THE PRAIRIES: SLEDGE, KEEL, WHEEL, CAYUSE, CHASE.
A picturesque life--The prairie hunters and traders--Gaily
caparisoned dog trains--The great winter packets--Joy in the
lonely forts--The summer trade--The York boat brigade--Expert
voyageurs--The famous Red River cart--Shagganappe ponies--The
screeching train--Tripping--The western cayuse--The great buffalo
hunt--Warden of the plains--Pemmican and fat--the return in triumph.
The great prairies of Rupert's Land and their intersecting rivers
afforded the means for the unique and picturesque life of the prairie
hunters and traders. The frozen, snowy plains and lakes were crossed in
winter by the serviceable sledge drawn by Eskimo dogs, familiarly called
"Eskies" or "Huskies." When summer had come, the lakes and rivers of the
prairies, formerly skimmed by canoes, during the fifty years from the
union of the Companies till the transfer of Rupert's Land to Canada,
were for freight and even rapid transit crossed and followed by York and
other boats. The transport of furs and other freight across the prairies
was accomplished by the use of carts--entirely of wood--drawn by Indian
ponies, or by oxen in harness, while the most picturesque feature of the
prairie life of Red River was the departure of the brigade of carts with
the hunters and their families on a great expedition for the exciting
chase of the buffalo. These salient points of the prairie life of the
last half-century of fur-trading life we may with profit depict.
SLEDGE AND PACKET.
Under the régime established by Governor Simpson, the communication with
the interior was reduced to a system. The great winter event at Red
River was the leaving of the North-West packet about December 10th. By
this agency every post in the northern department was reached. Sledges
and snow-shoes were the means by which this was accomplished. The sledge
or toboggan was drawn by three or four "Huskies," gaily comparisoned;
and with these neatly harnessed dogs covered with bells, the traveller
or the load of valuables was hurried across the pathless snowy wastes
of the plains or over the ice of the frozen lakes and rivers. The dogs
carried their freight of fish on which they lived, each being fed only
at the close of his day's work, and his allowance one fish.
The winter packet was almost entirely confined to the transport of
letters and a few newspapers. During Sir George Simpson's time an annual
file of the _Montreal Gazette_ was sent to each post, and to some of
the larger places came a year's file of the London _Times_. A box was
fastened on the back part of the sledge, and this was packed with the
important missives so prized when the journey was ended.
Going at the rate of forty or more miles a day with the precious
freight, the party with their sledges camped in the shelter of a
clump of trees or bushes, and built their camp fire; then each in his
blankets, often joined by the favourite dog as a companion for heat,
sought rest on the couch of spruce or willow boughs for the night with
the thermometer often at 30 deg. or 40 deg. below zero F.
The winter packet ran from Fort Garry to Norway House, a distance of
350 miles. At this point the packet was all rearranged, a part of the
freight being carried eastward to Hudson Bay, the other portion up the
Saskatchewan to the western and northern forts. The party which had
taken the packet to Norway House, at that point received the packages
from Hudson Bay and with them returned to Fort Garry. The western mail
from Norway House was taken by another sledge party up the Saskatchewan
River, and leaving parcels at posts along the route, reached its
rendezvous at Carlton House. The return party from that point received
the mail from the North, and hastened to Fort Garry by way of Swan River
district, distributing its treasures to the posts it passed and reaching
Fort Garry usually about the end of February.
At Carlton a party of runners from Edmonton and the Upper Saskatchewan
made rendezvous, deposited their packages, received the outgoing mail,
and returned to their homes. Some of the matter collected from the Upper
Saskatchewan and that brought, as we have seen, by the inland packet
from Fort Garry was taken by a new set of runners to Mackenzie River,
and Athabasca. Thus at Carlton there met three parties, viz. from Fort
Garry, Edmonton, and Athabasca. Each brought a packet and received
another back in return. The return packet from Carlton to Fort Garry,
arriving in February, took up the accumulated material, went with it
to Norway House, the place whence they had started in December, thus
carrying the "Red River spring packet," and at Norway House it was met
by another express, known as the "York Factory spring packet," which
had just arrived. The runners on these various packets underwent great
exposure, but they were fleet and athletic and knew how to act to the
best advantage in storm and danger. They added a picturesque interest to
the lonely life of the ice-bound post as they arrived at it, delivered
their message, and again departed.
