I found on reaching Wichikagan that the fun was about to begin.
Blondin, who was our chief fisherman, had let down a long seine-net,
which was being drawn slowly in by a band of natives, whose interest in
a process which they had never before seen was deepening into
excitement, as they observed here and there a symptom of something
shooting below the surface of the still water, or beheld a large fish
leap frantically into the air.
At first, when the net was being prepared, those children of the forest
had merely stood by and looked on with curiosity. When Blondin and his
men rowed out from the shore, letting the net drop off the stern of our
boat as they went, they indulged in a few guesses and undertoned
remarks. When the boat gradually swept round and turned shoreward
again, having left a long line of floats in its wake, they perceived
that a large sheet of water had been enclosed, and a feeling of wonder,
combined with a half guess as to what all this portended caused their
black orbs to enlarge, and the whites thereof to glisten. But when they
were requested to lay hold of a rope attached to the other end of the
net and haul, the true state of the case burst upon their awakened minds
and proportionate excitement followed.
As the circle of the net diminished and the evidences, above referred
to, of life in the water became more frequent, gleeful expectation took
the place of wonder, and a disposition to chatter manifested itself,
especially among the women and children, who by that time had eagerly
laid hold of the drag-rope.
Soon it became apparent that a mighty mass of fish had been enclosed,
and the creatures seemed themselves to become suddenly alive to their
danger, for the crowded condition of their element--which, no doubt,
caused only surprise at first--became so inconvenient that with one
accord they made a terrified rush to the right. Failing to obtain
relief they turned and rushed to the left. Discomfited again, they
dashed lakeward. Each rush was followed by a howl of anxiety from the
natives; each failure was hailed with a yell of joy. Three birch-bark
canoes followed the net to send the more obstreperous of the fish
shoreward. Finding that they could not escape, the finny prisoners
seemed to lose their wits and took to rushing skyward, with splashing
consequences that almost drove the red-men mad!
"Hold on! not so hard! You'll break it!" shouted Lumley to the men and
women at the rope.
"What a tremendous haul!" said I, as I joined my friend, who stood at
the outer end of our little wharf, enjoying the scene.
"I hope the net won't break," he replied. "If it does we shall lose
them all, and the disappointment to the Indians might be almost too much
to bear. See, they prepare for action!"
This was very obvious. The men of the tribe, who might be described as
glaring maniacs, had dropped their robes, and, almost naked, ran
waist-deep into the water in a vain attempt to catch some of the larger
fish as they were slowly forced towards the beach. Even some of the
women lost self-control and, regardless of petticoats, floundered after
the men. As for the children, big and little, they developed into imps
of darkness gone deranged.
Suddenly a very wave of fish was sent upon the shore, where, of course,
they began to leap about wildly. Not less wildly did the Indians leap
among them, throttling the big ones and hurling armfuls of the lesser
ones high up on the sward.
By that time the net was close in shore. The whole of the enclosed
space became a sweltering mass. Treading on the fish at last, many of
both men and boys slipped in the water, and fell down over head and
ears, so that the spectacle was presented of human beings bounding out
of the water in apparent emulation of their prey. The excitement was
almost too much for them. Several of the boys were seen to rush up into
the woods and dash back again, with no apparent reason except the desire
to get rid of superabundant energy. One brave, in particular, so far
forgot the characteristic dignity of the red-man, that he rushed up on
the bank, bent forward, clapped a hand on each knee, threw back his
head, shut his eyes, opened wide his mouth, and sought to relieve his
feelings in one stupendous roar. But it would not do. He became
suddenly solemn, glared again, and went at the fish more furiously than
ever.
Our men in the canoes landed, and rendered assistance. Salamander was
in one of the canoes which ran alongside of the wharf. The only other
occupant was Donald Bane, who sat in the stern and steered. Salamander
was greatly excited. As the canoe ran up to the wharf, the bow was
thrust over the net-rope, and he gazed at the struggling creatures below
with intense delight on his brown visage.
"You had petter take care," said Donald Bane, as he grasped the edge of
the wharf, and cautiously rose up, "for canoes are easily overturned."
But Salamander was too much engrossed to hear or reply. The Highlander,
who had not forgotten the trick formerly played on him and his
countryman by the interpreter, stepped carefully out on the wharf. As
he did so, he gave the canoe a little tilt with his foot, and Salamander
went head-foremost down among the fish!
A simulated cry of consternation broke from Donald Bane.
