with a jerk, to be forwarded by his own party, or bandied
back by their opponents, until the victory is decided by its passing the
goal.
Of the religious opinions of the Crees, it is difficult to give a
correct account, not only because they shew a disinclination to enter
upon the subject, but because their ancient traditions are mingled with
the information they have more recently obtained, by their intercourse
with Europeans.
None of them ventured to describe the original formation of the world,
but they all spoke of an universal deluge, caused by an attempt of the
fish to drown Woesack-ootchacht, a kind of demigod, with whom they had
quarrelled. Having constructed a raft, he embarked with his family and
all kinds of birds and beasts. After the flood had continued for some
time, he ordered several water-fowl to dive to the bottom; they were all
drowned: but a musk-rat having been despatched on the same errand, was
more successful, and returned with a mouthful of mud, out of which
Woesack-ootchacht, imitating the mode in which the rats construct
their houses, formed a new earth. First, a small conical hill of mud
appeared above the water; by-and-by its base gradually spreading out,
it became an extensive bank, which the rays of the sun at length
hardened into firm land. Notwithstanding the power that
Woesack-ootchacht here displayed, his person is held in very little
reverence by the Indians; and, in return, he seizes every opportunity of
tormenting them. His conduct is far from being moral, and his amours,
and the disguises he assumes in the prosecution of them, are more
various and extraordinary than those of the Grecian Jupiter himself; but
as his adventures are more remarkable for their eccentricity than their
delicacy, it is better to pass them over in silence. Before we quit him,
however, we may remark, that he converses with all kinds of birds and
beasts in their own languages, constantly addressing them by the title
of brother, but through an inherent suspicion of his intentions, they
are seldom willing to admit of his claims of relationship. The Indians
make no sacrifices to him, not even to avert his wrath. They pay a kind
of worship, however, and make offerings to a being, whom they term
_Kepoochikawn_.
This deity is represented sometimes by rude images of the human figure,
but more commonly merely by tying the tops of a few willow bushes
together; and the offerings to him consist of every thing that is
valuable to an Indian; yet they treat him with considerable familiarity,
interlarding their most solemn speeches with expostulations and threats
of neglect, if he fails in complying with their requests. As most of
their petitions are for plenty of food, they do not trust entirely to
the favour of Kepoochikawn, but endeavour, at the same time, to
propitiate the _animal_, an imaginary representative of the whole race
of larger quadrupeds that are objects of the chase.
In the month of May, whilst I was at Carlton House, the Cree hunter
engaged to attend that post, resolved upon dedicating several articles
to Kepoochikawn, and as I had made some inquiries of him respecting
their modes of worship, he gave me an invitation to be present. The
ceremony took place in a sweating-house, or as it may be designated from
its more important use, a _temple_, which was erected for the occasion
by the worshipper's two wives. It was framed of arched willows,
interlaced so as to form a vault capable of containing ten or twelve
men, ranged closely side by side, and high enough to admit of their
sitting erect. It was very similar in shape to an oven or the kraal of a
Hottentot, and was closely covered with moose skins, except at the east
end, which was left open for a door. Near the centre of the building
there was a hole in the ground, which contained ten or twelve red-hot
stones, having a few leaves of the _taccokay-menan_, a species of
_prunus_, strewed around them. When the women had completed the
preparations, the hunter made his appearance, perfectly naked, carrying
in his hand an image of Kepoochikawn, rudely carved, and about two feet
long. He placed his god at the upper end of the sweating-house, with his
face towards the door, and proceeded to tie round its neck his
offerings, consisting of a cotton handkerchief, a looking-glass, a tin
pan, a piece of riband, and a bit of tobacco, which he had procured the
same day, at the expense of fifteen or twenty skins. Whilst he was thus
occupied, several other Crees, who were encamped in the neighbourhood,
having been informed of what was going on, arrived, and stripping at the
door of the temple, entered, and ranged themselves on each side; the
hunter himself squatted down at the right hand of Kepoochikawn. The
atmosphere of the temple having become so hot that none but zealous
worshippers would venture in, the interpreter and myself sat down on the
threshold, and the two women remained on the outside as attendants.