KEEL AND CANOE.
The transition from winter to spring is a very rapid one on the plains
of Rupert's Land. The ice upon the rivers and lakes becomes honey-combed
and disappears very soon. The rebound from the icy torpor of winter
to the active life of the season that combines spring and summer is
marvellous. No sooner were the waterways open in the fur-trading days
than freight was hurried from one part of the country to another by
means of inland or York boats.
These boats, it will be remembered, were introduced by Governor Simpson,
who found them more safe and economical than the canoe generally in use
before his time.
Each of these boats could carry three or four tons of freight, and was
manned by nine men, one of them being steersman, the remainder, men for
the oar. Four to eight of these craft made up a brigade, and the skill
and rapidity with which these boats could be loaded or unloaded, carried
past a portage or décharge, guided through rapids or over considerable
stretches of the lakes, was the pride of their Indian or half-breed
tripsmen, as they were called, or the admiration of the officers dashing
past them in their speedy canoes.
The route from York Factory to Fort Garry being a long and continuous
waterway, was a favourite course for the York boat brigade. Many of the
settlers of the Red River settlement became well-to-do by commanding
brigades of boats and carrying freight for the Company. In the earlier
days of Governor Simpson the great part of the furs from the interior
were carried to Fort Garry or the Grand Portage, at the mouth of the
Saskatchewan, and thence past Norway House to Hudson Bay. From York
Factory a load of general merchandise was brought back, which had been
cargo in the Company's ship from the Thames to York. Lake Winnipeg is
generally clear of ice early in June, and the first brigade would then
start with its seven or eight boats laden to the gunwales with furs; a
week after, the second brigade was under way, and thus, at intervals to
keep clear of each other in crossing the portages, the catch of the past
season was carried out. The return with full supplies for the settlers
was earnestly looked for, and the voyage both ways, including stoppages,
took some nine weeks.
Far up into the interior the goods in bales were taken. One of the best
known routes was that of what was called, "The Portage Brigade." This
ran from Lake Winnipeg up the Saskatchewan northward, past Cumberland
House and Ile à la Crosse to Methy Portage, otherwise known as Portage
la Loche, where the waters part, on one side going to Hudson's Bay,
on the other flowing to the Arctic Sea. The trip made from Fort Garry
to Portage la Loche and return occupied about four months. At Portage
la Loche the brigade from the Mackenzie River arrived in time to meet
that from the south, and was itself soon in motion, carrying its year's
supply of trading articles for the Far North, not even leaving out
Peel's River and the Yukon.
The frequent transhipments required in these long and dangerous routes
led to the secure packing of bales, of about one hundred pounds each,
each of them being called an "inland piece." Seventy-five made up the
cargo of a York boat. The skill with which these boats could be laden
was surprising. A good half-breed crew of nine men was able to load a
boat and pack the pieces securely in five minutes.
The boat's crew was under the command of the steersman, who sat on a
raised platform in the stern of the boat. At the portages it was the
part of the steersman to raise each piece from the ground and place
two of them on the back of each tripsman, to be held in place by the
"portage strap" on the forehead. It will be seen that the position
of the captain was no sinecure. One of the eight tripsmen was known
as "bowman." In running rapids he stood at the bow, and with a light
pole directed the boat, giving information by word and sign to the
steersman. The position of less responsibility though great toil was
that of the "middlemen," or rowers. When a breeze blew, a sail hoisted
in the boat lightened their labours. The captain or steersman of each
boat was responsible to the "guide," who, as a commander of the brigade,
was a man of much experience, and consequently held a position of some
importance. Such were the means of transport over the vast water system
of Rupert's Land up to the year 1869, although some years before that
time transport by land to St. Paul in Minnesota had reached large
proportions. Since the date named, railway and steamboat have directed
trade into new channels, for even Mackenzie River now has a Hudson's Bay
Company steamboat.
CART AND CAYUSE.
