THE LORDS OF THE LAKES AND FORESTS.--II.
Harmon and his book--An honest man--"Straight as an
arrow"--New views--An uncouth giant--"Gaelic, English, French, and
Indian oaths"--McDonnell, "Le Prêtre"--St. Andrew's Day--"Fathoms
of tobacco"--Down the Assiniboine--An entertaining journal--A good
editor--A too frank trader--"Gun fired ten yards away"--Herds of
buffalo--Packs and pemmican--"The fourth Gospel"--Drowning of
Henry--"The weather cleared up"--Lost for forty days--"Cheepe,"
the corpse--Larocque and the Mandans--McKenzie and his half-breed
children.
A GOOD TRADER AND A GOOD BOOK.
To those interested in the period we are describing there is not a more
attractive character than Daniel Williams Harmon, a native of Vermont,
who entered the North-West Company's service in the year 1800, at the
age of 22. After a number of years spent in the far West, he brought
with him on a visit to New England the journal of his adventures, and
this was edited and published by a Puritan minister, Daniel Haskel, of
Andover, Massachusetts. Harmon and the book are both somewhat striking,
though possibly neither would draw forth universal admiration. The
youngest of his daughters was well known as a prominent citizen of
Ottawa, and had a marked reverence for the memory of her father.
[Illustration: DANIEL WILLIAM HARMON, ESQ.]
Leaving Lachine in the service of McTavish, Frobisher & Co., the young
fur trader followed the usual route up the Ottawa and reached in due
course Grand Portage, which he called "the general rendezvous for the
fur traders." He thus describes the fort: "It is twenty-four rods by
thirty, is built on the margin of the Bay, at the foot of a hill or
mountain of considerable height. Within the fort there is a considerable
number of dwelling-houses, shops, and stores; the houses are surrounded
by palisades, which are about eighteen inches in diameter. The other
fort, which stands about 200 rods from this, belongs to the X Y Company.
It is only three years since they made an establishment here, and as yet
they have had but little success." Harmon was appointed to follow John
McDonald, of Garth, to the Upper Saskatchewan. On the way out, however,
Harmon was ordered to the Swan River district. Here he remained for four
years taking a lively interest in all the parts of a trader's life. He
was much on the Assiniboine, and passed the sites of Brandon, Portage la
Prairie, and Winnipeg of to-day.
In October, 1805, Harmon, having gone to the Saskatchewan, took as what
was called his "country wife" a French Canadian half-breed girl, aged
fourteen. He states that it was the custom of the country for the trader
to take a wife from the natives, live with her in the country, and then,
on leaving the country, place her and her children under the care of
an honest man and give a certain amount for her support. As a matter
of fact, Harmon, years after, on leaving the country, took his native
spouse with him, and on Lake Champlain some of his younger children were
born. There were fourteen children born to him, and his North-West wife
was to her last days a handsome woman, "as straight as an arrow."
During Harmon's time Athabasca had not only the X Y Company, but also
a number of forts of the Hudson's Bay Company. Cumberland House was
the next place of residence of the fur trader, and at this point the
Hudson's Bay Company house was in charge of Peter Fidler. Harmon's
journal continues with most interesting details of the fur trade, which
have the charm of liveliness and novelty. Allusions are constantly made
to the leading traders, McDonald, Fraser, Thompson, Quesnel, Stuart,
and others known to us in our researches. In the course of time (1810)
Harmon found his way over the Rocky Mountain portage and pursued the
fur trade in McLeod Lake Fort and Stuart's Lake in New Caledonia, and
here we find a fort called, after him, Harmon's Fort. His description
of the Indians is always graphic, giving many striking customs of the
aborigines. About the end of 1813 Harmon's journal is taken up with
serious religious reflections. He had been troubled with doubts as to
the reality of Christianity. But after reading the Scriptures and such
books as he could obtain, he tells us that a new view of things was his,
and that his future life became more consistent and useful. He records
us a series of the resolutions which he adopted, and they certainly
indicate a high ideal on his part.