The hunter, who throughout officiated as high priest, commenced by
making a speech to Kepoochikawn, in which he requested him to be
propitious, told him of the value of the things now presented, and
cautioned him against ingratitude. This oration was delivered in a
monotonous tone, and with great rapidity of utterance, and the speaker
retained his squatting posture, but turned his face to his god. At its
conclusion, the priest began a hymn, of which the burthen was, "I will
walk with God, I will go with the animal;" and, at the end of each
stanza, the rest joined in an insignificant chorus. He next took up a
calumet, filled with a mixture of tobacco and bear-berry leaves, and
holding its stem by the middle, in a horizontal position, over the hot
stones, turned it slowly in a circular manner, following the course of
the sun. Its mouth-piece being then with much formality, held for a few
seconds to the face of Kepoochikawn, it was next presented to the earth,
having been previously turned a second time over the hot stones; and
afterwards, with equal ceremony, pointed in succession to the four
quarters of the sky; then drawing a few whiffs from the calumet himself,
he handed it to his left-hand neighbour, by whom it was gravely passed
round the circle; the interpreter and myself, who were seated at the
door, were asked to partake in our turn, but requested to keep the head
of the calumet within the threshold of the sweating-house. When the
tobacco was exhausted by passing several times round, the hunter made
another speech, similar to the former; but was, if possible, still more
urgent in his requests. A second hymn followed, and a quantity of water
being sprinkled on the hot stones, the attendants were ordered to close
the temple, which they did, by very carefully covering it up with moose
skins. We had no means of ascertaining the temperature of the
sweating-house; but before it was closed, not only those within, but
also the spectators without, were perspiring freely. They continued in
the vapour bath for thirty-five minutes, during which time a third
speech was made, and a hymn was sung, and water occasionally sprinkled
on the stones, which still retained much heat, as was evident from the
hissing noise they made. The coverings were then thrown off, and the
poor half-stewed worshippers exposed freely to the air; but they kept
their squatting postures until a fourth speech was made, in which the
deity was strongly reminded of the value of the gifts, and exhorted to
take an early opportunity of shewing his gratitude. The ceremony
concluded by the sweaters scampering down to the river, and plunging
into the stream. It may be remarked, that the door of the temple, and,
of course, the face of the god, was turned to the rising sun; and the
spectators were desired not to block up entirely the front of the
building, but to leave a lane for the entrance or exit of some influence
of which they could not give me a correct description. Several Indians,
who lay on the outside of the sweating-house as spectators, seemed to
regard the proceedings with very little awe, and were extremely free in
the remarks and jokes they passed upon the condition of the sweaters,
and even of Kepoochikawn himself. One of them made a remark, that the
shawl would have been much better bestowed upon himself than upon
Kepoochikawn, but the same fellow afterwards stripped and joined in the
ceremony.
I did not learn that the Indians worship any other god by a specific
name. They often refer, however, to the Keetchee-Maneeto, or Great
Master of Life; and to an evil spirit, or Maatche-Maneeto. They also
speak of Weettako, a kind of vampyre or devil, into which those who have
fed on human flesh are transformed.
Whilst at Carlton, I took an opportunity of asking a communicative old
Indian, of the Blackfoot nation, his opinion of a future state; he
replied, that they had heard from their fathers, that the souls of the
departed have to scramble with great labour up the sides of a steep
mountain, upon attaining the summit of which they are rewarded with the
prospect of an extensive plain, abounding in all sorts of game, and
interspersed here and there with new tents, pitched in agreeable{19}
situations. Whilst they are absorbed in the contemplation of this
delightful scene, they are descried by the inhabitants of the happy
land, who, clothed in new skin-dresses, approach and welcome with every
demonstration of kindness those Indians who have led good lives; but the
bad Indians, who have imbrued their hands in the blood of their
countrymen, are told to return from whence they came, and without more
ceremony precipitated down the steep sides of the mountain.
Women, who have been guilty of infanticide, never reach the mountain at
all, but are compelled to hover round the seats of their crimes, with
branches of trees tied to their legs. The melancholy sounds, which are
heard in the still summer evenings, and which the ignorance of the white
people considers as the screams of the goat-sucker, are really,
according to my informant, the moanings of these unhappy beings.
The Crees have somewhat similar notions, but as they inhabit a country
widely different from the mountainous lands of the Blackfoot Indians,
the difficulty of their journey lies in walking along a slender and
slippery tree, laid as a bridge across a rapid stream of stinking and
muddy water. The night owl is regarded by the Crees with the same dread
that it has been viewed by other nations. One small species, which is,
known to them by its melancholy nocturnal hootings, (for as it never
appears in the day, few even of the hunters have ever seen it,) is
particularly ominous. They call it the _cheepai-peethees_, or death
bird, and never fail to whistle when they hear its note. If it does not
reply to the whistle by its hootings, the speedy death of the inquirer
is augured.