The lakes and rivers were not sufficient to carry on the trade of the
country. Accordingly, land transport became a necessity. If the Ojibway
Indians found the birch bark canoe and the snow-shoe so useful that they
assigned their origin to the Manitou, then certainly it was a happy
thought when the famous Red River cart was similarly evolved. These
two-wheeled vehicles are entirely of wood, without any iron whatever.
The wheels are large, being five feet in diameter, and are three inches
thick. The felloes are fastened to one another by tongues of wood, and
pressure in revolving keeps them from falling apart. The hubs are thick
and very strong. The axles are wood alone, and even the lynch pins are
wooden. A light box frame, tightened by wooden pegs, is fastened by the
same agency and poised upon the axle. The price of a cart in Red River
of old was two pounds.
The harness for the horse which drew the cart was made of roughly-tanned
ox hide, which was locally known as "shagganappe." The name
"shagganappe" has in later years been transferred to the small-sized
horse used, which is thus called a "shagganappe pony."
The carts were drawn by single ponies, or in some cases by stalwart
oxen. These oxen were harnessed and wore a collar, not the barbarous
yoke which the ox has borne from time immemorial. The ox in harness has
a swing of majesty as he goes upon his journey. The Indian pony, with
a load of four or five hundred pounds in a cart behind him, will go at
a measured jog-trot fifty or sixty miles a day. Heavy freighting carts
made a journey of about twenty miles a day, the load being about eight
hundred pounds.
A train of carts of great length was sometimes made to go upon some
long expedition, or for protection from the thievish or hostile bands
of Indians. A brigade consisted of ten carts, under the charge of three
men. Five or six more brigades were joined in one train, and this was
placed under the charge of a guide, who was vested with much authority.
He rode on horseback forward, marshalling his forces, including the
management of the spare horses or oxen, which often amounted to twenty
per cent. of the number of those drawing the carts. The stopping-places,
chosen for good grass and a plentiful supply of water, the time
of halting, the management of brigades, and all the details of a
considerable camp were under the care of this officer-in-chief.
One of the most notable cart trails and freighting roads on the prairies
was that from Fort Garry to St. Paul, Minnesota. This was an excellent
road, on the west side of the Red River, through Dakota territory
for some two hundred miles, and then, by crossing the Red River into
Minnesota, the road led for two hundred and fifty miles down to St.
Paul. The writer, who came shortly after the close of the fifty years
we are describing, can testify to the excellence of this road over the
level prairies. At the period when the Sioux Indians were in revolt and
the massacre of the whites took place in 1862, this route was dangerous,
and the road, though not so smooth and not so dry, was followed on the
east side of the Red River.
Every season about three hundred carts, employing one hundred men,
departed from Fort Garry to go upon the "tip," as it was called, to
St. Paul, or in later times to St. Cloud, when the railway had reached
that place. The visit of this band coming from the north, with their
wooden carts, "shagganappe" ponies, and harnessed oxen, bringing huge
bales of precious furs, awakened great interest in St. Paul. The late
J. W. Taylor, who for about a quarter of a century held the position of
American Consul at Winnipeg, and who, on account of his interest in the
North-West prairies, bore the name of "Saskatchewan Taylor," was wont
to describe most graphically the advent, as he saw it, of this strange
expedition, coming, like a Midianitish caravan in the East, to trade at
the central mart. On Sundays they encamped near St. Paul. There was the
greatest decorum and order in camp; their religious demeanour, their
honest and well-to-do appearance, and their peaceful disposition were
an oasis in the desert of the wild and reckless inhabitants of early
Minnesota.
Another notable route for carts was that westward from Fort Garry by way
of Fort Ellice to Carlton House, a distance of some five hundred miles.
It will be remembered that it was by this route that Governor Simpson in
early days, Palliser, Milton, and Cheadle found their way to the West.
In later days the route was extended to Edmonton House, a thousand miles
in all. It was a whole summer's work to make the trip to Edmonton and
return.
On the Hudson's Bay Company reserve of five hundred acres around Fort
Garry was a wide camping-ground for the "trippers" and traders. Day
after day was fixed for the departure, but still the traders lingered.