In 1816 he had really become habituated to the upper country. He gives
us a glimpse of his family:--
"I now pass a short time every day, very pleasantly, in teaching my
little daughter Polly to read and spell words in the English language,
in which she makes good progress, though she knows not the meaning
of one of them. In conversing with my children I use entirely the
Cree Indian language; with their mother I more frequently employ the
French. Her native tongue, however, is more familiar to her, which
is the reason why our children have been taught to speak that in
preference to the French language." In his journal, which at times
fully shows his introspections, he gives an account of the struggle in
his own mind about leaving his wife in the country, as was the custom
of too many of the clerks and partners. He had instructed her in the
principles of Christianity, and by these principles he was bound to her
for life. After eight and a half years spent on the west side of the
Rocky Mountains, Harmon arrived at Fort William, 1819, having made a
journey of three thousand miles from his far-away post in New Caledonia.
Montreal was soon after reached, and the Journal comes to a close.
A BUSY BOURGEOIS.
We have seen the energy and ability displayed by John McDonald, of
Garth, known as "Le Bras Croch." Another trader, John McDonald, is
described by Ross Cox, who spent his life largely in the Rocky Mountain
region. He was known as McDonald Grand. "He was 6 ft. 4 in. in height,
with broad shoulders, large bushy whiskers, and red hair, which he
allowed to grow for years without the use of scissors, and which
sometimes, falling over his face and shoulders, gave to his countenance
a wild and uncouth appearance." He had a most uncontrollable temper, and
in his rage would indulge in a wild medley of Gaelic, English, French,
and Indian oaths.
But a third John McDonnell was found among the fur traders. He was a
brother of Miles McDonnell, Lord Selkirk's first governor of the Red
River Settlement. John McDonnell was a rigid Roman Catholic, and was
known as "Le Prêtre" ("The Priest"), from the fact that on the voyage
through the fur country he always insisted on observing the Church
fasts along with his French Canadian employés. McDonnell, on leaving
the service of the North-West Company, retired to Point Fortune, on the
Ottawa, and there engaged in trade.
We have his journal for the years 1793-5, and it is an excellent example
of what a typical fur trader's journal would be. It is minute, accurate,
and very interesting. During this period he spent his time chiefly in
trading up and down the Assiniboine and Red Rivers. A few extracts will
show the interesting nature of his journal entries:--
_Fort Espérance, Oct. 18th, 1793._--Neil McKay set out to build and
winter at the Forks of the river (junction of the Qu'Appelle and
Assiniboine), alongside of Mr. Peter Grant, who has made his pitch about
seven leagues from here. Mr. N. McKay's effects were carried in two
boats, managed by five men each. Mr. C. Grant set out for his quarters
of River Tremblant, about thirty leagues from here. The dogs made a
woeful howling at all the departures.
_Oct. 19th._--Seventeen warriors came from the banks of the Missouri for
tobacco. They slept ten nights on their way, and are emissaries from a
party of Assiniboines who went to war upon the Sioux.
_Oct. 20th._--The warriors traded a few skins brought upon their backs
and went off ill pleased with their reception. After dark, the dogs kept
up a constant barking, which induced a belief that some of the warriors
were lurking about the fort for an opportunity to steal. I took a sword
and pistol and went to sleep in the store. Nothing took place.
_Oct. 31st._--Two of Mr. N. McKay's men came from the forts, supposing
this to be All Saints' Day. Raised a flag-staff poplar, fifty feet above
the ground.
_Nov. 23rd._--The men were in chase of a white buffalo all day, but
could not get within shot of him. Faignant killed two buffalo cows. A
mild day.
_Nov. 30th._--St. Andrew's Day. Hoisted the flag in honour of the
titulary saint of Scotland. A beautiful day. Expected Messrs. Peter
Grant and Neil McKay to dinner. They sent excuse by Bonneau.
_Dec. 2nd._--Sent Mr. Peter Grant a Town and Country magazine of 1790.
Poitras' wife made me nine pairs of shoes (moccasins).
_Jan. 1st, 1794._--Mr. Grant gave the men two gallons of rum and three
fathoms of tobacco, by the way of New Year's gift.
(It is interesting to follow McDonnell on one of his journeys down the
Assiniboine.)
_May 1st._--Sent off the canoes early in the morning. Mr. Grant and I
set out about seven. Slept at the Forks of River Qu'Appelle.