When a Cree dies, that part of his property which he has not given away
before his death, is burned with him, and his relations take care to
place near the grave little heaps of fire-wood, food, pieces of tobacco,
and such things as he is likely to need in his journey. Similar
offerings are made when they revisit the grave, and as kettles, and
other articles of value, are sometimes offered, they are frequently
carried off by passengers, yet the relations are not displeased,
provided sufficient respect has been shewn to the dead, by putting some
other article, although of inferior value, in the place of that which
has been taken away.
The Crees are wont to celebrate the returns of the seasons by religious
festivals, but we are unable to describe the ceremonial in use on these
joyous occasions from personal observation. The following brief notice
of a feast, which was given by an old Cree chief, according to his
annual custom, on the first croaking of the frogs, is drawn up from the
information of one of the guests. A large oblong tent, or lodge, was
prepared for the important occasion, by the men of the party, none of
the women being suffered to interfere. It faced the setting sun, and
great care was taken that every thing about it should be as neat and
clean as possible. Three fire-places were raised within it, at equal
distances, and little holes were dug in the corners to contain the ashes
of their pipes. In a recess, at its upper end, one large image of
Kepoochikawn, and many smaller ones, were ranged with their faces
towards the door. The food was prepared by the chief's wife, and
consisted of _marrow_ pemmican, berries boiled with fat, and various
other delicacies that had been preserved for the occasion.
The preparations being completed, and a slave, whom the chief had taken
in war, having warned the guests to the feast by the mysterious word
_peenasheway_, they came, dressed out in their best garments, and ranged
themselves according to their seniority, the elders seating themselves
next the chief at the upper end, and the young men near the door.
The chief commenced by addressing his deities in an appropriate speech,
in which he told them, that he had hastened as soon as summer was
indicated by the croaking of the frogs to solicit their favour for
himself and his young men, and hoped that they would send him a pleasant
and plentiful season. His oration was concluded by an invocation to all
the animals in the land, and a signal being given to the slave at the
door, he invited them severally by their names to come and partake of
the feast.
The Cree chief having by this very general invitation displayed his
unbounded hospitality, next ordered one of the young men to distribute a
mess to each of the guests. This was done in new dishes of birch bark,
and the utmost diligence was displayed in emptying them, it being
considered extremely improper in a man to leave any part of that which
is placed before him on such occasions. It is not inconsistent with good
manners, however, but rather considered as a piece of politeness, that a
guest who has been too liberally supplied, should hand the surplus to
his neighbour. When the viands had disappeared, each filled his calumet
and began to smoke with great assiduity, and in the course of the
evening several songs were sung to the responsive sounds of the drum,
and seeseequay, their usual accompaniments.
The Cree drum is double-headed, but possessing very little depth, it
strongly resembles a tambourine in shape. Its want of depth is
compensated, however, by its diameter, which frequently exceeds three
feet. It is covered with moose-skin parchment, painted with rude figures
of men and beasts, having various fantastic additions, and is beat with
a stick. The seeseequay is merely a rattle, formed by enclosing a few
grains of shot in a piece of dried hide. These two instruments are used
in all their religious ceremonies, except those which take place in a
sweating-house.
A Cree places great reliance on his drum, and I cannot adduce a stronger
instance than that of the poor man who is mentioned in a preceding page,
as having lost his only child by famine, almost within sight of the
fort. Notwithstanding his exhausted state, he travelled with an enormous
drum tied to his back.
Many of the Crees make vows to abstain from particular kinds of food,
either for a specific time, or for the remainder of their life,
esteeming such abstinence to be a certain means of acquiring some
supernatural powers, or at least of entailing upon themselves a
succession of good fortune.
One of the wives of the Carlton hunter, of whom we have already spoken
as the worshipper of Kepoochikawn, made a determination not to eat of
the flesh of the Wawaskeesh, or American stag; but during our abode at
that place, she was induced to feed heartily upon it, through the
intentional deceit of her husband, who told her that it was buffalo
meat. When she had finished her meal, her husband told her of the trick,
and seemed to enjoy the terror with which she contemplated the
consequences of the involuntary breach of her vow. Vows of this nature
are often made by a Cree before he joins a war party, and they
sometimes, like the eastern bonzes, walk for a certain number of days on
all fours, or impose upon themselves some other penance, equally
ridiculous. By such means the Cree warrior becomes _godlike_; but unless
he kills an enemy before his return, his newly-acquired powers are
estimated to be productive in future of some direful consequence to
himself.