After much leave-taking, the great train started. It was a sight to be
remembered. The gaily-caparisoned horses, the hasty farewells, the hurry
of women and children, the multitude of dogs, the balky horses, the
subduing and harnessing and attaching of the restless ponies, all made
it a picturesque day.
The train in motion appealed not only to the eye, but to the ear as
well, the wooden axles creaked, and the creaking of a train with every
cart contributing its dismal share, could be heard more than a mile
away. In the Far-West the early traders used the cayuse, or Indian
pony, and "travoie," for transporting burdens long distances. The
"travoie" consisted of two stout poles fastened together over the back
of the horse, and dragging their lower ends upon the ground. Great
loads--almost inconceivable, indeed--were thus carried across the
pathless prairies. The Red River cart and the Indian cayuse were the
product of the needs of the prairies.
PLAIN HUNTERS AND THE BUFFALO.
A generation had passed since the founding of the Selkirk settlement,
and the little handful of Scottish settlers had become a community of
five thousand. This growth had not been brought about by immigration,
nor by natural increase, but by what may be called a process of
accretion. Throughout the whole of Rupert's Land and adjoining
territories the employés of the Company, whether from Lower Canada or
from the Orkney Islands, as well as the clerks and officers of the
country, had intermarried with the Indian women of the tribes.
When the trader or Company's servant had gained a competence suited to
his ideas, he thought it right to retire from the active fur trade and
float down the rivers to the settlement, which the first Governor of
Manitoba called the "Paradise of Red River." Here the hunter or officer
procured a strip of land from the Company, on it erected a house for
the shelter of his "dusky race," and engaged in agriculture, though
his former life largely unfitted him for this occupation. In this way,
four-fifths of the population of the settlement were half-breeds, with
their own traditions, sensibilities, and prejudices--the one part of
them speaking French with a dash of Cree mixed with it, the other
English which, too, had the form of a Red River patois.
We have seen that tripping and hunting gave a livelihood to some, if not
the great majority, but these occupations unfitted men for following the
plough. In addition there was no market for produce, so that agriculture
did not in general thrive. One of the favourite features of Red River,
which fitted in thoroughly with the roving traditions of the large part
of the population, was the annual buffalo hunt, which, for those who
engaged in it, occupied a great portion of the summer.
We have the personal reminiscences of the hunt by Alexander Ross,
sometime sheriff of Assiniboia, which, as being lively and graphic, are
worthy of being reproduced.
Ross says: "Buffalo hunting here, like bear baiting in India, has become
a popular and favourite amusement among all classes; and Red River,
in consequence, has been brought into some degree of notice by the
presence of strangers from foreign countries. We are now occasionally
visited by men of science as well as men of pleasure. The war road of
the savage and the solitary haunt of the bear have of late been resorted
to by the florist, the botanist, and the geologist; nor is it uncommon
nowadays to see officers of the Guards, knights, baronets, and some of
the higher nobility of England and other countries coursing their steeds
over the boundless plains and enjoying the pleasures of the chase among
the half-breeds and savages of the country. Distinction of rank is, of
course, out of the question, and at the close of the adventurous day
all squat down in merry mood together, enjoying the social freedom of
equality round Nature's table and the novel treat of a fresh buffalo
steak served up in the style of the country, that is to say, roasted on
a forked stick before the fire; a keen appetite their only sauce, cold
water their only beverage. Looking at this assemblage through the medium
of the imagination, the mind is led back to the chivalric period of
former days, when chiefs and vassals took counsel together....
"With the earliest dawn of spring the hunters are in motion like bees,
and the colony in a state of confusion, from their going to and fro,
in order to raise the wind and prepare themselves for the fascinating
enjoyments of hunting. It is now that the Company, the farmers, the
petty traders are all beset by their incessant and irresistible
importunities. The plain mania brings everything else to a stand. One
wants a horse, another an axe, a third a cart; they want ammunition,
they want clothing, they want provisions; and though people refuse
one or two they cannot deny a whole population, for, indeed, over-much
obstinacy would not be unattended with risk. Thus the settlers are
reluctantly dragged into profligate speculation.
