THE CHIPPEWYANS OF THE COLUMBIAN MOUNTAINS
In a former volume[4] the writer has related a hunting adventure which
befell the late Lieutenant John Keast Lord; but, as the career of this
intrepid traveller was so full of romantic and striking episodes, the
reader may be glad to hear a little more about him.
[4] "Adventures among the Wild Beasts."
After his eventful mule-buying expedition into the States, he returned
to British Columbia, where he was acting as naturalist to the Canadian
Boundary Commission; but he had no sooner reached New Westminster than
he found other instructions awaiting him; this time, to report on the
fauna of the coast Ranges. This was in 1858, when already the
Chippewyans and Kuchins had been unsettled and rendered ripe for
assault and murder by the newly-arrived gold-diggers; and Mr. Lord
wisely decided to take with him a bodyguard of half a dozen young
Canadian hunters, whose bravery, judgment, and fidelity he had many
times proved.
New Westminster was indeed new in those days; in fact, it was not a
year old; and much of the ride from there to the Cascade Mountains
was a pathless, hilly waste, dotted with mountain-like rocks of
granite, and occasionally varied by chasms and canons; and in this
cheerful neighbourhood many Indians who feared the vengeance of the
Government, for some of their various crimes, had taken up their
abode. The soldier-naturalist's intention was to reach the seaward
slopes of the range, which had been but very little explored, and were
known to be covered to a great extent by dense forests.
By the second day of his journey he had begun to have serious thoughts
of sending back at least three of his companions, realising that a
troop of seven mounted men, fully armed, and accompanied by five
baggage-mules, had very much the appearance of a punitive expedition
on a small scale. Certainly this must have been the view of the first
few parties of redskins with whom he met; for these either fled
hastily as though to warn their friends, or else defiantly threatened
the strangers with their bows or muskets. Lord's absolutely perfect
knowledge of the Athapascan tongue, and of the character and customs
of the Chippewyans, was really the surest weapon of defence for him to
rely on now; and, bidding his men conceal all arms but their rifles,
and endeavour to look as much as possible like a peaceful hunting or
travelling party, he resolved that, whenever they met with Indians, he
would get in first blow with his tongue and conciliate the savages.
This very soon proved to be a promising plan; for on the third
morning, not long after the little troop had begun its day's march, a
score of Indians burst out from the shelter of one of the huge
boulders and, in a chorus of wild yells, ordered the white men to
throw down their rifles. Signing to his companions to stay where they
were, Lord cantered across the strip of broken ground, and, with no
sign of anxiety, pulled up before the noisiest of the Indians and gave
him a laughing good morning.
"Have you not yet learned to distinguish between friends and enemies?"
he asked. The redskins ceased their clamour and looked at each other
in a puzzled manner. They had been prepared for violence on the part
of the new-comers; or they would even have beheld their meek surrender
without betraying great astonishment; but that the white leader should
treat them and their demands as a huge joke, and further, should speak
their tongue with an accent as pure and natural as their own, were
facts not to be grappled with hurriedly. And, while they hesitated,
Lord continued airily, "What do you fear, my brothers? We have not
come to hurt you. Why did you beseech us to drop our guns?"
"You have tracked some of our tribe from the mines, have you not?"
said the chief cautiously, and more, perhaps, to gain time than
because he sought information.
"No; we have nothing to do with the mines, nor do we wish to poach on
your hunting or your fishing. We are going to look for beasts in the
forest on the distant slopes. If you will guide us to a place where we
can cross the range with our horses and mules, we will pay you well."
To do him justice, though the Indian may be treacherous, he is seldom
a liar; consequently he is less prone than the rest of the world to
doubt another man's word. From the chief's increasing hesitation it
was clear enough that he believed the Englishman's statement, and was
not unwilling to be friendly. All the same, Lord's mind was not
entirely at ease; none of the Indians had horses; few of them had
firearms; and the covetous glances cast at his horse and his rifle
showed plainly enough that at least the majority of his new neighbours
would like the opportunity of robbing him and his men. Some of them
began to consult in low tones, but he turned on these with a sudden
severity, partly assumed and partly real.
"What?" he shouted. "Do you make a stranger of _me_? Do you exclude
from your palaver one who speaks your tongue; who has smoked the
peace-pipe and hunted with your brethren everywhere, from the Nipigon
Lake to these very mountains, and from the white man's gold-camps to
the country of the Apaches and the Navajos; who has taught even the
wisest of your tribe; who can charm away pains in the jaws, and can
put new life into horses and dogs and cattle when they are sick?"
The muttered conversation broke off abruptly, and, with some approach
to deference, the chief explained that it only related to the price
which they should ask for guiding the Big White Chief, and to the
doubts that some of them had as to the good faith of his followers.