As we did not witness any of the Cree dances ourselves, we shall merely
mention, that like the other North American nations, they are accustomed
to practise that amusement on meeting with strange tribes, before going
to war, and on other solemn occasions.
The habitual intoxication of the Cumberland House Crees has induced such
a disregard of personal appearance, that they are squalid and dirty in
the extreme; hence a minute description of their clothing would be by no
means interesting. We shall, therefore, only remark in a general manner
that the dress of the male consists of a blanket thrown over the
shoulders, a leathern shirt or jacket, and a piece of cloth tied round
the middle. The women have in addition a long petticoat; and both sexes
wear a kind of wide hose, which reaching from the ankle to the middle of
the thigh, are suspended by strings to the girdle. These hose, or as
they are termed, _Indian stockings_, are commonly ornamented with beads
or ribands, and from their convenience, have been universally adopted by
the white residents, as an essential part of their winter clothing.
Their shoes, or rather short boots, for they tie round the ankle, are
made of soft dressed moose-skins, and during the winter they wrap
several pieces of blanket round their feet.
They are fond of European articles of dress, considering it as mean to
be dressed entirely in leather, and the hunters are generally furnished
annually with a _capot_ or great coat, and the women with shawls,
printed calicoes, and other things very unsuitable to their mode of
life, but which they wear in imitation of the wives of the traders; all
these articles, however showy they may be at first, are soon reduced to
a very filthy condition by the Indian custom of greasing the face and
hair with soft fat or marrow, instead of washing them with water. This
practice they say preserves the skin soft, and protects it from cold in
the winter, and the moschetoes in summer, but it renders their presence
disagreeable to the olfactory organs of an European, particularly when
they are seated in a close tent and near a hot fire.
The only peculiarity which we observed, in their mode of rearing
children consists in the use of a sort of cradle, extremely well adapted
to their mode of life. The infant is placed in the bag having its lower
extremities wrapt up in soft sphagnum or bog-moss, and may be hung up in
the tent, or to the branch of a tree, without the least danger of
tumbling out; or in a journey suspended on the mother's back, by a band
which crosses the forehead, so as to leave her hands perfectly free. It
is one of the neatest articles of furniture they possess, being
generally ornamented with beads, and bits of scarlet cloth, but it
bears a very strong resemblance in its form to a mummy case.
The sphagnum in which the child is laid, forms a soft elastic bed, which
absorbs moisture very readily, and affords such a protection from the
cold of a rigorous winter, that its place would be ill supplied by
cloth.
The mothers are careful to collect a sufficient quantity in autumn for
winter use; but when through accident their stock fails, they have
recourse to the soft down of the typha, or reed mace, the dust of rotten
wood, or even feathers, although none of these articles are so cleanly,
or so easily changed as the sphagnum.
The above is a brief sketch of such parts of the manners, character and
customs of the Crees, as we could collect from personal observation, or
from the information of the most intelligent half-breeds we met with;
and we shall merely add a few remarks on the manner in which the trade
is conducted at the different inland posts of the Fur Companies.
The standard of Exchange in all mercantile transactions with the natives
is a beaver skin, the relative value of which, as originally established
by the traders, differs considerably from the present worth of the
articles it represents; but the Indians are averse to change. Three
marten, eight musk-rat, or a single lynx, or wolverene skin, are
equivalent to one beaver; a silver fox, white fox, or otter, are
reckoned two beavers, and a black fox, or large black bear, are equal to
four; a mode of reckoning which has very little connexion with the real
value of these different furs in the European market. Neither has any
attention been paid to the original cost of European articles, in fixing
the tariff by which they are sold to the Indians. A coarse butcher's
knife is one skin, a woollen blanket or a fathom of coarse cloth, eight,
and a fowling-piece fifteen. The Indians receive their principal outfit
of clothing and ammunition on credit in the autumn, to be repaid by
their winter hunts; the amount intrusted to each of the hunters, varying
with their reputations for industry and skill, from twenty to one
hundred and fifty skins. The Indians are generally anxious to pay off
the debt thus incurred, but their good intentions are often frustrated
by the arts of the rival traders. Each of the Companies keeps men
constantly employed travelling over the country during the winter, to
collect the furs from the different bands of hunters as fast as they are
procured. The poor Indian endeavours to behave honestly, and when he has
gathered a few skins sends notice to the post from whence he procured
his supplies, but if discovered in the mean time by the opposite party,
he is seldom proof against the temptation to which he is exposed.
