That great northern country is a land of innumerable lakes and rivers.
Unfortunately, many of the streams abound with rapids, and navigation on
them, as generally understood, is an impossibility. Hence, the only way
of travelling on them in summer, is in the light birch canoe or in some
other craft, so portable, that it can be carried or dragged across the
many portages that are so numerous in that land of cataracts and falls.
From time immemorial, the birch canoe has been considered a part of the
craft of the Indian. Centuries of its use has enabled him so to perfect
it, that although attempts have been made by the white man to improve
it, they have not been very successful.
One of our missionaries, who was one of the best canoemen in the
country, was conceited enough to imagine, that the beautiful cedar canoe
of the white man was superior to the birch-bark ones of the natives. So
certain was he of this, that at a good deal of trouble and expense, he
had one of the very best models sent to him all the way from Ontario to
Norway House. On the beautiful Playgreen lake and other similar places,
he enjoyed it amazingly; but when he started off on his missionary
touring, the Indians, who are the best judges of these things urged him
not to attempt in that beautiful, but unreliable boat, to run the wild
rapids of the mighty Nelson or other great rivers. He, however, only
laughed at their fears and protestations. A number of them set off
together on a long missionary journey, one of the objects of which was,
to assist in the building of a new church. For a time, the erection of
the little sanctuary in the wilderness went on uninterruptedly, much to
the delight of the resident Christian Indians, who had long wished for
one in which to worship God.
The securing of sufficient food for the builders, was one of the duties
that devolved upon, and gave considerable anxiety to, the missionary.
When the supplies which had been secured were about exhausted, and it
seemed as though the work of building would have to cease on account of
the lack of food, word came through some passing hunters that they had
seen abundance of sturgeon sporting at the foot of some great rapids of
the Nelson River. As they are considered delicious and nourishing food,
an expedition was at once prepared to go and capture as many of them as
possible. The missionary himself, an energetic, active man, took charge
of the party, and insisted, on going in his beautiful cedar canoe. When
they reached the head of the rapids, at the foot of which the sturgeon
were reported to have been seen in such numbers, there was a brief rest
ere the run down was attempted. The Indians all protested against the
missionary's resolve to run such wild rapids in a canoe which they were
certain was so unfitted for such a dangerous trip. The missionary,
however, was stubborn and unmoved by their entreaties. When they saw
that their words availed not, to change his resolve, an old experienced
guide said:
"Well, then let one of us go with you, to sit in the stern of your boat
and help you to steer, and also, by our weight, to keep the head of your
canoe high up as we run the rapids."
This kindly offer to risk and to share the dangers, he also refused,
saying, "that he could go in his white man's canoe anywhere an Indian
could go in a birch-bark." Their objection to his canoe, was, that it
was not built high enough in front, and so when he made the last wild
rush in the rapids where the pitch in the waters was so steep, instead
of the boat rising like a duck on the mad billows at the foot, it would
plunge under like a log and disappear.
Well would it have been for the wilful missionary if he had listened to
the advice of these experienced men who knew what they were talking
about. He, however, cut them short by ordering them to enter their
canoes and go on, and he would soon follow. With regret they left him
there, sitting on a rock, leisurely watching them as they began the
hazardous trip. With care and skill, the Indians all succeeded in
successfully running those dangerous rapids which are as wild and fierce
as any in the Saint Lawrence. As quickly as possible they went ashore
at the foot, and, with their hearts full of foreboding, clustered at a
point where they could watch the missionary make the run.
Alas! their fears were too well grounded. Down the rushing, roaring
river, they saw the brave, but rash man, coming. With consummate skill
in the upper rapids, did he manage his beautifully polished craft; but
when the last wild plunge at the foot was made, both canoe and
missionary suddenly disappeared. It was many days ere the poor putrid
body was recovered, far away down the great river.
A solitary grave is there on the bank, and a little tombstone set up by
loving hands, records the name of this brave, but rash man.
For the manufacture of a first class Indian canoe, the birch-bark must
be taken from the tree at the right time of the year with the greatest
care. The framework must be arranged with a skill and accuracy that
comes only of long practice. The fact is, the first-class canoe-makers,
were about as rare among the tribes, as are first-class poets in
civilisation. Many Indians could make canoes; but there were a few men
whose fame for their splendid crafts, were known far and wide, and who
were always able to obtain the highest price for all they could make.