_May 4th._--Killed four buffalo cows and two calves and camped below the
Fort of Mountain à La Bosse (near Virden), about two leagues.
_May 5th._--Arrived at Ange's River La Souris Fort (below Brandon).
_May 17th._--Passed Fort Des Trembles and Portage La Prairie.
_May 20th._--Arrived at the Forks Red River (present city of Winnipeg)
about noon.
_May 24th._--Arrived at the Lake (Winnipeg) at 10 a.m.
_May 27th._--Arrived at the Sieur's Fort (Fort Alexander at the mouth of
Winnipeg River).
McDonnell also gives in his journal a number of particulars about the
Cree and Assiniboine Indians, describing their religion, marriages,
dress, dances, and mourning. The reader is struck with the difference
in the recital by different traders of the lives lived by them. The
literary faculty is much more developed in some cases than in others,
and John McDonnell was evidently an observing and quick-witted man. He
belonged to a U. E. Loyalist Scottish family that took a good position
in the affairs of early Canada.
A FULL AND INTERESTING AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
That the first trader of the North-West whom we have described,
Alexander Henry, should have been followed in the North-West fur trade
by his nephew, Alexander Henry, Jr., is in itself a thing of interest;
but that the younger Henry should have left us a most voluminous and
entertaining journal is a much greater matter.
The copy of this journal is in the Parliamentary Library at Ottawa,
and forms two large bound folio volumes of 1,642 pages. It is not
the original, but is a well-approved copy made in 1824 by George
Coventry, of Montreal. For many years this manuscript has been in the
Parliamentary Library, and extracts have been made and printed. Recently
an American writer, Dr. Coues, who has done good service in editing the
notable work of Lewis and Clark, and also that of Zebulon S. Pike, has
published a digest of Henry's journal and added to it very extensive
notes of great value. The greatest praise is due to this author for the
skill with which he has edited the journal, and all students of the
period are indebted to one so well fitted to accomplish the task.
The journal opens, in 1799, with Henry on the waters of a tributary
of Lake Manitoba, he having arrived from Grand Portage by the usual
fur traders' route. In this place he built a trading house and spent
his first winter. In the following year the trader is found on the Red
River very near the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude, and is
engaged in establishing a post at the mouth of the Pembina River, a
tributary of Red River. At this post Henry remains until 1808, going
hither and thither in trading expeditions, establishing new outposts,
counter-working the rival traders of the X Y Company, and paying his
visits from time to time to Grand Portage.
Henry's entries are made with singular clearness and realistic force.
He recites with the utmost frankness the details of drunken debauchery
among the Indians, the plots of one company to outdo the other in
trading with the Indians, and the tricks of trade so common at this
period in the fur trade.
A few examples of his graphic descriptions may be given. "At ten
o'clock I came to the point of wood in which the fort was built, and
just as I entered the gate at a gallop, to take the road that led to the
gate, a gun was fired about ten yards from me, apparently by a person
who lay in the long grass. My horse was startled and jumped on one side,
snorting and prancing; but I kept my seat, calling out, 'Who is there?'
No answer was returned. I instantly took my gun from my belt, and cocked
her to fire, forgetting she was not loaded and I had no ammunition. I
could still see the person running in the grass, and was disappointed
in not having a shot at him. I again called out, 'Who is there?' 'C'est
moi, bourgeois.' It proved to be one of my men, Charbonneau. I was vexed
with him for causing me such consternation."
RED RIVER.
"_February 28th, 1801._--Wolves and crows are very numerous, feeding on
the buffalo carcasses that lie in every direction. I shot two buffalo
cows, a calf, and two bulls, and got home after dark. I was choking
with thirst, having chased the buffalo on snow-shoes in the heat of the
day, when the snow so adheres that one is scarcely able to raise the
feet. A draught of water was the sweetest beverage I ever tasted. An
Indian brought in a calf of this year, which he found dead. It was well
grown, and must have perished last night in the snow. This was thought
extraordinary; they say it denotes an early spring.