However firm he may be in his denials at first, his resolutions are
enfeebled by the sight of a little rum, and when he has tasted the
intoxicating beverage, they vanish like smoke, and he brings forth his
store of furs, which he has carefully concealed from the scrutinizing
eyes of his visitors. This mode of carrying on the trade not only causes
the amount of furs, collected by either of the two Companies, to depend
more upon the activity of their agents, the knowledge they possess of
the motions of the Indians, and the quantity of rum they carry, than
upon the liberality of the credits they give, but is also productive of
an increasing deterioration of the character of the Indians, and will
probably, ultimately prove destructive to the fur trade itself. Indeed
the evil has already, in part, recoiled upon the traders; for the
Indians, long deceived, have become deceivers in their turn, and not
unfrequently after having incurred a heavy debt at one post, move off to
another, to play the same game. In some cases the rival posts have
entered into a mutual agreement, to trade only with the Indians they
have respectively fitted out; but such treaties, being seldom rigidly
adhered to, prove a fertile subject for disputes, and the differences
have been more than once decided by force of arms. To carry on the
contest, the two Companies are obliged to employ a great many servants,
whom they maintain often with much difficulty, and always at a
considerable expense[8].
[8] As the contending parties have united, the evils mentioned in this
and the two preceding pages, are now, in all probability, at an
end.
There are thirty men belonging to the Hudson's Bay Fort at Cumberland,
and nearly as many women and children.
The inhabitants of the North West Company's House are still more
numerous. These large families are fed during the greatest part of the
year on fish, which are principally procured at Beaver Lake, about fifty
miles distant. The fishery commencing with the first frosts in autumn,
continues abundant, till January, and the produce is dragged over the
snow on sledges, each drawn by three dogs, and carrying about two
hundred and fifty pounds. The journey to and from the lake occupies five
days, and every sledge requires a driver. About three thousand fish,
averaging three pounds a piece, were caught by the Hudson's Bay
fishermen last season; in addition to which a few sturgeon were
occasionally caught in Pine Island Lake; and towards the spring a
considerable quantity of moose meat was procured from the Basquiau Hill,
sixty or seventy miles distant. The rest of our winter's provision
consisted of geese, salted in the autumn, and of dried meats and
pemmican, obtained from the provision posts on the plains of the
Saskatchawan. A good many potatoes are also raised at this post, and a
small supply of tea and sugar is brought from the depôt at York Factory.
The provisions obtained from these various sources were amply sufficient
in the winter of 1819-20; but through improvidence this post has in
former seasons been reduced to great straits.
Many of the labourers, and a great majority of the agents and clerks
employed by the two Companies, have Indian or half-breed wives, and the
mixed offspring thus produced has become extremely numerous.
These métifs, or as the Canadians term them, _bois brulés_, are upon the
whole a good looking people, and where the experiment has been made,
have shewn much aptness in learning, and willingness to be taught; they
have, however, been sadly neglected. The example of their fathers has
released them from the restraint imposed by the Indian opinions of good
and bad behaviour; and generally speaking, no pains have been taken to
fill the void with better principles. Hence it is not surprising that
the males, trained up in a high opinion of the authority and rights of
the Company to which their fathers belonged, and unacquainted with the
laws of the civilized world, should be ready to engage in any measure
whatever, that they are prompted to believe will forward the interests
of the cause they espouse. Nor that the girls, taught a certain degree
of refinement by the acquisition of an European language, should be
inflamed by the unrestrained discourse of their Indian relations, and
very early give up all pretensions to chastity. It is, however, but
justice to remark, that there is a very decided difference in the
conduct of the children of the Orkney men employed by the Hudson's Bay
Company and those of the Canadian voyagers. Some trouble is occasionally
bestowed in teaching the former, and it is not thrown away; but all the
good that can be said of the latter is, that they are not quite so
licentious as their fathers are.
Many of the half-breeds, both male and female, are brought up amongst,
and intermarry with, the Indians; and there are few tents wherein the
paler children of such marriages are not to be seen. It has been
remarked, I do not know with what truth, that half-breeds shew more
personal courage than the pure Crees[9].
[9] A singular change takes place in the physical constitution of the
Indian females who become inmates of a fort; namely, they bear
children more frequently and longer, but, at the same time, are
rendered liable to indurations of the mammæ and prolapsus of the
uterus; evils from which they are, in a great measure, exempt
whilst they lead a wandering and laborious life.
