ARRIVAL AT NEW CALEDONIA--BEAUTIFUL SCENERY--INDIAN HOUSES--AMUSEMENTS
AT THE FORT--THREATENED ATTACK OF INDIANS--EXPEDITION AGAINST
THEM--BEEF-STEAKS--NEW CALEDONIAN FARE--MODE OF CATCHING
SALMON--SINGULAR DEATH OF NATIVE INTERPRETER--INDIAN FUNERAL
RITES--BARBAROUS TREATMENT OF WIDOWS.
Fort St. James, the depôt of New Caledonia district, stands near
the outlet of Stuart's Lake, and commands a splendid view of the
surrounding country. The lake is about fifty miles in length, and
from three to four miles in breadth, stretching away to the north and
north-east for about twenty miles; the view from the Fort embraces
nearly the whole of this section of it, which is studded with
beautiful islands. The western shore is low, and indented by a number
of small bays formed by wooded points projecting into the lake, the
back-ground rising abruptly into a ridge of hills of varied height and
magnitude. On the east the view is limited to a range of two or three
miles, by the intervention of a high promontory, from which the eye
glances to the snowy summits of the Rocky Mountains in the distant
back-ground. I do not know that I have seen anything to compare with
this charming prospect in any other part of the country; its beauties
struck me even at this season of the year, when nature having partly
assumed her hybernal dress, everything appeared to so much greater
disadvantage.
The Indian village is situated in a lovely spot at the outlet of the
lake, and consists of only five or six houses, but every house is
occupied by several families. These buildings are of a very slight and
simple construction, being merely formed of stakes driven into the
ground; a square piece of timber runs horizontally along the top of
this wall, to which the stakes are fastened by strips of willow bark.
This inclosure, which is of a square form, is roofed in by placing two
strong posts at each gable, which support the ridge pole, on which
the roof sticks are placed, one end resting on the ridge pole, and
the other on the wall, the whole being covered with pine bark: there
is generally a door at each end, which is cut in the wall after the
building is erected. These apertures are of a circular form, and about
two and a half feet in diameter, so that a stranger finds it very
awkward to pass through them. In effecting a passage you first
introduce a leg, then bending low the body you press in head and
shoulders; in this position you will have some difficulty in
maintaining your equilibrium, for if you draw in the rest of the body
too quickly, it is a chance but you will find yourself with your head
undermost: the natives bolt through them with the agility of a weasel.
For some time after my arrival here, I had very little employment,
there being a scribe already in the establishment, whose experience
and industry required no assistance from me. I thus found myself a
supernumerary--a character that did not suit me, but I was obliged to
content myself for the present. We were joined early in winter by some
of the gentlemen in charge of posts, when we managed to pass the time
very agreeably. Mr. D----, superintendent of the district, played
remarkably well on the violin and flute, some of us "wee bodies" could
also do something in that way, and our musical soirees, if not in
melody, could at least compete in noise, numbers taken into account,
with any association of the kind in the British dominions. Chess,
backgammon, and whist, completed the variety of our evening pastimes.
In the daytime each individual occupied himself as he pleased. When
together, smoking, "spinning yarns" about _dog_ racing, canoe sailing,
and _l'amour_; sometimes politics; now and then an animated discussion
on theology, but without bitterness; these made our days fly away as
agreeably as our nights.
While thus pleasantly occupied, a piece of intelligence was received,
which caused the breaking up of our little society, and created some
alarm. A party of seven or eight Indians having been drowned on their
way to Alexandria, in autumn, their relatives imputed the misfortune
to the whites. "Had there been no whites at Alexandria," said they,
"our friends would not have gone there to trade; and if they had not
gone there, they would not have been drowned:" _ergo_--the white men
are the cause of their death, and the Indians must be avenged.
Nothing, however, was known of their hostile intentions until winter,
when Mr. F. had occasion to send a man to Stuart's Lake with
despatches, who, on arriving opposite to the Indian camp, found
himself suddenly surrounded by the natives. They advanced rapidly upon
him, brandishing their arms, and uttering horrid yells, and would
have dispatched him on the spot but for the interference of one of
themselves, who nobly threw himself between the Canadian and the
muzzles of the guns that were levelled at him, and beckoned him to
flee. He took to his heels accordingly, and never looked behind him
till he reached the fort.
