ROUGH AND TUMBLE--A POLAR BEAR MADE USEFUL--FISHING AND FLOUNDERING, AND
NARROW ESCAPES--AN UNEXPECTED DISCOVERY, PRODUCTIVE OF MINGLED
PERPLEXITY AND JOY.
"You remember, I daresay, that the day on which I left Ungava, last
spring, was an unusually fine one--just such a day, Eda, as those on
which you and I and Chimo were wont to clamber up the berry-glen. But
the clambering that we went through there was nothing to the work we
went through on our third day from the fort. Maximus and Oolibuck were
first-rate climbers, and we would have got over the ground much faster
than we did but for the dogs, which could not travel easily over the
rough ground with their loaded sled. Chimo, indeed, hauled like a hero,
and if the other dogs had been equal to him we would have been here
before to-day. Well, as I said, our third day was one of considerable
toil. Leaving the river we struck into the mountains, but after nearly
breaking our sled to pieces, and endangering our necks more than once,
we found it necessary to return to the river and follow its windings
into the interior.
"After many days of as rough travelling as I ever experienced, we came
to the lake district on the height of land, and travelled for some time
more rapidly and with much greater ease. There were plenty of ptarmigan
here, so that we saved our provisions--a matter of importance, as you
know, in a country where we might have found nothing fit for food. One
evening, towards sunset, as we were crossing a large lake, it came on to
snow heavily, and ere long we could not see the land.
"`What shall we do, Maximus?' said I; `it seems to me that if we go on
we may wander out of our course and lose much time ere we find it again.
Shall we turn back?'
"`Better go on,' replied Maximus.
"Oolibuck seemed to be of the same opinion, so I gave my whip a flourish
to urge on the dogs, which were beginning to flag, owing to the
difficulty of drawing the sled through the deepening snow. But the two
rear dogs could hardly be prevailed on to move. Even Chimo was knocked
up. In this dilemma Maximus came to my aid. He hung one of the
ptarmigan at his belt, and letting the dogs smell it, walked on before.
The hungry animals brightened up instantly, and went forward for a
considerable distance with alacrity.
"But after trudging on for two or three miles, the snow fell so thickly
that we thought proper to call a halt and hold another council of war.
"`Now,' said I, `it is my opinion that we should encamp on the ice;
there is no use in wearying the dogs, and ourselves in uncertainty; what
think you, lads?'
"`Me t'ink so too,' said Oolibuck.
"Maximus nodded his head by way of assent, so we immediately set to work
to make our encampment. You recollect the hut we built on the lake when
I was so badly hurt, and when you were lost, Eda? Well, we made a
snow-house just like that one; and as we worked very hard, we had it up
and were all snug under its shelter in little more than two hours.
Meanwhile, the dogs were fed; and a small piece of wood, that we
fortunately brought with us on the sled, was cut up, and a fire kindled.
But this only served long enough to boil the kettle; and then it went
out, leaving us to eat our supper in the dark, for by this time the sun
had set. However, we did not mind that much; and when we had finished,
and were stretched out side by side on the snow, smoking our pipes,
while the dogs lay at our feet and kept us warm, I thought that a palace
could not have been more comfortable than our snow-house.
"As we had no wood wherewith to make another fire, and so could not
procure water except by the tedious process of digging through the ice,
I resolved to try an experiment which I had once heard had been
attempted with success. This was, to fill a bottle with snow and take
it to bed with me. During the night the heat of my body melted the
snow, and in the morning we had sufficient water to give us each a
draught at breakfast.
"When morning came we found that it was blowing and drifting so hard
that we could not venture to move; so we made up our minds to remain
where we were until the weather should moderate.
"`Maximus,' said I, after our breakfast of cold boiled ptarmigan was
over, `set to work outside and dig a hole through the ice. I have no
doubt we shall find fish in this lake. If we do, they will form an
excellent addition to our fare. I will prepare the lines and hooks.'