It is really wonderful, considering the cranky nature of a canoe at its
best, what journeys can be made in them. My skilled canoeman and I used
to run wild rapids, and cross over storm swept lakes of large
dimensions. We lived on the game we could shoot as we hurried along,
slept on the rocks or sandy beach where night overtook us, and were
always thankful when we found the little companies of Indians for whom
we were seeking. As they were generally eager to hear the truth, but
little time was lost between the religious services. Long sermons and
addresses were the order of the day; and often from early morn until
late at night, there was only the short intermissions for our hasty
meals of fish or game.
As we journeyed on from place to place, our meals were cooked and eaten
in the open air, and for days we met no human beings. Our bed was on
some balsam boughs, if obtainable; if not, a smooth granite rock or
sandy beach did very well. So healthful were we, and so congenial was
the work and its surroundings, that there were no sleepless nights,
except when sometimes myriads of mosquitoes assailed us, or a fierce
thunderstorm swept over us. Then the nights were not so pleasant, and
we welcomed the coming of the day, even if, because of the storm, it
revealed a damp condition of affairs among our supplies.
This was the general plan of our proceedings: when we reached one of the
little Indian villages at a time which had been, perhaps, arranged six
months or a year before. All who possibly could come in from contiguous
fishing or hunting grounds, were there to meet me; then, for several
days services would be held, after which the Indians would return to
their different hunting grounds, while I would again launch my canoe and
with my skilled paddlers, push on to some other point, where would be
gathered another company of Indians awaiting my arrival and longing to
hear the glorious Gospel of the Son of God.
Very precious was the Word to those people so isolated. The coming of
the missionary in his canoe to preach to them, and perhaps teach them
how to read for themselves the precious Book, was one of the few happy
breaks during the brief summer months in their lonely, monotonous lives.
They were ever on the lookout for my coming, and especially did those
who had renounced their paganism and accepted Christianity give me a
hearty welcome, even if it was expressed in their quiet, dignified way.
The Indian's alertness and keenness of hearing, as well as of seeing,
was something remarkable to me. The following is a good illustration of
it. One summer, when thus travelling, I was on the lookout for some
friendly Indians whose camping place was determined each summer by the
abundance of the food supply. Anxious to make as much of the time as
possible, my men and I were paddling away in our canoe at four o'clock
in the morning. To hasten our progress, we pushed out into the centre
of the great river, down which we were travelling, as there the current
was much more rapid than near the shore. At that early hour, the
morning mists still lay low and dense on either side, completely hiding
from view every object on the shore. While thus pushing on between
those walls of vapoury mist, we were startled by the rapid firing of
guns. To me this was a decided mystery, but it was at once understood
by my experienced canoemen. Quickly turning the head of our canoe in
the direction from which came the tiring, they paddled through the now
rapidly disappearing vapours, and there on the shore we descried a
company of friendly Indians on the lookout for our coming. Their ears
had been of more service than their eyes; for although they had been
unable to see us, their practiced ears had caught the sound of our
paddles. After greeting us most cordially, they produced some smoked
reindeer tongues and other native delicacies which they had brought for
the missionary. Some very suggestive and profitable religious services
were enjoyed there by the riverside. For the comfort and encouragement
of those who had already become His children we talked of the loving
kindnesses and providential care of our Heavenly Father. We also
pleaded with those who had not yet decided to renounce the paganism of
their forefathers, to do so speedily and to accept of the religion of
the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thus the work went on, and through many happy summers, my canoe was
afloat for days on many waters, while as a glad messenger, I travelled
through the wilderness beseeching men and women to be reconciled to God.
Of the dog-travelling in that land so much has been written, that but a
short account need here be given. Winter begins in those regions in the
latter part of October and continues without any perceptible break until
April. So immense, however, are the ice-fields on the great lakes, that
they do not all disappear until a month or six weeks later. One winter
I was able to make quite a long journey with my dog-trains, arriving
home as late as the eighteenth of May. At that date, however, the snow
had all disappeared and the frost was nearly all out of the ground.
The cold is intense, the spirit thermometer indicating from thirty to
sixty below zero. We have seen the mercury frozen as solid as lead for
weeks together. For months milk is frozen into cakes like marble. We
used to carry large pieces of it wrapped up in a newspaper, and when at
the camp-fire we desired a little in our cup of tea, we cut it off with
an axe. As will be seen from this we had about seven months of bright
cold winter. During all that time there was not a thaw, the snow was
never soft, and there was no dampness in the air or under foot. Soft
deer skin moccasins are very much superior to civilised boots or shoes
under such conditions.
