EMBARK FOR THE INTERIOR--MODE OF TRAVELLING BY CANOES--LITTLE
RIVER--LAKE NIPISSING--FRENCH RIVER--OLD STATION OF INDIAN
ROBBERS--FORT MISSISSAGA--INDIANS--LIGHT CANOE-MEN--SAULT STE.
MARIE--LAKE SUPERIOR--CANOE-MEN DESERT--RE-TAKEN--FORT WILLIAM--M.
THIBAUD--LAC LA PLUIE AND RIVER--INDIANS--WHITE RIVER--NARROW
ESCAPE--CONVERSATION WITH AN INDIAN ABOUT BAPTISM.
On the 25th April, 1833, I embarked on board of a steamboat at
Lachine, and reached Hull on the 27th. Here the regular conveyance by
land carriages and steamboat ended, and the traveller in those days
was obliged to wait his passage by the canoes of shanty men, or hire a
boat or canoe for himself. I had recourse to the latter expedient, and
reached the post of the Chats, then in charge of my esteemed friend
Mr. McD----l, on the 30th. Captain Back arrived on the 1st of May,
put ashore for a few supplies and my wards, and immediately
re-embarked.
The brigade arrived on the 2d, and the guide delivered me a letter
from Mr. K----, informing me that I was to consider myself merely as
a passenger, the command of the men being entrusted to the guide by
Governor Simpson's orders. This arrangement relieved me of much
anxiety and trouble; though I would rather have preferred undergoing
any personal inconvenience to being placed under the command of an
ignorant Canadian, who might use his "brief" authority in a way very
offensive to my feelings, without being guilty of anything that I
could complain of.
My fears, however, were disappointed, as he showed every deference to
my wishes, as well as the utmost courtesy to the other passengers,
most of whom were of a rank not likely to find much consideration from
a Canadian boatman; they consisted of a young priest not yet ordained,
an apprentice clerk, three youths who had been at their education in
Lower Canada, and myself.
The brigade consisted of three Montreal canoes, laden with provisions
for the trip, and some tobacco for the southern department; and manned
by sixty Iroquois and Canadians, the latter engaged to winter, the
former for the trip.
The day was far spent when we left the portage of the Chats, and we
encamped in the evening near the head of the rapids. The mode of
travelling in canoes being now well known, I shall not detail the
occurrences of each day, but confine myself to the narration of such
incidents as may be most worthy of notice throughout the voyage. The
moment we landed the tent was pitched by men employed for the purpose;
the other men unloaded the canoes, and carried the goods beyond
high-water mark, where it was piled and covered with oil-cloths.
It is the particular duty of the bowsman to attend to the canoe, to
repair and pitch it when necessary, and to place it in security when
the cargo is discharged. In consideration of these services he is
exempt from the duty of loading or unloading, his wages are higher
than those of the steersman, and he ranks after the guide. The latter
generally messes with the gentlemen, his canoe always takes the lead
in the rapids, but in still water the post of honour is held by the
best going canoe. The guide rouses the men in the morning; the moment
the call is heard, "Lève, lève!" the passengers spring upon their
feet, tie up their beds, and if they are not smart about it, the tents
go down about their ears, and they must finish the operation in the
open air.
Several of our men having already deserted, we encamped upon islands,
when they could be found, or kept watch on the mainland. Our hour
of departure was three o'clock, A.M.; when the weather permitted we
breakfasted at seven, dined at one or two o'clock, P.M., and encamped
at sunset. In calm weather the canoes went abreast, singing in chorus
and keeping time with the paddles. All was then gaiety, and, to
appearance, happiness; but this is one of those bright spots in a
voyageur's life which are few and far between.
We reached Fort Coulonge on the 3d, and it being late, I took up my
quarters with my worthy old bourgeois, Mr. S. Here we received some
additional supplies of provisions for the crews and passengers. We
arrived at Lac des Allumettes on the 5th, where I put ashore merely to
say _bon jour_ to an old acquaintance. We encamped rather early this
evening, to allow the men a little extra rest, on account of the
laborious duty they had performed for some days before. Next day,
when ascending the rapid of Roche Capitaine, the canoe in which I
was passenger came in violent contact with another; but mine only
sustained damage. The bow being stove in, the canoe began to fill; we
however gained the shore, to which fortunately we were close, at a
leap, and lost no time in discharging the cargo. Drying the goods and
repairing the canoe occupied us a good part of the day.
We reached the Forks of Mattawin on the 8th, where we found a small
outpost belonging to the Fort Coulonge district, recently established
for the purpose of securing the hunts of the Indians of this quarter,
who were in the habit of trading with shanty men. Being no longer
under any apprehensions of the men deserting, we now discontinued the
watch and slept in comfort.