"Maximus, whose huge body was stretched out at full length, while he
enjoyed his pipe, rose to obey; but as he was about to leave the hut
Oolibuck said a few words to him.
"`Please, sir,' said Oolibuck, with his usual oily smile, `my countrymen
fish in igloo when blow hard. Pr'aps ve make hole here, if you like.'
"`Very good,' said I; `make the hole where you please, and look sharp
about it, else I shall have my lines prepared before you reach the
water.'
"The two Esquimaux immediately set to work, and in less than an hour a
hole about six feet deep was yawning in the middle of our floor.
Through this we set two lines, and our usual luck attended us
immediately. We caught five or six excellent white-fish, and one or two
trout, in the first half-hour, so that we were enabled to give the dogs
a capital feed. Moreover, we froze as many as we could carry along with
us for future use; but we had not the satisfaction of having a good
dinner of them that day, as we had no wood wherewith to make fire. You
would have been greatly amused had you peeped in at the ice-window of
our igloo that day, as we sat round the hole in the floor with eager,
excited looks. I confess, however, that I left the work principally to
the two men, who seemed to relish it amazingly. Maximus was earnest and
energetic, as he always is; but the expression of Oolibuck's face
underwent the most extraordinary transformations--now beaming with
intense hope, as he felt, or thought he felt, a _tug_; anon blazing with
excitement, while his body jerked as if a galvanic shock had assailed
it, under the influence of a decided _pull_. Then his visage was
elongated as the fish escaped, and was again convulsed by another pull,
or shone in triumph as he hauled the wriggling captive into the light of
day.
"Towards evening the wind fell, and we resumed our journey. We were not
again interrupted by weather for more than a week after this, but were
much perplexed by the chains of small lakes into which we came. At last
we reached Clearwater Lake, and had a long consultation as to the best
course to pursue, because it was now a question whether we should follow
the chain of lakes by which we came up to Ungava in our canoes, or make
a straight cut for the coast and take our chance of finding it. While
we were yet uncertain what to do, our course was decided by a polar
bear!"
"A polar bear!" cried Edith, in surprise.
"Ay; a polar bear and her cub settled the question for us, as you shall
hear presently," replied Frank. "But first hand me papa's
tobacco-pouch, please, as my pipe is exhausted.
"There, now," continued Frank, re-lighting his pipe, and throwing a
fresh log on the fire, "that's comfortable. Well, as I said, we were
somewhat perplexed as to what we should do, when, in wandering about the
lake endeavouring to find the outlet, I came upon the track of a polar
bear; and by the side of it were little foot-prints, which showed me
that it was a she-bear with her cub. I observed that the tracks were
quite fresh.
"`Now, then, Maximus,' said I, pointing to the tracks, which went to the
westward, `there is a sure guide who will conduct us by the quickest
route to the coast.' I could tell this, Eda, because I knew that the
bear had found food rather scarce in those high regions, and would
descend Clearwater River in order to fish in the open water at the
falls, which are very numerous in that river. On reaching the coast it
would find plenty seals in the sea. In the meantime I had nothing to do
but follow its track to be conducted by the shortest route to Clearwater
River, the commencement of which was difficult to find owing to the
flatness of the margin of the lake at this end. Away we went then, and,
as I had expected, were soon led to the river, down the banks of which
we scrambled, over rocks and crags, through bushes and snow, until we
came to the coast at Richmond Gulf.
"But it took us many weeks to accomplish the journey which I have
briefly sketched thus far, and when we reached the coast, worn with hard
travel, and our clothing uncomfortably ragged, the spring was well
advanced--rivers were breaking up, ducks and geese were passing to the
north, and there were thousands of deer, so that we found ourselves
suddenly in the midst of abundance. Just before reaching the gulf I
witnessed the breaking up of a river, which was one of the grandest
sights I ever saw.