There are no roads in that vast country. The frost King freezes up
every lake and stream, and hardens into adamant every muskeg and quaking
bog. The snow covers everything with its great mantle of beauty, and
makes it possible to travel on snow-shoes or by dog-train through vast
regions absolutely impassable in the summer months. Horses or other
large animals, are absolutely worthless for travel in such regions. The
snow is a great leveller. It fills up many a dangerous pitfall and puts
such a cushion on the logs and rocks, that upsets or falls are only
laughed at by the dog-travellers as they merrily dash along. The only
drawbacks to a tumble down a steep declivity of some hundreds of feet,
as once befell the writer, were the laughter of his comrades, and the
delay incident to digging him out of the snowdrift at the bottom, which
was anywhere from twenty to thirty feet deep. These accidents and
delays were not frequent; and, although there were hardships and
sufferings, there were many things to instruct and interest, and to
break the monotony of winter travelling in that lonely land.
In the coldest, brightest, sunniest days, the fitful mirage played its
strange antics with distant landscapes, and at times brought within near
vision places many miles away. Sometimes circle within circle appeared
around the sun, until as many as four were distinctly visible; each
circle at times having within it four mock suns--sixteen mock suns
visible at the same time was a sight worth going a long distance to see.
Strange to say, the Indians dreaded the sight of them, as they declared
they were always the forerunners of blizzard storms; and the more vivid
these sun-dogs, as they called them, the more dreadful would be the
storm.
But the most fascinating and glorious of all the celestial phenomena of
those glorious regions, are the Northern Lights--the Aurora Borealis.
Confined to no particular months of the year, we have seen them flashing
and quivering through the few hours of the short nights following the
hottest days in July or August, as well as in the long cold nights of
the winter months. They would sometimes linger on all night in their
weird beauty, until lost in the splendour of the coming day. A
description of them has often been attempted by writers of northern
scenes, and I have to confess, that I have been rash enough to try it
elsewhere; but their full glories are still unwritten and perhaps ever
will be. They appear to belong to the spiritual rather than to the
earthly; and there are times when they so dazzle and overwhelm, that it
does seem as though only the language of spirits is adequate to the task
of describing them. Then they are so changeable. Never have I seen two
great exhibitions of them alike. At first they are of purest white; but
when the scintillations begin, they take on every colour of the rainbow.
Sometimes they appear in great brilliant arcs, as in the illustration.
At other times they are simply ribbons of wavy undulations that seem to
soothe, as well as charm, with their rhythmic motions and ever changing
hues. At still other times they are mighty armies of disciplined
warriors going out to conflict. Then, when they seem wearied with their
warlike deeds, they appear to marshal all their forces; and, fairly
filling the northern heavens, to rush on, and up, until the very zenith
is reached, where they form a corona of such dazzling splendour, that it
really seems as though the longing prayer of the church militant was
being fulfilled; and, that universal triumph had come to the world's
Redeemer here, and now the angelic and redeemed hosts of heaven and
earth are bringing forth the Royal Diadem to "crown Him Lord of all."
The dogs which we use in the dog-trains, are generally of any breed that
has in it size, endurance, and sagacity. The Esquimaux breed of dogs
formerly predominated; but in later years there has been such an
admixture of other varieties, that a pure Esquimaux dog is now a rarity
except at some of the most northern posts and missions. My worthy
predecessor among the Crees, left me a train of mongrels, that were good
enough for hauling wood and fish for the mission; and also for the short
trips to the places near home where I held weekly services; but when I
attempted to make the long journeys of hundreds of miles to the remote
parts of my great mission field, which was larger than all England or
the state of New York, they proved miserable failures. Travelling with
such dogs, was like the experience of the man who, in the olden times,
paid first-class fare to ride in a packet boat on the Erie canal, from
New York to Buffalo, and then drove a horse on the towpath all the way.
So, after nearly killing myself travelling with weak or lazy dogs,
having to walk or run on snowshoes all the time on account of their
inability to draw me, I resolved, if possible, to become the owner of
better ones. I appealed to some good friends in civilisation to aid me,
and the result was, that I was soon supplied with some of the finest
dogs that could be obtained. Among them, Jack and Cuffy, the gifts of
Senator Sanford of Hamilton, were never equalled. Through the kindness
of James Ferrier, Esquire, of Montreal, five beautiful Saint Bernards
were obtained from Mrs Andrew Allan. Dr Mark of Ottawa, and other
friends also remembered me, with the result, that soon I had some of the
finest dog-trains in the land. These civilised dogs had all the good
qualities of the Esquimaux without any of their thievish tricks. They
proved themselves equal in their endurance and sagacity; and only lacked
in that their feet seemed more easily to become injured and sore.