"The plain hunters, finding they can get whatever they want without
ready money, are led into ruinous extravagances; but the evil of the
long credit system does not end here.... So many temptations, so many
attractions are held out to the thoughtless and giddy, so fascinating is
the sweet air of freedom, that even the offspring of the Europeans, as
well as natives, are often induced to cast off their habits of industry
and leave their comfortable homes to try their fortunes in the plains.
"The practical result of all this may be stated in a few words. After
the expedition starts there is not a man-servant or maid-servant to
be found in the colony. At any season but seed-time and harvest-time,
the settlement is literally swarming with idlers; but at these urgent
periods money cannot procure them.
"The actual money value expended on one trip, estimating also their lost
time, is as follows:--
1210 carts (in 1840) £1815
620 hunters (two months) at 1_s._ a day 1860
650 women (two months) at 9_d._ 1460
360 boys and girls (two months) at 4_d._ 360
403 buffalo runners (horses) at 15_l._ 6045
655 cart horses at 8_l._ 5240
586 draught oxen at 6_l._ 3516
Guns, gunpowder, knives, axes, harness, camp equipage,
and utensils (estimate approaching) 3700
-----
Say £24,000
"From Fort Garry, June 15th, 1840, the cavalcade and followers went
crowding on to the public road, and thence, stretching from point to
point, till the third day in the evening, when they reached Pembina
(sixty miles south of Fort Garry), the great rendezvous on such
occasions. When the hunters leave the settlement it enjoys that relief
which a person feels on recovering from a long and painful sickness.
Here, on a level plain, the whole patriarchal camp squatted down like
pilgrims on a journey to the Holy Land in ancient days, only not
quite so devout, for neither scrip nor staff were consecrated for
the occasion. Here the roll was called and general muster taken, when
they numbered on this occasion 1,630 souls; and here the rules and
regulations for the journey were finally settled. The officials for the
trip were named and installed into office, and all without the aid of
writing materials.
"The camp occupied as much ground as a modern city, and was formed in
a circle. All the carts were placed side by side, the trams outward.
Within this line of circumvallation, the tents were placed in double,
treble rows, at one end, the animals at the other, in front of the
tents. This is the order in all dangerous places, but where no danger is
apprehended, the animals are kept on the outside. Thus the carts formed
a strong barrier, not only for securing the people and their animals
within, but as a place of shelter and defence against an attack of the
enemy from without.
In 1820 the number of carts assembled for the first trip was 540
" 1825 " " " " " " " " " " 680
" 1830 " " " " " " " " " " 820
" 1835 " " " " " " " " " " 970
" 1840 " " " " " " " " " " 1210
"There is another appendage belonging to the expedition, and these are
not always the least noisy, viz. the dogs or camp followers. On the
present occasion they numbered no fewer than 542. In deep snow, where
horses cannot conveniently be used, dogs are very serviceable animals to
the hunters in these parts. The half-breed, dressed in his wolf costume,
tackles two or three sturdy curs into a flat sled, throws himself on it
at full length, and gets among the buffalo unperceived. Here the bow
and arrow play their part to prevent noise. And here the skilful hunter
kills as many as he pleases, and returns to camp without disturbing the
band.
"But now to the camp again--the largest of the kind, perhaps, in the
world. The first step was to hold a council for the nomination of chiefs
or officers for conducting the expedition. Ten captains were named,
the senior on this occasion being Jean Baptiste Wilkie, an English
half-breed, brought up among the French, a man of good sound sense and
long experience, and withal a fine, bold-looking, and discreet fellow, a
second Nimrod in his way.
"Besides being captain, in common with the others, he was styled the
great war chief or head of the camp, and on all public occasions he
occupied the place of president. All articles of property found without
an owner were carried to him and he disposed of them by a crier, who
went round the camp every evening, were it only an awl. Each captain had
ten soldiers under his orders, in much the same way as policemen are
subject to the magistrate. Ten guides were likewise appointed, and here
we may remark that people in a rude state of society, unable either to
read or write, are generally partial to the number ten. Their duties
were to guide the camp each in his turn--that is day about--during
the expedition. The camp flag belongs to the guide of the day; he is
therefore standard bearer in virtue of his office.