The girls at the forts, particularly the daughters of Canadians, are
given in marriage very young; they are very frequently wives at twelve
years of age, and mothers at fourteen. Nay, more than once instance came
under our observation of the master of a post having permitted a voyager
to take to wife a poor child that had scarcely attained the age of ten
years. The masters of posts and wintering partners of the Companies
deemed this criminal indulgence to the vices of their servants,
necessary to stimulate them to exertion for the interest of their
respective concerns. Another practice may also be noticed, as shewing
the state of moral feeling on these subjects amongst the white residents
of the fur countries. It was not very uncommon, amongst the Canadian
voyagers, for one woman to be common to, and maintained at the joint
expense of, two men; nor for a voyager to sell his wife, either for a
season or altogether, for a sum of money, proportioned to her beauty and
good qualities, but always inferior to the price of a team of dogs.
The country around Cumberland House is flat and swampy, and is much
intersected by small lakes. Limestone is found every where under a thin
stratum of soil, and it not unfrequently shows itself above the surface.
It lies in strata generally horizontal, but in one spot near the fort,
dipping to the northward at an angle of 40°. Some portions of this rock
contain very perfect shells. With respect to the vegetable productions
of the district the _populus trepida_, or aspen, which thrives in moist
situations, is perhaps the most abundant tree on the banks of the
Saskatchawan, and is much prized as fire-wood, burning well when cut
green. The _populus balsamifera_, or taccamahac, called by the Crees
_matheh meteos_, or ugly poplar, in allusion to its rough bark and naked
stem, crowned in an aged state with a few distorted branches, is
scarcely less plentiful. It is an inferior fire-wood, and does not burn
well, unless when cut in the spring, and dried during the summer; but it
affords a great quantity of potash. A decoction of its resinous buds has
been sometimes used by the Indians with success in cases of
_snow-blindness_, but its application to the inflamed eye produces much
pain. Of pines, the white spruce is the most common here: the red and
black spruce, the balsam of Gilead fir, and Banksian pine, also occur
frequently. The larch is found only in swampy spots, and is stunted and
unhealthy. The canoe birch attains a considerable size in this latitude,
but from the great demand for its wood to make sledges, it has become
rare. The alder abounds on the margin of the little grassy lakes, so
common in the neighbourhood. A decoction of its inner bark is used as
an emetic by the Indians, who also extract from it a yellow dye. A great
variety of willows occur on the banks of the streams; and the hazel is
met with sparingly in the woods. The sugar maple, elm, ash, and the
_arbor vitæ_[10], termed by the Canadian voyagers _cedar_, grow on
various parts of the Saskatchawan; but that river seems to form their
northern boundary. Two kinds of prunus also grow here, one of which[11],
a handsome small tree, produces a black fruit, having a very astringent
taste, whence the term _choke-cherry_ applied to it. The Crees call it
_tawquoy-meena_, and esteemed it to be when dried and bruised a good
addition to pemmican. The other species[12] is a less elegant shrub, but
is said to bear a bright red cherry, of a pleasant sweet taste. Its Cree
name is _passee-awey-meenan_, and it is known to occur as far north as
Great Slave Lake.
[10] Thuya occidentalis.
[11] Prunus Virginiana.
[12] Prunus Pensylvanica.
The most esteemed fruit of the country, however, is the produce of the
_aronia ovalis_. Under the name of _meesasscootoomeena_ it is a
favourite dish at most of the Indian feasts, and mixed with pemmican, it
renders that greasy food actually palatable. A great variety of currants
and gooseberries are also mentioned by the natives, under the name of
_sappoom-meena_, but we only found three species in the neighbourhood of
Cumberland House. The strawberry, called by the Crees _otei-meena_, or
heart-berry, is found in abundance, and rasps are common on the sandy
banks of the rivers. The fruits hitherto mentioned fall in the autumn,
but the following berries remained hanging on the bushes in the spring,
and are considered as much mellowed by exposure to the colds in winter.
The red whortleberry (_vaccinium vitis idea_) is found every where, but
is most abundant in rocky places. It is aptly termed by the Crees
_weesawgum-meena_, sour berry. The common cranberry (_oxycoccos
palustris_,) is distinguished from the preceding by its growing on moist
sphagnous spots, and is hence called _maskoego-meena_ swamp-berry. The
American guelder rose, whose fruit so strongly resembles the cranberry,
is also common. There are two kinds of it, (_viburnum oxycoccos_{20},
and _edule_,) one termed by the natives _peepoon-meena_, winter-berry,
and the other _mongsoa-meena_, moose-berry. There is also a berry of a
bluish white colour, the produce of the white cornel tree, which is
named _musqua-meena_, bear-berry, because these animals are said to
fatten on it. The dwarf Canadian cornel, bears a corymb of red berries,
which are highly ornamental to the woods throughout the country, but are
not otherwise worthy of notice, for they have an insipid farinaceous
taste, and are seldom gathered.