"_March 5th._--The buffalo have for some time been wandering in every
direction. My men have raised and put their traps in order for the
spring hunt, as the raccoons begin to come out of their winter quarters
in the daytime, though they retire to the hollow trees at night. On the
8th it rained for four hours; fresh meat thawed. On the 9th we saw the
first spring bird. Bald eagles we have seen the whole winter, but now
they are numerous, feeding on the buffalo carcasses."
During the Red River period Henry made a notable journey in 1806 across
the plains to the Mandans on the Missouri. Two years afterward he bids
farewell to Red River and the Assiniboine, and goes to carry on trade in
the Saskatchewan. While on the Saskatchewan, which was for three years,
he was in charge of important forts, viz. Fort Vermilion, Terre Blanche,
and the Rocky Mountain House. His energy and acquaintance with the
prairie were well shown in his exploration of this great region, and the
long journeys willingly undertaken by him. His account of the western
prairies, especially of the Assiniboines, is complete and trustworthy.
In fact, he rejoices in supplying us with the details of their lives and
manners which we might well be spared.
A gap of two years from 1811 is found in Henry's journal, but it is
resumed in 1813, the year in which he crosses the Rocky Mountains and
is found in the party sent by the North-West Company to check the
encroachments on the Columbia of the Astor Fur Company. His account
of the voyage on the Pacific is regarded as valuable, and Dr. Coues
says somewhat quaintly: "His work is so important a concordance that
if Franchère, Cox, and Ross be regarded as the synoptical writers of
Astoria, then Henry furnishes the fourth Gospel."
After the surrender of Astoria to the North-West Company and its
occupation by the British, some of the Nor'-Westers returned. John
McDonald, of Garth, as we have seen, crossed the mountains. In his
journal occurs a significant entry: "Mr. la Rogue brings the melancholy
intelligence that Messrs. D. McTavish, Alexander Henry, and five sailors
were drowned on May 22nd last, in going out in a boat from Fort George
to the vessel called the _Isaac Todd_." Ross Cox gives a circumstantial
account of this sad accident, though, strange to say, he does not
mention the name of Henry, while giving that of D. McTavish.
It is somewhat startling to us to find that Henry continued his journal
up to the very day before his death, his last sentence being, "The
weather cleared up."
A TRADER LOST FOR FORTY DAYS.
Lying before the writer is the copy of a letter of John Pritchard, of
the X Y Company, written in 1805, giving an account of a forty days'
adventure of a most thrilling kind. Pritchard was in charge of the X Y
Fort at the mouth of the Souris River on the Assiniboine. He had on June
10th gone with one of the clerks up the River Assiniboine, intending
to reach Qu'Appelle Fort, a distance of 120 miles. All went well till
Montagne à la Bosse was reached, where there was a trading house. Going
westward, the two traders were separated in looking for the horses.
Pritchard lit fires for two days, but could attract no attention. Then
he realized that he was lost. Misled by the belts of timber along the
different streams, he went along the Pipestone, thinking he was going
towards the Assiniboine. In this he was mistaken. Painfully he crept
along the river, his strength having nearly gone. Living on frogs,
two hawks, and a few other birds, he says at the end of ten days, "I
perceived my body completely wasted. Nothing was left me but my bones,
covered with a skin thinner than paper. I was perfectly naked, my
clothes having been worn in making shoes, with which I protected my
bruised and bleeding feet."
Some days after, Pritchard found a nest of small eggs and lived on
them. He says, "How mortifying to me to see the buffalo quenching their
thirst in every lake near to which I slept, and geese and swans in
abundance, whilst I was dying of hunger in this land of plenty, for want
of wherewith to kill." After trying to make a hook and line to fish, and
failing; after being tempted to lie down and give up life, he caught a
hen grouse, which greatly strengthened him, as he cooked and ate it. He
had now crossed the Souris River, thinking it to be the Assiniboine, and
came upon a great plain where the prairie turnip (Psoralea esculenta)
grew plentifully. Pushing southward, being sustained by the bulbs of
this "pomme blanche," as it is called by the French voyageurs, Pritchard
came at length to Whitewater Lake, near Turtle Mountain, and here found
two vacant wintering houses of the fur traders. He now was able to
identify his locality and to estimate that he was sixty miles directly
south of his trading post. His feet, pierced by the spear grass (Stipa
spartea), were now in a dreadful condition. He found a pair of old shoes
in the vacant fort and several pairs of socks.