"The hoisting of the flag every morning is the signal for raising camp.
Half an hour is the full time allowed to prepare for the march; but if
anyone is sick or their animals have strayed, notice is sent to the
guide, who halts till all is made right. From the time the flag is
hoisted, however, till the hour of camping arrives it is never taken
down. The flag taken down is a signal for encamping. While it is up the
guide is chief of the expedition. Captains are subject to him, and the
soldiers of the day are his messengers; he commands all. The moment the
flag is lowered his functions cease, and the captains' and soldiers'
duties commence. They point out the order of the camp, and every cart as
it arrives moves to its appointed place. This business usually occupies
about the same time as raising camp in the morning; for everything moves
with the regularity of clockwork.
"All being ready to leave Pembina, the captains and other chief men
hold another council and lay down the rules to be observed during the
expedition. Those made on the present occasion were:--
(1) No buffalo to be run on the Sabbath day.
(2) No party to fork off, lag behind, or go before, without permission.
(3) No person or party to run buffalo before the general order.
(4) Every captain with his men in turn to patrol the camp and keep
guard.
(5) For the first trespass against these laws, the offender to have his
saddle and bridle cut up.
(6) For the second offence the coat to be taken off the offender's back
and to be cut up.
(7) For the third offence the offender to be flogged.
(8) Any person convicted of theft, even to the value of a sinew, to be
brought to the middle of the camp, and the crier to call out his or her
name three times, adding the word 'Thief' at each time.
"On the 21st the start was made, and the picturesque line of march soon
stretched to the length of some five or six miles in the direction of
south-west towards Côte à Pique. At 2 p.m. the flag was struck, as a
signal for resting the animals. After a short interval it was hoisted
again, and in a few minutes the whole line was in motion, and continued
the route till five or six o'clock in the evening, when the flag was
hauled down as a signal to encamp for the night. Distance travelled,
twenty miles.
"The camp being formed, all the leading men, officials, and others
assembled, as the general custom is, on some rising ground or eminence
outside the ring, and there squatted themselves down, tailor-like, on
the grass in a sort of council, each having his gun, his smoking bag in
his hand, and his pipe in his mouth. In this situation the occurrences
of the day were discussed, and the line of march for the morrow agreed
upon. This little meeting was full of interest, and the fact struck me
very forcibly that there is happiness and pleasure in the society of the
most illiterate men, sympathetically if not intellectually inclined,
as well as among the learned, and I must say I found less selfishness
and more liberality among those ordinary men than I had been accustomed
to find in higher circles. Their conversation was free, practical,
and interesting, and the time passed on more agreeably than could be
expected among such people, till we touched on politics.
"Of late years the field of chase has been far from Pembina, and
the hunters do not so much as know in what direction they may find
the buffalo, as these animals frequently shift their ground. It is
a mere leap in the dark, whether at the outset the expedition takes
the right or the wrong road; and their luck in the chase, of course,
depends materially on the choice they make. The year of our narrative
they travelled a south-west or middle course, being the one generally
preferred, since it leads past most of the rivers near their sources,
where they are easily crossed. The only inconvenience attending this
choice is the scarcity of wood, which in a warm season is but a
secondary consideration.
"Not to dwell on the ordinary routine of each day's journey, it was the
ninth day from Pembina before we reached the Cheyenne River, distant
only about 150 miles, and as yet we had not seen a single band of
buffalo. On July 3rd, our nineteenth day from the settlement, and at a
distance of little more than 250 miles, we came in sight of our destined
hunting grounds, and on the day following we had our first buffalo
race. Our array in the field must have been a grand and imposing one to
those who had never seen the like before. No less than 400 huntsmen,
all mounted, and anxiously waiting for the word 'Start!' took up their
position in a line at one end of the camp, while Captain Wilkie, with
his spyglass at his eye, surveyed the buffalo, examined the ground, and
issued his orders. At eight o'clock the whole cavalcade broke ground,
and made for the buffalo; first at a slow trot, then at a gallop, and
lastly at full speed. Their advance was over a dead level, the plain
having no hollow or shelter of any kind to conceal their approach. We
need not answer any queries as to the feeling and anxiety of the camp on
such an occasion. When the horsemen started the cattle might have been
a mile and a half ahead, but they had approached to within four or five
hundred yards before the bulls curved their tails or pawed the ground.