The passage of the Little River was effected with much toil and
difficulty, from the shallowness of the water. We entered Lake
Nipissing on the 10th; descended French River, a rapid and dangerous
stream, without accident, and entered Lake Huron on the morning of the
12th. The guide pointed out to me a place near the mouth of the river
where the Indians used to waylay the canoes on their passage to and
from the interior; a sort of rude breastwork still marks the spot.
After much destruction of life and property by the savages, they
were eventually caught in their own toil; the voyageurs, instead
of descending the river at this place, passed by land, and coming
unawares on the Indians killed them all.
We reached the post of the Cloche early on the 13th, and spent two
hours in the company of Mr. McB----u, who entertained us most kindly;
and on the 14th looked in at Mississaga post, an establishment which
appeared to possess but few attractions as a place of residence;
consisting of a few miserable log buildings, surrounded by a number
of pine-bark wigwams, the temporary residence of the natives; several
of whom came reeling into the house after our arrival, there being an
opposition party there.
These Indians were, without comparison, the most uncouth,
savage-looking beings I ever beheld; mouth from ear to ear,
cheek-bones remarkably high, low projecting forehead, hair like a
horse's mane, and eyes red and swollen by continual intoxication.
American whisky had no doubt contributed to increase their natural
deformity.
After leaving this post we had a strong breeze of adverse wind for the
remainder of the day, and encamped in consequence earlier than usual.
On the following morning we were very early roused from our slumbers
by the call of "Canot à lège," (light canoe). Our beds were tied up,
tents packed, canoes launched and loaded in an instant; and we set off
in pursuit of the mail, which we overtook at breakfast time, and found
Mr. G. K----th in charge, who had just returned from England, and
was now proceeding to assume the charge of Lake Superior district.
Mr. K----th exchanged some of his men, who were found incapable of
performing light canoe duty, for some of our best; an arrangement that
did not appear to please our guide much.
The duty which the crew of a light canoe have to perform is laborious
in the extreme, and requires men of the greatest strength and vigour
to stand it. They are never allowed to remain more than four hours
ashore by night, often only two or three; during the day they are
constantly urged on by the guide or person in command, and never cease
paddling, unless during the few moments required to exchange seats, or
while they take their hasty meals ashore. They are liberally plied
with grog, well paid, and well fed, and seldom quit the service until
it is hinted to them that the duty is become too hard for them. A
light canoe-man considers it quite a degradation to be employed in
loaded craft.
We arrived early on the 16th at the Company's establishment at Sault
Sainte Marie, where there is a large depôt of provisions for the
purpose of supplying the canoes passing to and from the interior and
the surrounding districts. The south side of the river is occupied by
the Americans as a military post, and it was gratifying to see the
friendly intercourse that subsisted between the American officers and
the gentlemen in the Company's service. Would that the same good
feeling were more universal between two nations of one blood and the
same language!
The rapid which unites the waters of Lakes Huron and Superior is
avoided by making a portage. The carrying of the canoes and goods
to the upper end of this portage occupied the men till about noon,
when we embarked on the "Sea of Canada," having Messrs. Bethune and
McKenzie on board as passengers. We proceeded about fifteen miles and
encamped. We were ready to embark at the usual hour next morning, but
being prevented by the high wind, to make the best of the time we
turned in again, and after a most refreshing nap got up to breakfast.
The weather moderating soon after, all hands were ordered to embark,
but all hands were not there; four of them had deserted during the
night, and were not missed until the crews mustered for embarkation.
While we were holding a consultation regarding this unpleasant matter,
an Indian canoe luckily cast up, and it was determined to despatch a
party of Iroquois, conducted by a passenger in disguise, in pursuit of
the fugitives. Another party was sent by land, and after an absence
of about three hours returned with their prisoners. No criminals ever
appeared more dejected than they; so humble did they seem, that they
got off with a slight reprimand.
We reached the post of Michipikoton early on the morning of the 19th,
and passed the remainder of the day waiting for despatches which Mr.
K---- was preparing for the interior. We left on the 20th, put ashore
at the Pic on the 23d, where we dined with Mr. McMurray, and after
experiencing much bad weather, adverse winds, together with showers of
snow, we reached Fort William on the 28th, about noon.