The dog-sleds are ten feet long and eighteen inches wide. They are used
to carry our bedding and supplies, as often for days and nights together
we are entirely dependent on our loads for food and lodgings. These
miscellaneous loads are well packed up in the great deer skin wrappers
and so securely tied to the sleds, that no matter how many may be the
upsets, the loads never become disarranged. My own sled, which was
called a "cariole," was one of the usual oak sleds with parchment sides
and a firm back attached. Sometimes these carioles were handsomely
painted and were very comfortable vehicles in which to ride. When well
wrapped up in fur robes, with plenty of fat meat to eat, splendid dogs
to draw you, and loving loyal Indian attendants with you dog-travelling
was not without its pleasures and enjoyments; especially if the sun was
bright, the icy pavement under you free from drifting snows, and the
temperature not colder than forty degrees below zero. It was a
different thing, however, when blizzards howled around you and the air
was so fall of the fine cutting particles of icy snow, that it was
dangerous to expose any part of the face to their pitiless attacks.
Then it was, that the marvellous skill of the experienced Indian-guide
was seen, and we were led on amidst such miserable surroundings with an
accuracy and speed that seemed almost incredible.
The camp, when the day's travel was ended--especially if blizzards had
assailed us--was a welcomed spot, even if it was only a whole day out in
the snow on the sheltered side on some dense spruce or balsam grove. At
times we were able to find places in which thus to camp that were quite
picturesque. When the halt for the night was called by the guide, the
first thing done was to unharness our faithful dogs. Our snow-shoes
were improvised as shovels, and from the spot selected as our resting
place, the snow was quickly piled up in a great bank at our rear; and,
sometimes, if the night threatened to be unusually severe, on each side
of us.
Then the great roaring fire of dry wood, at which we cooked our suppers,
thawed out the fish for our dogs, and warmed our half frozen bodies, was
very welcome. When supper was eaten, and prayers, so sweet and
profitable to us all, were over, how delightful to sit down on our robes
and spend some hours in pleasant chat ere my bed was made and I was
cosily and thoroughly tucked in by my faithful comrades. It was hard at
first to sleep with the head completely covered; there was such a sense
of smothering, that I often ran the risk of the freezing rather than the
smothering. One night, perhaps because of this suffocating sensation, I
unconsciously uncovered my head. After a time I awoke suddenly to
consciousness, to find that I was trying to pull off my now frozen nose
which I thought was the end of an axe handle.
We fed our dogs on fish, giving them only one meal a day, and that one,
when the day's work was done. To feed them in the morning, caused them
to be sluggish and stupid for some time thereafter; and the same
happened if they were fed at noon. Long experience has shown, that the
dogs thrive the best, and are able to do the most work, on one good meal
given to them before their long night's rest. The dog-shoes, which are
so essential to their comfort and recovery when a foot is frozen or
badly injured, are much prized by them. These shoes are made out of a
warm English cloth called duffle, and are in shape like a large mit
without a thumb. An old dog that has once become accustomed to dog
shoes, is ever hankering after them when on a long cold trip.
Sometimes, they will come and most comically hold up their feet to be
shod. At other times, they have been known to come into camp and there
lie down on their backs, and, holding up their four feet, plead most
ludicrously and importunately for these warm woollen shoes. Some of
them get very cunning at their work, and shirk from doing their share of
the pulling; and yet, to avoid discovery, will appear to be doing more
work than any other dog in the train.
But this dog travelling was hard work at best; and dogs, as well as
their master, were always glad when the long journeys were ended and a
welcome rest for a little while could be taken, to heal up the wounds
and frost bites, and gather strength for the next trip.
Good was accomplished, and that was the great reward for all the risks
run and sufferings endured. Many for whom Christ died, would never up
to the present hour, have heard the Gospel or have seen the Book, if it
had not been for the missionary carrying it to them by the canoe in
summer, and the dog-train in winter. Thank God, many of them have heard
and have accepted gladly the great salvation thus brought to them. With
its reception into their hearts and lives, marvellous have been the
transformations. Where the devil-dance, and ghost-dance, and other
abominations, performed to the accompaniment of the conjurer's rattle or
the monotonous drumming of the medicine man, once prevailed and held the
people in a degrading superstition, the house of prayer has now been
erected, and the wilderness has become vocal with the sweet songs of
Zion. Lives once impure and sinful have been transformed by the
Gospel's power, and a civilisation real and abiding, has come in to
bless and to add to their comfort for this life, while they dwell in a
sweet and blessed assurance of life eternal in the world to come.