"The river was not a very large one. On reaching it we were much struck
with a curious barrier of ice that was jammed across it. On examination
I saw that the ice had given way some time before we arrived there, and
an enormous cake, of many yards surface and fully six feet thick, had,
while being hurled along by the swelling water, caught upon the rugged
rocks and been tilted upon end. Thus it formed a temporary barrier,
against which other masses were forced until the outlet was completely
checked, and the water began to rise with great rapidity. As we stood
on the high cliff, looking down on the wild ravine in which this was
going on, I heard a loud crack. In another instant the obstructing
barrier burst like a thunderclap, and the pent-up waters leaped with one
mighty roar into their accustomed channel! The devastation created was
inconceivably grand. Rocks of many tons weight were torn up, cast like
playthings on the rushing ice, and hurled on the cliffs below, while
trees, and ice, and water swept down the gorge in a mad whirl, that made
my brain reel as I gazed at it. In an hour the worst of this awful
scene was over, but the unutterable desolation that was left will remain
for centuries, I believe, to tell of the mighty _rush_ that happened
there.
"Our first experience of Richmond Gulf was not by any means pleasant.
When we arrived it was covered with ice; but we did not know that,
although it appeared to be solid enough, it was in reality little better
than frozen sludge or foam. Oolibuck happened to be walking first, with
the line of his little sled over his shoulder. For a short distance we
plodded on, intending to cross the gulf; but I was suddenly aroused from
a reverie by a shout from Maximus. Looking hastily up, I beheld nothing
of Oolibuck except his head above the ice, while Maximus was trying to
pull him out by hauling at the tail-line of the sled. Luckily Oolibuck
had kept fast hold of the line which was over his shoulder, and after
much trouble we succeeded in dragging him out of the water. A sharp
frost happened to have set in, and before we got back to the shore the
poor fellow's garments were frozen so stiff that he could not run.
"`This is a bad job, Maximus,' said I; `we must carry him. Do you lift
his head, and I'll take the feet.'
"`Oh be queek! I is frizzen up,' cried Oolibuck, casting a rueful look
through his tangled locks, which were a mere mass of icicles!
"Maximus gave a loud chuckle, and before I could assist him he seized
his comrade in his powerful arms, heaved him over his shoulder like a
sack, and ran towards the shore as lightly as if his burden were a child
instead of a big over-fed Esquimau!
"Arrived at the woods, we wrapped Oolibuck in our blankets; then we
kindled a fire, and in two hours after his clothes were dried and
himself ready to proceed. This might have turned out a more serious
accident, however, and we felt very thankful when we had our damp
companion steaming beside a good fire. The lesson was not thrown away,
for we coasted round Richmond Gulf instead of attempting to cross it.
"And now," continued Frank, stirring the fire and re-lighting his pipe,
which invariably went out at the interesting parts of his
narrative--"now I come to that part of my story which bears on the fate
of Maximus.
"As I have said, we had arrived at the coast, and began to look forward
to Moose Fort as the first resting-place on our journey. By far the
greater part of the journey lay before us, Eda; for, according to my
calculation, I have travelled since last spring a distance of three
thousand miles, nearly a thousand of which have been performed on foot,
upwards of a thousand in boats and canoes, and a thousand by sea; and in
the whole distance I did not see a civilised spot of ground or a single
road--not so much as a bridle-path. As Bryan's favourite song has it--
"`Over mountains and rivers I was pelted to shivers.'
"But I'm happy to say I have not, as the same song continues, `met on
this land with a wathery grave.' I was very near it once, however, as
you shall hear.
"Well, away we went along the coast of James's Bay, much relieved to
think that the mountains were now past, and that our road henceforth,
whatever else it might be, was level. One evening, as we were plodding
wearily along, after a hard day's march over soft snow alternated with
sandy beach--for the spring was fast advancing--we came suddenly on a
camp of Indians. At first I thought they must be some of the Moose
Indians, but on inquiry I found that they were a party of Muskigons, who
had wandered all over East Main, and seemed to be of a roving, unsettled
disposition. However, we determined to encamp along with them for that
night, and get all the information we could out of them in regard to
their hunting-grounds.