He determined to move northward to his fort. Soon he was met by a band
of Indians, who were alarmed at his worn appearance. The natives took
good care of him and carried him, at times unconscious, to his fort,
which he reached after an absence of forty days. He says, "Picture to
yourself a man whose bones are scraped, not an atom of flesh remaining,
then over these bones a loose skin, fine as the bladder of an animal; a
beard of forty days' growth, his hair full of filth and scabs. You will
then have some idea of what I was." The Hudson's Bay Company officer,
McKay, from the neighbouring fort, was exceedingly kind and supplied his
every want.
The Cree Indians after this adventure called Pritchard the Manitou
or Great Spirit. The Assiniboines called him Cheepe--or the corpse,
referring to his wan appearance. For weeks after his return the
miserable trader was unable to move about, but in time recovered, and
lived to a good old age on the banks of the Red River.
To the last day of his life he referred to his great deliverance, and
was thoroughly of the opinion that his preservation was miraculous.
ASSINIBOINE TO MISSOURI.
We are fortunate in having two very good journals of journeys made in
the early years of the century from the forts at the junction of the
Souris and Assiniboine River to the Missouri River. As was described in
the case of David Thompson, this was a long and tedious journey, and yet
it was at one time within the plans of the North-West Company to carry
their trade thither. Few of the French Canadian gentlemen entered into
the North-West Company. One of these, who became noted as an Indian
trader, was François Antoine Larocque, brother-in-law of Quesnel, the
companion of Simon Fraser. Of the same rank as himself, and associated
with him, was a trader, Charles McKenzie, who entered the North-West
Company as a clerk in 1803.
The expedition to the Mandans under these gentlemen, left Fort
Assiniboine on November 11th, 1804, a party in all of seven, and
provided with horses, five of which carried merchandise for trade. After
the usual incidents of this trying journey, the Missouri was reached.
The notable event of this journey was the meeting with the American
expedition of Lewis and Clark, then on its way to cross overland to
the Pacific Ocean. Larocque in his journal gives information about this
expedition. Leaving Philadelphia in 1803, the expedition, consisting of
upward of forty men, had taken till October to reach the Mandans on the
Missouri. The purposes of the expedition of Lewis and Clark were:--
(1) To explore the territory towards the Pacific and settle the boundary
line between the British and American territories.
(2) To quiet the Indians of the Missouri by conference and the
bestowment of gifts.
Larocque was somewhat annoyed by the message given him by Lewis and
Clark, that no flags or medals could be given by the North-West Company
to the Indians in the Missouri, inasmuch as they were American Indians.
Larocque had some amusement at the continual announcement by these
leaders that the Indians would be protected so long as they should
behave as dutiful children to the great father, the President of the
United States. In the spring the party returned, after wintering on
the Missouri. In 1805, during the summer, another expedition went
to the Missouri; in 1806, Charles McKenzie went in February to the
Mandans, and, returning, made a second journey in the same year to the
Missouri. The account given by McKenzie of the journeys of 1804-6 is an
exceedingly well written one, for this leader was fond of study, and, we
are told, delighted especially in the history of his native land, the
highlands of Scotland.
Charles McKenzie had married an Indian woman, and became thoroughly
identified with the North-West. He was fond of his native children, and
stood up for their recognition on the same plane as the white children.
After the union of the North-West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company,
the English influence largely prevailed. Thinking that his son, who was
well educated at the Red River Seminary, was not sufficiently recognized
by the Company, McKenzie wrote bitterly, "It appears the present concern
has stamped the Cain mark upon all born in this country. Neither
education nor abilities serve them. The Honourable Company are unwilling
to take natives, even as apprenticed clerks, and the favoured few they
do take can never aspire to a higher status, be their education and
capacity what they may."
McKenzie continued the fur trade until 1846, when he retired and settled
on the Red River. His son, Hector McKenzie, now dead, was well known on
the Red River, and accompanied one of the explorations to the far north.
Larocque did not continue long in the fur trade, but went to Montreal
and embarked in business, in which he was very unsuccessful. He spent
the last years of his life in retirement and close study, and died in
the Grey nunnery in a Lower Canadian parish.