The Crees extract some beautiful colours from several of their native
vegetables. They dye their porcupine quills a beautiful scarlet, with
the roots of two species of bed-straw (galium tinctorium, and boreale)
which they indiscriminately term _sawoyan_. The roots, after being
carefully washed are boiled gently in a clean copper kettle, and a
quantity of the juice of the moose-berry, strawberry, cranberry, or
arctic raspberry, is added together with a few red tufts of pistils of
the larch. The porcupine quills are plunged into the liquor before it
becomes quite cold, and are soon tinged of a beautiful scarlet. The
process sometimes fails, and produces only a dirty brown, a circumstance
which ought probably to be ascribed to the use of an undue quantity of
acid. They dye black with an ink made of elder bark, and a little
bog-iron-ore, dried and pounded, and they have various modes of
producing yellow. The deepest colour is obtained from the dried root of
a plant, which from their description appears to be the cow-bane
(_cicuta virosa_.) An inferior colour is obtained from the bruised buds
of the Dutch myrtle, and they have discovered methods of dyeing with
various lichens.
The quadrupeds that are hunted for food in this part of the country,
are the moose and the rein-deer, the former termed by the Crees,
_mongsoa_, or _moosoa_; the latter _attekh_. The buffalo or bison,
(_moostoosh_,) the red-deer or American-stag, (_wawaskeeshoo_,) the
_apeesee-mongsoos_, or jumping deer, the _kinwaithoos_, or long-tailed
deer, and the _apistatchækoos_, a species of antelope; animals that
frequent the plains above the forks of the Saskatchawan, are not found
in the neighbourhood of Cumberland House.
Of fur-bearing animals, various kinds of foxes (_makkeeshewuc_,) are
found in the district, distinguished by the traders under the names of
_black_, _silver_, _cross_, _red_, and _blue_ foxes. The two former are
considered by the Indians to be the same kind, varying accidentally in
the colour of the pelt. The black foxes are very rare, and fetch a high
price. The cross and red foxes differ from each other only in colour,
being of the same shape and size. Their shades of colour are not
disposed in any determinate manner, some individuals approaching in that
respect very nearly to the silver fox, others exhibiting every link of
the chain down to a nearly uniform deep or orange-yellow, the
distinguishing colour of a pure red fox. It is reported both by Indians
and traders, that all the varieties have been found in the same litter.
The blue fox is seldom seen here, and is supposed to come from the
southward. The gray wolf (_mahaygan_) is common here. In the month of
March the females frequently entice the domestic dog from the forts,
although at other seasons a strong antipathy seemed to subsist between
them. Some black wolves are occasionally seen. The black and red
varieties of the American bear (_musquah_) are also found near
Cumberland House, though not frequently; a black bear often has red
cubs, and _vice versâ_. The grizzly bear, so much dreaded by the Indians
for its strength and ferocity, inhabits a track of country nearer the
Rocky Mountains. It is extraordinary that although I made inquiries
extensively amongst the Indians, I met with but one who said that he had
killed a she-bear with young in the womb.
The wolverene, in Cree _okeekoohawgees_, or _ommeethatsees_, is an
animal of great strength and cunning, and is much hated by the hunters,
on account of the mischief it does to their marten-traps. The Canadian
lynx (_peeshew_) is a timid but well-armed animal, which preys upon the
American hare. Its fur is esteemed. The marten (_wapeestan_,) is one of
the most common furred animals in the country. The fisher,
notwithstanding its name, is an inhabitant of the land, living like the
common marten principally on mice. It is the _otchoek_ of the Crees,
and the _pekan_ of the Canadians. The mink, (_atjackash_,) has been
often confounded by writers with the fisher. It is a much smaller
animal, inhabits the banks of rivers, and swims well; its prey is fish.
The otter, (_neekeek_,) is larger than the English species, and produces
a much more valuable fur.
The musk rat (_watsuss_, or _musquash_,) is very abundant in all the
small grassy lakes. They build small conical houses with a mixture of
hay and earth; those which build early raising their houses on the mud
of the marshes, and those which build later in the season founding their
habitations upon the surface of the ice itself. The house covers a hole
in the ice, which permits them to go into the water in search of the
roots on which they feed. In severe winters when the small lakes are
frozen to the bottom, and these animals cannot procure their usual food,
they prey upon each other. In this way great numbers are destroyed.