The Big White Chief (he stood six feet four) answered curtly that he
would be answerable for his men, and, by way of payment, would give a
supply of tobacco and rum to each Indian, and a revolver, with fifty
cartridges, to the leader. The last item clinched the bargain in a
moment, and the chief at once agreed to show the way to a gorge
through which the travellers and their beasts could pass with ease to
the other side. This, he said, was more than a day's journey away; if
the white braves would stay the night at his camp, which they would
reach by sundown, he would undertake to bring them to the gorge by
noon on the following day.
"Go on, then," said the Englishman. "I will inform my men and we will
follow you"; and in a very few words he explained the situation to the
Canadians, warning everyone to be on his guard.
The Indians, though laden with the spoils of a brief hunting
expedition, set off at a rapid jog-trot, seeming quite heedless of the
broken and ever-rising ground, over which the white men's horses had
much ado to keep pace with them. At times this difficult road gave
place to a winding but well-worn track that seemed as though it would
eventually lead, corkscrew fashion, to the summit of a mountain nearly
ten thousand feet high.
Some distance up this, Lord called a halt for dinner, and, when it was
ended, he had one of the mules disburthened, and, with much show of
friendly condescension, insisted upon placing it at the chief's
disposal for the remainder of their climb. By this means he gained as
it were a hostage in case of treachery; for it would be easy for one
or other of his party to place himself between the now mounted chief
and the rest of the Indians, with whom he had for a long time been
carrying on a mysterious and disquieting conversation in an
undertone. Lord was a poor hand at playing eavesdropper, even had his
life or liberty depended on that form of acquiring information; but,
from odd syllables he had overheard from time to time, it had not been
difficult to gather that his guides had become two factions, the one
strongly disagreeing with the policy of the other.
Late in the afternoon the path wound suddenly into a thick grove of
red and yellow cedars and Douglas firs; and the half-muffled sounds of
life in the distance told the travellers that the Indian camp, or some
other, could not be far away. The sounds soon separated themselves so
that the barking of dogs, the blows of an axe on a tree-trunk, etc.,
could easily be distinguished; then lights peeped out among the trees,
and the chatter of women and screaming of babies grew plainly
audible.
Since he had been compelled to ride among the white men, the chief had
become more and more moodily silent and ill at ease; and now the
Indians ahead were throwing apprehensive glances back, and renewing
their whispered arguments.
"What is it? What do they fear?" asked Lord of the chief, who was then
riding abreast of him.
He answered nervously, "I will not deceive my great brother. They fear
lest you or your companions should tell other white men what you will
have seen at our camp."
"And if we did?"
"You would no longer be the red man's friend. If harm should come to
us through any of you, my tribe would take a fearful vengeance."
The big veterinary surgeon laughed negligently, and remarked that the
chief need not be uneasy. Whatever curiosity he might feel was soon to
be satisfied; for one more twist of the path brought them on to a
large clearing, dotted everywhere with fires and wigwams. Lord had
half expected to see a considerable reinforcement of Indians here; and
was much relieved to find the camp guarded only by women and six or
seven elderly men.
The guides separated, each going to his own wigwam, and the chief
signified that the strangers would be expected to share a banquet with
him over his particular fire. The food was good, the chief and his own
special cronies who sat with him very hospitable and entertaining.
Bed-time came, and two tents were placed at the guests' disposal,
Lord, of course, arranging a system of "watches" to guard against
surprise. But no surprise came; the night passed quietly and
peacefully, and the Englishman was at a loss to understand the fears
and suspicions of the Indians. But while he was washing at a stream
close at hand, one of the Canadians joined him.
"I've got at their mystery, I think," he said in a whisper.
"Ah?"
"Chinese prisoners; three of 'em. I've been talking to one while you
were having your breakfast. I take it that this is a refuge-camp for
all the rascality of the neighbourhood. John Chinaman tells me that
the whole crew are 'wanted' at Vancouver for sundry attacks on the
mining camps. Why, these are some of the varmints who burnt Thomson's
store last year."
Lord finished his ablutions and sat down to discuss the position,
which was certainly not a pleasant one. In a sense, he was on his
honour not to betray his entertainers; yet, as a Government servant,
it seemed to be his duty either to arrest the chief or else lay
information against him. Moreover, though the few Chinamen he had met
had not impressed him favourably, his blood boiled at the notion of
slavery on British soil, and of the unnameable cruelties to a captive
of which the redskins were capable. Before he could arrive at any
decision, however, a terrible scream resounded through the camp, and
both men rushed towards the wigwams.
On the ground lay a Chinaman, pierced by an arrow, and Lord saw at a
glance that he was dead.
"The brutes," muttered his companion. "That's the poor beggar's
punishment for breaking out and speaking to me." Lord called to his
men and then rounded on the chief, who was hurriedly approaching.
"Where are the other two prisoners?" he said. "You must hand them over
to me. I am a warrior of the White Queen's, and can have every one of
you hanged.--No, no; I'll have no secret discussions. If you disobey
the Queen you are no longer my friends. (Look out, you fellows!)" In
another moment he had pulled a revolver from his pocket and was
covering the chief. "I give you one minute in which to bring out the
other prisoners."