"We spent a great part of the night in the leathern wigwam of the
principal chief, who was a sinister-looking old rascal, though I must
say he received us hospitably enough, and entertained us with a good
deal of small-talk, after time and the pipe had worn away his reserve.
But I determined to spend part of the night in the tent of a solitary
old woman who had recently been at Moose Fort, and from whom I hoped to
hear some news of our friends there. You know I have had always a
partiality for miserable old wives, Eda; which accounts, perhaps, for my
liking for you! This dame had been named Old Moggy by the people at
Moose; and she was the most shrivelled, dried-up, wrinkled old body you
ever saw. She was testy too; but this was owing to the neglect she
experienced at the hands of her tribe. She was good-tempered by nature,
however; a fact which became apparent the longer I conversed with her.
"`Well, Old Moggy,' said I, on entering her tent, `what cheer, what
cheer?'
"`There's no cheer here,' she replied peevishly, in the Indian tongue.
"`Nay, then,' said I, `don't be angry, mother; here's a bit o' baccy to
warm your old heart. But who is this you have got beside you?' I
asked, on observing a good-looking young girl, with a melancholy cast of
countenance, seated in a dark corner of the wigwam, as if she sought
concealment. I observed that she was whiter than Indians usually are,
and supposed at first that she was a half-breed girl; but a second
glance convinced me that she had little if any of the Indian blood in
her veins.
"`She is my only friend,' said Old Moggy, her dark eye brightening as
she glanced towards the girl. `She was to have been my son's wife, but
the Great Spirit took my son away. She is all that is left to me now.'
"The old woman's voice trembled as she spoke the last few words, and she
spread her skinny hands over the small fire that smouldered in the
centre of the floor.
"I was proceeding to make further inquiries into this girl's history,
when the curtain-door of the tent was raised and Oolibuck thrust in his
shaggy head.
"`Please, sir, de ole chief him wants baccy. I have smoke all mine.
Vill you give some?'
"`Here you are,' said I, throwing a lump to the Esquimau. `Send Maximus
to me; I want to speak with him.'
"`I is here,' said Maximus, outside the tent.
"`Ah! that's right.--Now, Old Moggy, I'll be back in a few minutes, so
don't go to sleep till I return.'
"As I was about to issue from the tent, the young girl passed me
hastily, and, drawing the hood over her head and face, darted through
the opening. I found Maximus gazing after her in surprise.
"`Hallo, Maximus! what's wrong? Do you think the girl's a witch?'
"`No; but I t'ink she be funny. She look close into my face, and fly
'way when you come hout o' tent.'
"`That's odd. Did you ever see her before?'
"`I not see her yet. She keep face covered up.'
"`Well, come along, it doesn't signify. I want you to go with me to the
chief's wigwam, to ask where we are to put the dogs for the night, and
to see about our own quarters.'
"Old Moggy's wigwam stood at the distance of several hundred yards from
the other tents of the village, from which it was separated by a belt of
stunted trees and willows. Through this copsewood Maximus and I took
our way, following one of the many beaten tracks made by the Indians.
The night was clear, and we found no difficulty in picking our steps
among the low shrubs. When we were about half-way through this wood, I
observed a female form gliding among the bushes. She ran towards
Maximus, who walked in advance and concealed me with his bulky form.
But a slight bend in the road revealed my figure, and the woman paused,
as if uncertain what to do.
"`Surely that is your unknown friend again,' said I, as we both halted.
Then I beckoned her to approach. At first she appeared unwilling to do
so; but suddenly she seemed to change her mind, and walking boldly up to
Maximus, she threw back her hood and stood before him. I observed that
she was Moggy's young friend, but a wondrous change had come over her.
The pale cheeks were now covered with a bright blush, and the sad eyes
were sparkling with animation, as she gazed intently into the face of
the Esquimau. For a few seconds Maximus looked like one thunder-struck.
`Aneetka!' he exclaimed vehemently, and, striding forward with a
suppressed cry, clasped the girl in his arms.