In a moment more the herd took flight, and horse and rider are presently
seen bursting in among them. Shots are heard, and all is smoke, dash,
and hurry. The fattest are first singled out for slaughter, and in less
time than we have occupied with the description, a thousand carcases
strew the plain.
"The moment the animals take to flight the best runners dart forward in
advance. At this moment a good horse is invaluable to his owner, for
out of the 400 on this occasion, not above fifty got the first chance
of the fat cows. A good horse and an experienced rider will select
and kill from ten to twelve animals at one heat, while inferior horses
are contented with two or three. But much depends on the nature of the
ground. On this occasion the surface was rocky, and full of badger
holes. Twenty-three horses and riders were at one moment sprawling on
the ground. One horse, gored by a bull, was killed on the spot, two men
disabled by the fall. One rider broke his shoulder blade; another burst
his gun and lost three of his fingers by the accident; and a third was
struck on the knee by an exhausted ball. These accidents will not be
thought over-numerous considering the result; for in the evening no less
than 1,375 buffalo tongues were brought into camp.
"The rider of a good horse seldom fires till within three or four yards
of his object, and never misses. And, what is admirable in point of
training, the moment the shot is fired his steed springs on one side
to avoid stumbling over the animal, whereas an awkward and shy horse
will not approach within ten or fifteen yards, consequently the rider
has often to fire at random and not infrequently misses. Many of them,
however, will fire at double that distance and make sure of every shot.
The mouth is always full of balls; they load and fire at the gallop, and
but seldom drop a mark, although some do to designate the animal.
"Of all the operations which mark the hunter's life and are essential to
his ultimate success, the most perplexing, perhaps, is that of finding
out and identifying the animals he kills during a race. Imagine 400
horsemen entering at full speed a herd of some thousands of buffalo,
all in rapid motion. Riders in clouds of dust and volumes of smoke
which darken the air, crossing and recrossing each other in every
direction; shots on the right, on the left, behind, before, here,
there, two, three, a dozen at a time, everywhere in close succession,
at the same moment. Horses stumbling, riders falling, dead and wounded
animals tumbling here and there, one over the other; and this zigzag
and bewildering _mêlée_ continued for an hour or more together in wild
confusion. And yet, from practice, so keen is the eye, so correct the
judgment, that after getting to the end of the race, he can not only
tell the number of animals which he had shot down, but the position in
which each lies--on the right or on the left side--the spot where the
shot hit, and the direction of the ball; and also retrace his way, step
by step, through the whole race and recognize every animal he had the
fortune to kill, without the least hesitation or difficulty. To divine
how this is accomplished bewilders the imagination.
"The main party arrived on the return journey at Pembina on August 17th,
after a journey of two months and two days. In due time the settlement
was reached, and the trip being a successful one, the returns on this
occasion may be taken as a fair annual average. An approximation to the
truth is all we can arrive at, however. Our estimate is nine hundred
pounds weight of buffalo meat per cart, a thousand being considered
the full load, which gives one million and eighty-nine thousand pounds
in all, or something more than two hundred pounds weight for each
individual, old and young, in the settlement. As soon as the expedition
arrived, the Hudson's Bay Company, according to usual custom, issued a
notice that it would take a certain specified quantity of provisions,
not from each fellow that had been on the plains, but from each old and
recognized hunter. The established price at this period for the three
kinds over head, fat, pemmican, and dried meat, was two pence a pound.
This was then the Company's standard price; but there is generally a
market for all the fat they bring. During the years 1839, 1840, and
1841, the Company expended five thousand pounds on the purchase of
plain provisions, of which the hunters got last year the sum of twelve
hundred pounds, being rather more money than all the agricultural class
obtained for their produce in the same year. It will be remembered that
the Company's demand affords the only regular market or outlet in the
Colony, and, as a matter of course, it is the first supplied."
[Illustration: MAP OF LABRADOR AND THE KING'S DOMAINS.]