We found the grand depôt of the North-West Company falling rapidly
to decay, presenting in its present ruinous state but a shadow of
departed greatness. It is now occupied as a petty post, a few Indians
and two or three old voyageurs being the sole representatives of
the crowded throngs of former times. It must have been a beautiful
establishment in its days of prosperity; but the buildings certainly
do not appear to have been erected with a view to durability. We
here exchanged our large Montreal canoes for those of the North,
(the former carrying seventy packages of ninety pounds, the latter
twenty-five, exclusive of provisions;) and each of the passengers had
a canoe for his own accommodation--an arrangement that seemed to
increase in no small degree the self-importance of some of our number.
Our guide was now obliged to perform the duty of bowsman, still,
however, retaining his authority over the whole brigade.
We bade adieu to Fort William and its hospitable commander on the
29th. Mr. McI----h had supplied all our wants most liberally, but
the men were now allowed only Indian corn and a small quantity of
grease;--a sad and unpleasing change for poor Jean Baptiste; but he
had no help but to submit, though not perhaps with the utmost
"Christian resignation."
Our men being now well disciplined, and our canoes comparatively
light, we sped over our way at an excellent rate. We encamped on the
4th of June at one of the Thousand Lakes, and the canoes were drawn
up before M. Thibaud (the priest) arrived. I was surprised to observe
his frowning aspect on landing, and ascribed it to the circumstance of
his being the "harse," or harrow, a term of derision applied to the
slowest canoe. Calling me aside, however, he explained the cause of
his discontent, which was very different from what I had surmised:
his crew, whenever they found themselves sufficiently far in the rear
to be out of hearing, invariably struck up an obscene song, alike
unmindful of his presence and remonstrances; and this day had not only
sung, but indulged in conversation the most indecent imaginable. This
announcement appeared to me the more strange, that most of these young
men had never before quitted home; and I had always understood the
authority of the priest to be, at least, equal to that of the parent.
Although, therefore, I never had any very great reverence for the
(so-called) successors of St. Peter, I yet felt for my fellow-traveller,
and addressed the miscreants who had insulted him in terms of grave
reprehension, threatening them with severe punishment if such conduct
should again be repeated.
We arrived at the post of Lac de la Pluie, on the 8th of June; and,
after a short halt, and carrying our _impedimenta_ across the portage
on which the fort is situated, commenced the descent of Lac de la
Pluie river,--a beautiful stream, running with a smooth, though strong
current, and maintaining a medium breadth of about 200 yards. Its
banks, which are clothed with verdure to the water's edge, recede by a
gradual slope until they terminate in a high ridge, running parallel
to the river on both sides. This ridge yields poplar, birch, and
maple, with a few pines, proving the excellence of the soil. The
interior, however, is said to be low and swampy.
We passed the residence of an old retired servant of the Company, on
the 9th, who, if I may judge from the appearance of his farm and the
number of his cattle, must vegetate very much at his ease.
Observing in the evening a large Indian camp, I requested the guide
to put ashore for a little. We were received kindly, but in a manner
quite different to what I had been accustomed. The young men were
drawn up on the shore, and eyed us with a savage _fierté_ in their
looks, returning our salutation in a way that convinced us that we
were at length among the "wild men of the woods." The weather being
extremely hot, we found them in almost a complete state of nudity,
with only a narrow shred of cloth around their loins. They speak
the Sauteux language; and I had much difficulty in making myself
understood by them. In their physiognomy and personal appearance they
exhibit all the characteristic features of the genuine aboriginal
race; and this party certainly appeared, one and all, to be "without a
cross;" but there had been long a trading post at Lac la Pluie, and I
noticed, in a neighbouring camp, a lass with brown hair and pretty
blue eyes. Where did she get them? After bartering some sturgeon with
the Indians, and presenting them with a little tobacco, we parted good
friends, and encamped so near them as to be annoyed the whole night by
the sound of their drum.
On the following morning we entered the Lake of the Woods, and next
morning White River, a very violent stream, full of falls and
dangerous rapids. The portages are innumerable, and often close
together. After crossing one of these portages, we observed, with
astonishment, a number of people on the next portage, La Cave, about
pistol-shot distance from us. They proved to be Mr. Hughes, formerly
partner of the North-West Company; Mr. Berens, a member of Committee,
and suite: they were painfully situated, in consequence of the loss of
their bowsman, who, by missing a stroke with his pole, fell into the
rapid, and was drowned: the steersman was saved with great difficulty.