"You may easily conceive my surprise at this scene. Immediately the
recollection of the attack by the Indians on the Esquimau camp, and of
Maximus's young bride having been carried off, flashed upon me, and I
had no doubt that the Esquimau girl now stood before me. Indeed, the
fact of the broken exclamations uttered by the pair being in the
Esquimau tongue put this beyond a doubt. A feeling of great delight
filled my heart as I looked upon the couple thus unexpectedly reunited;
while they, quite oblivious of my presence, poured out a flood of
question and reply, in the midst of which they ever and anon embraced,
to make sure, no doubt, of their physical identity. Then it suddenly
occurred to me that I was behaving very ill, so I wheeled about and
sauntered away to a little distance in the direction of the shore, in
order to take some astronomical observations of the sky, and gaze
inquiringly up at the moon, which at that moment broke through a bank of
clouds, tipping the icebergs on the sea and the branches of the
overhanging trees with silver light.
"In quarter of an hour Maximus came to me and presented his long-lost
bride, Aneetka, whose pretty face beamed with joy, while her lover's
frame appeared to expand with felicity until he looked like an
exaggerated Hercules. But we had no time to waste in talking of the
past. The present required our instant and earnest attention; so we sat
down on the stem of a fallen tree to consult as to how we were to get
Aneetka out of the hands of her Indian captors. Her brief history,
after she was captured at Ungava, was as follows:--
"The Indian who had intended to make her his bride found her resolved
rather to die than to marry him; but hoping that time would overcome her
objection, he placed her under the care of his widowed mother, Old
Moggy, on returning to his village in the interior. Soon afterwards
this Indian was killed by a brown bear, and the poor mother became a
sort of outcast from the tribe, having no relations to look after her.
She was occasionally assisted, however, by two youths, who came to sue
for the hand of the Esquimau girl. But Aneetka, true to her first love,
would not listen to their proposals. One of these lovers was absent on
a hunting expedition at the time we discovered Aneetka; the other, a
surly fellow, and disliked by the most of his comrades, was in the camp.
From the day of her son's death, a feeling of sympathy had sprung up
between Old Moggy and the Esquimau girl, and this had gradually
strengthened into affection.
"Thus matters stood when we fell in with her. After much deliberation,
it was resolved that I should go to the old chief and tell him that Old
Moggy and her adopted child wished to quit the tribe and go to Moose
with us, to live there; while Aneetka should go and acquaint her old
protectress with our plans and her own altered circumstances.
"`Adieu, then, Aneetka,' said I, as the girl pushed her lover away and
bounded into the woods.--`Now, Maximus, nothing will do for it but stout
hearts and strong arms. Come along, lad.'
"I found, to my surprise, that the old chief had no objection to the
arrangement I proposed. A few of the others did not seem inclined to
part with their captive; but I explained to them the advantage it would
be to them to have friends at court, as it were, and said that the
fur-traders would be glad to support Moggy in her old age--which was
true enough, for you all know as well as I do that there is not a post
in the country where there are not one or more old or otherwise helpless
Indians supported gratuitously by the Hudson's Bay Company. The only
man who resolutely opposed the proposal was Meestagoosh, the rejected
lover; but I silenced him in a novel manner. He was a tall, powerful
fellow, of about my own size.
"`Come,' said I to his assembled comrades, in the Indian language, for I
found they understood my bad mixture of Cree and Sauteaux very
well--`come, friends, let us deal fairly in this matter. My man there
has taken a fancy to the girl--let Meestagoosh and Maximus wrestle for
her.'
"A loud laugh greeted this proposal, as the Indians surveyed the huge
proportions of my Esquimau.
"`Well, then,' I continued, `if Meestagoosh is afraid of the Esquimau, I
have no objections to try him myself.' The Indian looked at me with an
angry glance, and seemed, I thought, half inclined to accept the
challenge; so, to cut the matter short, I took him by the throat and
hurled him to the ground--a feat which was evidently enjoyed by his
countrymen.