A little before Mr. Fisher had learned from his home guards that an
attack on the fort was intended, and that they had been solicited by
their neighbours to join in it, but had refused. So far, indeed, from
wishing to injure the whites, they consented to carry the despatches
which conveyed the information I have just mentioned. As Mr. F.
urgently requested that assistance should be afforded him with as
little delay as possible, it was determined that I should forthwith
proceed to Alexandria, accompanied by Waccan, the interpreter, and
eight men well armed.
Passing Fraser's Lake and Fort George posts, we arrived at the Indian
winter camp, which we found abandoned; but a well beaten track led
from it in the direction of Alexandria, a circumstance which made
us apprehensive that our aid might come too late, and prompted us
to redouble our speed. Our party consequently was soon very much
scattered--a most unmilitary procedure--which might have proved fatal
to ourselves, while we thought of relieving our friends.
The interpreter, myself, and two Iroquois, forming the advanced
guard of the _grand army_, which consisted of full six men, still
considerably in the rear, on turning a point found ourselves
immediately in front of the camp. We were thus as much taken by
surprise as those whom we wished to surprise; but without hesitating a
moment we rushed up the bank, and were instantly in the midst of the
camp. The uproar was tremendous, the Indians seized their arms with
the most threatening gestures and savage yells, and it would have
been impossible for us to execute our orders--which were to seize
the ringleader only--without a fierce struggle and bloodshed on both
sides; and though more resolute, perhaps, than our enemies, we were by
far the weaker party, their numbers being at least ten to one of ours.
Happily, however, there was an Indian (one of our friends) from
Alexandria, in the camp, who, as soon as he could make himself
heard, informed us that the affair had been already arranged to the
satisfaction of both parties. Thus terminated our expedition, without
bloodshed and without laurels. A few days earlier it might have been
otherwise; nor was Mr. F. without blame in neglecting to advise us of
the arrangement.
We continued our course towards Fort Alexandria, and reached it late
in the evening. My unexpected appearance gave my old bourgeois of Two
Mountains an agreeable surprise. Having eaten nothing since morning,
we made sad havoc of his beefsteaks and potatoes.
"Well, Mac," said he, "to judge from your appetite, the air of New
Caledonia seems to agree wonderfully with you. Pray how do you like
the beef-steaks?"
"Never tasted anything better," said I.
Next morning he requested me to accompany him to the store, as he
said, to see a hind-leg of the steer which had furnished me with my
steaks. I approached it, and lo! it was the hind-leg of a horse!
The beef-steaks, or rather _horse_-steaks, were again presented at
breakfast, and I confess I had not the same relish for them as at
supper, but my repugnance--such is the effect of habit--was soon
overcome.
I remained a few days here for the sake of repose, and then returned.
On the approach of spring, my fellow-subordinate, Mr. McKenzie,
dissatisfied with the service, left for the east side of the
mountains, and I took his place at the desk, the duties of which,
although by no means harassing, left me but little leisure. The
accounts of all the posts in the district, eight in number, were made
up here; I had also to superintend the men of the establishment,
accompany them on their winter trips, and attend to the Indian trade.
But even if the duty had been more toilsome, I had every inducement to
perform it cheerfully, as Mr. Dease was one of the kindest and most
considerate of men. On the 5th of May Mr. Dease took his departure
for Fort Vancouver, with the returns of his district, which might he
valued at 11,000l. The outfit, together with servants' wages and
incidental expenses, amounted to about 3,000l., leaving to the Company
a clear profit of about 8,000l.
I was appointed to the charge of Stuart's Lake during the summer, with
four men to perform the ordinary duties of the establishment--making
hay, attending to gardens, &c. A few cattle were introduced in 1830,
and we now began to derive some benefit from the produce of the dairy.
Our gardens (a term applied in this country to any piece of ground
under cultivation) in former times yielded potatoes; nothing would now
grow save turnips. A few carrots and cabbages were this year raised
on a piece of new ground, which added to the luxuries of our table.
Heaven knows, they were much wanted, for the other fare was scarcely
fit for dogs! In the early part of the season it consisted entirely
of salmon, which this year was of the worst quality, having been two
years in the store. A few sturgeon, however, of enormous[1] size,
were caught, whose flesh was the most tender and delicious I had ever
eaten, and would have been considered a delicacy by Apicius himself;
it need not be wondered at then that the capture of one caused
universal joy.
[1] Belluga?
The salmon (the New Caledonian staff of life) ascend Frazer's River
and its tributaries, from the Pacific in immense shoals, proceeding
towards the sources of the streams until stopped by shallow water.