Bows or muskets were hastily raised, but the Canadians had unslung
their rifles like lightning, and were grouped behind Lord ready to
fire on the first man who dared to aim at him. The chief shrugged his
shoulders, smiled, and ordered the prisoners to be produced. They soon
appeared, unbound but strongly guarded, and, in pidgin English, told
how, a few days before, their camp near the sea had been raided, their
employers put to flight, and themselves brought away to slavery.
"Can you guide us to the sea?" asked Lord. Yes; they could. It was but
a few miles distant. "Very well, then," he continued, turning to the
chief. "If you will give me these men, and will swear by the Great
Spirit that you will not again trouble the white men's camps, we will
promise not to betray your hiding-place."
A rapid exchange of glances took place between the Indians, and then
the chief said emphatically:
"I give up the prisoners, and I swear that my tribe will keep faith
with yours." Lord then swore to his part of the bargain, and, anxious
to escape from the Indians at once, paid the guides and set off
immediately in the wake of the liberated prisoners.
"What do you think about it?" he asked the eldest of the Canadians,
when they were well on the road through the wood.
"I think they were a sight too ready to give way. We haven't seen the
last of 'em, I reckon."
"Well; we shall be in open country directly, according to the
Chinamen," said Lord. He was disposed towards a hopeful view, the more
so that he had given the Indians plainly to understand that they would
pay dearly for any attempt at treachery. Once or twice, on looking
back, he perceived men walking slowly behind them, but as these were
only armed with bows, and made no pretence of secrecy, he took little
notice; and, in another hour, the wood came to an end. But where was
the promised gorge? The only path he could see was a granite ridge,
which on one side was bounded by a stretch of rough rising ground, and
on the other became a precipice. The guides, however, remained
confident, and, after hinting that it would be bad for them if they
led him wrong, he followed them.
"What's that?" he cried suddenly, when they had travelled about half a
mile along the ridge in single file. All reined up at a sound similar
to that of a "moose-trumpet," or bark horn. Then they saw that three
Indians had appeared from the wood behind them, had come to a stop on
the edge of the cliff, and were looking across the chasm towards a
precipice twice the height of that on which they stood. Evidently
their trumpeting was intended to rouse somebody across the chasm, for
two or three indistinct figures soon appeared on the farther cliff.
Then one of the Indians who had followed Lord's party raised his arms
and began to make signs to those on the other side.
"Signalling, eh?" said one of the men. "Can you read it, Mr. Lord?"
The redskin was, in fact, transmitting a message across the chasm,
employing a system of telegraphy similar to that used in Japan, or
among our own sailors: a form of "deaf and dumb alphabet" not uncommon
among the Indians of the hills and prairies.
"I can read enough to see that these rascals are warning someone to
stop us," said Lord. "Though how they reckon to do that remains to be
seen. Let's get on as fast as possible."
[Illustration: A PRIMITIVE SYSTEM OF TELEGRAPHY
The Indians are able to transmit messages by movements of their arms and
fingers at greater distances than the voice would carry. In this case the
question is "Who are you?" The answer "Pani," transmitted from the lofty
crags of a wide gorge.]
They moved swiftly up the ridge, till the ground began to slope
downwards again, and very steeply; then a final bend brought them
almost opposite the mouth of the long looked-for gorge, which was wide
enough for all the horsemen to ride abreast in comfort. The road was
now beautifully level, and but that the Chinamen would not risk their
necks on mule-back and knew nothing about horses, the whole party
could have galloped. The gorge proved to be some six miles in length,
and, at the end of a couple of hours, the travellers knew that they
had come to the outlet.
The fact was made known in a not very pleasing manner, for all at once
two musket-shots echoed down the ravine, and the Chinamen, who were
some ten yards ahead of the horsemen, fell prostrate.
"Charge for it," shouted Lord, though he could not as yet see the
mysterious assailants. "Don't give 'em time to load or aim"; and the
seven men, pistol in hand, galloped to the mouth of the gorge.
Here they were greeted by a flight of arrows, launched so hastily that
no one was hit. The ambush consisted of a dozen redskins, who, in
obedience to the signalling, had hastened round the head of the chasm,
easily arriving in time to cut off the more slowly moving party.
Fortunately, only two of them had firearms; and the majority, seeing
at once what chance they would stand against mounted men who were
desperate and well armed, fled like chamois down the slopes. Three of
the party were, however, speedily stopped by revolver-bullets from the
horsemen, and so rendered an easy capture.
Then the truth, or something like it, came out. The Chinamen were
gold-thieves who had escaped from the mines and had fallen into the
hands of the Chippewyans, who cared nothing for their stolen gold but
a good deal for the labour which they would have been able to extort
from them. Lord had neither time nor inclination to sift the matter.
Finding that the Celestials were not so badly injured but that they
could ride back to prison, he had them bound on to baggage-mules, made
the three wounded Indians mount behind three of his men, and so
conveyed all the prisoners in triumph to the coast, where he handed
them over to a military picket for a journey to Vancouver jail.