"Meestagoosh rose and retired with a savage scowl on his face, and I saw
no more of him. Indeed, I believe he left the camp immediately.
"After this no opposition was offered, and I made the matter sure by
distributing a large quantity of powder, shot, and tobacco to the
chiefs. Old Moggy made no objection to our plan, so we set out the next
day with an additional dog purchased from the Indians in order to make
our team strong enough to haul the old woman when she got knocked up
with walking. Six days brought us to Moose Fort, just as the ice on the
river was breaking up. Here, as I have already told you, Maximus and
Aneetka were married in due form by the Wesleyan missionary, after they
had received some instruction and expressed their desire to become
Christians. Then they were supplied with a canoe and all necessary
provisions, and sent off to go round the coast to Ungava, accompanied by
our good dog Chimo, for whom we had now no further use, and by Old
Moggy, who would not consent to be separated from her friend Aneetka.
They started along the coast on a fine spring day, and the back of his
sealskin coat, shining in the sun's rays like velvet, as the canoe swept
out to sea, and disappeared behind a low point, was the last that I saw
of Maximus.
"I will not weary you just now," continued Frank, "with the details of
my subsequent journeying, as, although full of incidents, nothing of a
very thrilling character occurred except once. At Moose I remained till
the rivers were clear of ice, and then set off into the interior of the
country with a small canoe and five men, Oolibuck being bowsman. For
many days we voyaged by rivers and lakes, until we arrived at the
Michipicoten River, which is a very rough one, and full of tremendous
falls and rapids. One day, while we were descending a rapid that rushed
through a dark gorge of frowning rocks, and terminated in a fall, our
canoe was broken in two, and the most of us thrown into the water. We
all swam ashore in safety, with the exception of one man, who clung to
the canoe, poor fellow, and was carried along with it over the fall. We
never saw him more, although we searched long and carefully for his
body.
"We now found ourselves in a very forlorn condition. We were dripping
wet, without the means of making a fire, and without provisions or
blankets, in the midst of a wild, uninhabited country. However, we did
not lose heart, but set off on foot to follow the river to its mouth,
where we knew we should find relief at Michipicoten Fort. The few days
that followed were the most miserable I ever passed. We allayed the
cravings of hunger by scraping off the inner bark of the trees, and by a
few of last year's berries which had been frozen and so preserved. Once
or twice we crossed the river on rafts of drift-wood, and at night lay
down close to each other under the shelter of a tree or cliff. At
length we arrived at the fort on Lake Superior, quite worn out with
fatigue and starvation. Here we waited until the canoes from Canada
passed; and after a somewhat similar voyage, through woods, rivers, and
lakes, arrived at length, about the beginning of autumn, at York Fort,
on Hudson's Bay.
"Here I spent some weeks in recalling to memory and recording on paper
the contents of my dispatches, which had been lost, along with our canoe
and baggage, in Michipicoten River; and when these were finished and
delivered, I embarked, along with our outfit of goods, in the _Beaver_,
and sailed for Ungava. I need scarcely add that the voyage was a
prosperous one, and that the brightest day in it all was that on which
we found the boat, with our dear little Edith, beset among the ice near
the entrance to Ungava Bay."
While Frank was thus occupied in narrating the events of his long
journey in the hall of Fort Chimo, Oolibuck was similarly employed in
entertaining the men. After the day's toil of unloading the ship was
over, he was placed in the middle of the circle, directly in front of
the blazing fire, by Dick Prince and Massan; while Moses, Oostesimow,
Gaspard, and Ma-istequan sat on his right; and Bryan, La Roche,
Francois, and Augustus supported him on the left--all having pipes in
their mouths, which were more or less blackened by constant use. A pipe
was then handed to Oolibuck, and the order given, generally by Bryan,
"to blaze away."
This the oily-visaged Esquimau did with right good-will; and the shouts
of laughter which issued from the house occasionally, as he proceeded
with his interminable narration, proved that the spirit and humour of
the stout voyageur had not been crushed by the trials and dangers of his
long, eventful journey.