Having deposited their spawn, their dead bodies are seen floating down
the current in thousands; few of them ever return to the sea; and in
consequence of the old fish perishing in this manner, they fail in
this quarter every fourth year. The natives display a good deal of
ingenuity in catching them. Where the current and depth of water
permit, they bar it across by means of stakes driven into the bottom
with much labour, and standing about six inches apart; these are
strongly bound to a piece of timber, or "plate," running along the
top; stays, or supporters, are placed at intervals of ten or twelve
feet, the upper end bearing against the plate so as to form an angle
with the stream. Gaps are left in the works of sufficient size to
admit the _varveaux_, or baskets, in which the fish are taken. After
the whole is finished, square frames of wicker-work, called keys, are
let down against the upper side, to prevent the fish from ascending,
and at the same time to allow the water a free passage. The keys must
be kept entirely free from filth, such as branches, leaves, &c.,
otherwise the whole works would soon be swept away. The baskets are
of a cylindrical form, about two and a half feet in diameter at the
mouth, and terminate in a point of four or, five inches. When the
fishing is over, all the materials are removed, and replaced the
ensuing year with equal labour.
To preserve the fish for future consumption the following process is
adopted. The back being split up, and the back-bone extracted, it is
hung by the tail for a few days; then it is taken down and distended
on splinters of wood; these are attached to a sort of scaffold erected
for the purpose, where the fish remains till sufficiently dry for
preservation. Even in dry seasons, during this process, the ground all
round the scaffold is thickly covered with large maggots; but in wet
seasons the sight becomes much more loathsome.
I have already observed that the salmon fail periodically, and the
natives would consequently be reduced to the utmost distress, did not
the goodness of Providence furnish them with a substitute. Rabbits
are sent to supply the place of the salmon; and, singular as it may
appear, these animals increase in number as the salmon decrease,
until they swarm all over the country. When the salmon return, they
gradually disappear, being destroyed or driven away by their greatest
enemy, the lynx, which first appear in smaller, then in greater
numbers;--both they and their prey disappearing together. As to the
_cause_ that induces those animals to appear and disappear in this
manner, I cannot take upon myself to explain.
In the course of this summer one of our interpreters, a native, lost
his life in rather a singular manner. He had made a bear-trap, and
wishing to ascertain how it would work, tried his own weight on the
spring, which yielded but too readily, and crushed him in so dreadful
a manner that he only survived his experiment but a few hours. As
he had withdrawn from the Company's service this year, his body was
disposed of after the manner of his own people, except that it was
buried instead of being burned; this, however, was the first instance
of an interment, it being introduced through our influence in pity to
the unfortunate widows, who are exposed to the cruellest tortures at
the burning of the body. I never beheld a more affecting scene than
the present. Immediately as the coffin was lowered into the grave, the
widow threw herself upon it, shrieking and tearing her hair, and could
only be removed by main force: several other females, relatives of the
deceased, were also assembled in a group hard by, and evinced all the
external symptoms of extreme grief, chanting the death-song in a most
lugubrious tone, the tears streaming down their cheeks, and beating
their breasts. The men, however, even the brothers of the deceased,
showed no emotion whatever, and as soon as the rites were ended, moved
off the ground, followed by the female mourners, who soon after were
seen as gay and cheerful as if they had returned from a wedding. The
widow, however, still remained by the grave, being obliged to do so
in conformity with the customs of her nation, which required that she
should mourn day and night, until the relatives of the deceased should
collect a sufficiency of viands to make a feast in honour of his
bones.
As already observed, the bodies were formerly burned; the relatives of
the deceased, as well as those of the widow, being present, all armed;
a funeral pile was erected, and the body placed upon it. The widow
then set fire to the pile, and was compelled to stand by it, anointing
her breast with the fat that oozed from the body until the heat became
insupportable: when the wretched creature, however, attempted to draw
back, she was thrust forward by her husband's relatives at the point
of their spears, and forced to endure the dreadful torture until
either the body was reduced to ashes, or she herself almost scorched
to death. Her relatives were present merely to preserve her life; when
no longer able to stand they dragged her away; and this intervention
often led to bloody quarrels! The body being burned, the ashes were
collected in a box and given in charge to the widow, who carried them
about with her until the feast was prepared, when they were taken from
her, and deposited in a small hut or placed upon the top of a wooden
pillar neatly carved, as their final resting-place.
During this interval she was in a state of the most wretched slavery;
every child in the village might command her and beat her unmercifully
if they chose, no one interfered. After the feast, however, she
regained her freedom, and along with that the privilege of incurring
the risk of another scorching. Our interference relieved them from the
most cruel part of the ceremony; the temporary state of slavery is
still continued.