We got safe through this dangerous river, on the 15th; but two of the
men had a narrow escape in one of the last portages. Our guide here,
as everywhere else, having a picked crew, pushed on, and left us
considerably in the rear. Approaching a fall, Le Bonnet, where no
traces of a portage could be discovered, the men unloaded the canoes,
and commenced carrying the goods through the woods; but the _boutes_
(bowsmen and steersmen) determined on wading down with the canoes, the
water being shallow, until they should come close to the fall; where,
by lifting them across a narrow point, they could place them in the
smooth water beneath. The attempt was made accordingly, by the leading
canoe; but the rock over which the current flows being smooth, and
covered with a slimy moss, the men slipped, and were in an instant
precipitated over the fall. When we saw the canoe rushing over the
brink, with the poor fellows clinging to it, we all concluded they had
reached the end of their voyage. Running down to the foot of the fall,
which was about eleven feet high, having previously ordered a canoe to
be carried across the point, and some shots to be fired to recall the
guide, who was now nearly out of sight, I was astonished to find the
canoe had not upset, although the men had got into it, and it was half
full of water, and so near the shore that I extended my arm to lay
hold of the bow. The next moment, however, the stern having come
within the influence of a whirlpool, it was hurried out into the
middle of the stream, and dashed with such violence against a rock,
that the crashing of the timbers was distinctly heard from the shore.
This shock, which had nearly proved fatal to the men, threw the canoe
into an eddy, or counter-current, which whirled it to the opposite
shore, where it was about to sink when assistance came.
In the evening, we arrived at the post of Bas de la Rivière, in charge
of an Orkney-man, by name Clouston, who had risen from the ranks, and
who, seeing what small fry he had to deal with, treated us somewhat
superciliously. Our stock of provisions being exhausted, we applied to
_Maister_ Clouston for a fresh supply: he granted us what I thought
very inadequate to our wants; but he said it was all that was allowed
by the Governor for the passage of the Lake. Here M. Thibaud found two
men with a small canoe, who had been sent by the Bishop of Red River
to convey him to his destination, waiting his arrival. We parted with
feelings of mutual regret.
We left this post late on the 16th, and had proceeded but a short
distance on the Lake, when a strong head wind compelled us to put
ashore. We now experienced constant bad weather, never completing a
day's sailing without interruption from some cause or other; and in
consequence of these delays, it was found necessary to curtail our
allowance of provisions. On the 20th, we pitched our tents near a camp
of Sauteux, from whom the men procured a small quantity of sturgeon,
in exchange for some articles of clothing. I was surprised to find
Indians, in a quarter so remote from those tribes with whom I had
hitherto been conversant, speaking a dialect which I understood
perfectly: their erratic habits, and intercourse with the Crees and
Algonquins, may perhaps account for this similarity of dialect.
I entered into conversation with a shrewd old fellow, who had been
often at Red River settlement. Among other questions, I asked him
whether he had not been baptized?
"Baptized!" he exclaimed; "don't speak of it, my brother.
Baptized--that I may go to the devil! Indians think a good Indian goes
to the good place when he dies; but the priests send _all_ to the evil
one."
I asked him how he made that out?
"Why, I learned it from the priests themselves. When I first went to
Red River, I met a French priest, who earnestly besought me to be
converted. I heard him attentively, and his words had a great effect
upon me; but I had been told there was another priest there, who had
different thoughts about religion, and I thought I would go to him
too. He was very kind to me, and spoke nearly the same words as the
French priest; so that I thought there was no difference in their
religions. He asked me if I would be baptized? and I told him that I
would; but I wanted to learn the French prayer. 'Ah! my son,' he said,
'that must not be: if you adopt that bad religion, you will be burned
for certain.' And he spoke so strong, that I almost thought he was
right. But before I would do anything, I went to the French priest
again, and told him what the English priest said to me; and then said
I would learn the English prayer. 'Ah! my son,' said he, 'if you do
so, it will lead you to perdition: all that pray after the English
manner go to the fire.' And he said much more, and his words were very
strong too; so I saw that I could be no better by forsaking the belief
of my fathers, and I have not gone to French or English priest since."
This is by no means a solitary case; and it is one of the sore evils
which arise from the corruption of Christianity, and the divisions
of Christians. Nor, in the case of creeds so opposite as those of
Protestants and Roman Catholics--creeds as opposite as light and
darkness--is it easy to point out a remedy. After all, it is surely
better for these poor Indians to adopt some form of Christianity,
however corrupt, than to remain in the darkness and debasement of
heathenism. And if our missionaries would act upon the noble maxim
of the greatest of the Apostles--"never to enter upon the sphere of
another man's labours,"--consequences so injurious would be avoided.
If they have not so much Christianity and good sense as to do so of
themselves, where there is the power, they should be compelled to do
it. The Company have the power, but are too much occupied with matters
which they deem more momentous, to waste a thought upon this.