The beaver (_ammisk_) furnish the staple fur of the country. Many
surprising stories have been told of the sagacity with which this animal
suits the form of its habitation, retreats, and dam, to local
circumstances; and I compared the account of its manners, given by
Cuvier, in his _Régne Animal_, with the reports of the Indians, and
found them to agree exactly. They have been often seen in the act of
constructing their houses in the moon-light nights, and the observers
agree, that the stones, wood, or other materials, are carried in their
teeth, and generally leaning against the shoulder. When they have placed
it to their mind, they turn round and give it a smart blow with their
flat tail. In the act of diving they give a similar stroke to the
surface of the water. They keep their provision of wood under water in
front of the house. Their favourite food is the bark of the aspen,
birch, and willow; they also eat the alder, but seldom touch any of the
pine tribe unless from necessity; they are fond of the large roots of
the _nuphar lutea_, and grow fat upon it, but it gives their flesh a
strong rancid taste. In the season of love their call resembles a groan,
that of the male being the hoarsest, but the voice of the young is
exactly like the cry of a child. They are very playful, as the following
anecdote will shew:--One day a gentleman, long resident in this country,
espied five young beavers sporting in the water, leaping upon the trunk
of a tree, pushing one another off, and playing a thousand interesting
tricks. He approached softly under cover of the bushes, and prepared to
fire on the unsuspecting creatures, but a nearer approach discovered to
him such a similitude betwixt their gestures and the infantile caresses
of his own children, that he threw aside his gun. This gentleman's
feelings are to be envied, but few traders in fur would have acted so
feelingly. The musk-rat frequently inhabits the same lodge with the
beaver, and the otter also thrusts himself in occasionally; the latter,
however, is not always a civil guest, as he sometimes devours his host.
These are the animals most interesting in an economical point of
view. The American hare, and several kinds of grouse and ptarmigan,
also contribute towards the support of the natives; and the geese,
in their periodical flights in the spring and autumn, likewise prove
a valuable resource both to the Indians and white residents; but the
principal article of food, after the moose-deer, is fish; indeed, it
forms almost the sole support of the traders at some of the posts.
The most esteemed fish is the Coregonus albus, the _attihhawmeg_ of
the Crees, and the _white-fish_ of the Americans. Its usual weight
is between three and four pounds, but it has been known to reach
sixteen or eighteen pounds. Three fish of the ordinary size is the
daily allowance to each man at the fort, and is considered as
equivalent to two geese, or eight pounds of solid moose-meat. The
fishery for the attihhawmeg lasts the whole year, but is most
productive in the spawning season, from the middle of September to
the middle of October. The _ottonneebees_, (Coregonus Artedi,)
closely resembles the last. Three species of carp, (Catastomus
Hudsonius, C. Forsterianus, and C. Lesueurii,) are also found
abundantly in all the lakes, their Cree names are _namaypeeth_,
_meethquawmaypeeth_, and _wapawhawkeeshew_. The _occow_, or river
perch, termed also horn-fish, piccarel, or doré, is common, but is
not so much esteemed as the attihhawmeg. It attains the length of
twenty inches in these lakes. The methy is another common fish; it
is the _gadus lota_, or burbot, of Europe. Its length is about two
feet, its gullet is capacious, and it preys upon fish large enough
to distend its body to nearly twice its proper size. It is never
eaten, not even by the dogs unless through necessity, but its liver
and roe are considered as delicacies.
The pike is also plentiful, and being readily caught in the winter-time
with the hook, is so much prized on that account by the natives, as to
receive from them the name of _eithinyoo-cannooshoeoo_, or Indian
fish. The common trout, or _nammoecous_, grows here to an enormous
size, being caught in particular lakes, weighing upwards of sixty
pounds; thirty pounds is no uncommon size at Beaver Lake, from whence
Cumberland House is supplied. The Hioden clodalis, _oweepeetcheesees_,
or gold-eye is a beautiful small fish, which resembles the trout, in its
habits.
One of the largest fish is the _mathemegh_, catfish, or _barbue_. It
belongs to the genus _silurus_. It is rare but is highly prized as food.
The sturgeon (Accipenser ruthenus) is also taken in the Saskatchawan,
and lakes communicating with it, and furnishes an excellent, but rather
rich, article of food.