"Wow--wow!" he exclaimed, as Salamander's head appeared with a number of
little fish struggling in his hair, and a pike or jack-fish holding on
to the lobe of his left ear, "the poor cratur! Tak a grup o' my hand,
man. Here! wow! but it seems a fery frundly jack-fush that--whatever."
Amid much spluttering, Salamander was hauled out, and, regardless of his
mishap, both he and Donald immediately joined the others in securing
their prey.
"It wass a grand haul, man, Tonald," said Dougall that night at supper.
"Oo ay, Shames. It was no that paad," replied Donald.
And, truly, it _was_ a grand haul; for, not only did we obtain enough of
every species of fish that swarmed in Lake Wichikagan, to provide a
right royal feast to ourselves and our red friends, but a good many were
left over and above to form the commencement of a store for the future.
By that time we had fairly commenced the fishery with a view to a winter
supply. The weather was still delicious, and had begun to grow cool at
nights, but as there was yet no frost, all the fish we took had to be
hung up by the tail, and thus partially dried. Afterwards, when the
frost fairly set in, this hanging process was dispensed with, for fish,
once frozen in those regions, remain perfectly fresh during the entire
winter, so that those eaten in spring are quite as good as those
consumed in autumn.
Lumley now set me to superintend the digging and constructing of an
ice-house, which should be ready to receive in spring the ice that would
be required to keep our provisions fresh during the following summer.
It consisted merely of a shallow square pit or hole in the ground, over
which a log hut was constructed. The pit we intended to floor with
solid cubes of ice measuring about a yard on each side. This lowest
foundation, in those northern ice-houses, never melts, but a fresh
stratum is laid above it which is cleared out and renewed every spring,
and it is amongst this that the meat or fish to be preserved is laid in
summer.
Another piece of work that Lumley gave me to superintend at this time
was the construction of a water-wheel and dam to drive our pit-saw. You
see, I had a turn for mechanics, and was under the impression that my
powers in that way were greater than they afterwards turned out to be.
We were sitting at tea alone in our hall at the time the subject was
mooted.
"Where have you sent the carpenter?" I asked, as I pushed in my
pannikin for more of the refreshing beverage.
I must interrupt the thread of my narrative here for a moment to say
that we took no crockery with us on that expedition. Our cups were tin
pannikins, our plates were made of tin; our pots and kettles were either
tin or copper. We had no sugar basins, or butter-dishes, or
table-cloths, or any of the other amenities of civilised life. But
everything we had was strong and serviceable, and the same may be said
of the things we constructed. The deal tables and chairs made for us by
Coppet were very strong if not elegant, and the plank walls and ceiling
of our rooms were cheerful, though neither papered nor whitewashed. It
has often struck me, while sojourning in the great Nor'-west, that
civilised man surrounds himself with a great many needless luxuries
which do not by any means add to his comfort, though the removal of them
might add considerably to his distress.
But to return.
"Coppet is off," said Lumley in reply to my question, "to get some
timber for oars, as well as birch-bark to make a canoe or two; we must
also set about making a new boat some day or other."
"Lumley," said I, "it has often occurred to me that it takes a terrible
deal of time to cut trees into planks with our pit-saws, and occupies
far too much of the time of two men who might be much more profitably
employed."
"True, Max--what then?"
"Why then," said I, "what would you say if I were to construct a
saw-mill!"
"I'd say you were a clever fellow," replied my friend, with one of his
knowing looks.
"But what say you to my making the attempt?"
"Do so, by all means, my boy--only don't use up too many pit-saws in the
attempt!"
I saw that he did not believe in my powers, and became all the more
determined to succeed.
Accordingly, I went next day with Coppet and Dumont, on whom of course I
depended for the carrying out of my designs, to examine the ground where
the mill-dam was to be made.
"You see," I explained, "we have a superabundance of water in the
rivulet at the back of the fort, and by collecting it we may get any
amount of power we please, which is of importance, because it will
enable us to simplify the machinery."
"Oui, oui, monsieur," said Coppet, who either was, or wished to appear,
very knowing on such matters.
"Now," continued I, "here is a natural basin formed by rocks, which only
wants a small dam at its lower end to enable us to collect water enough
to drive the biggest mill in the world. By making our opening at the
very bottom of the basin, the pressure of water, when it is full, will
be so great that a very small water-wheel, without any multiplying gear,
will suffice to drive our saw--don't you see?"
"Oui, monsieur, oui," answered Dumont, whose knitted brows showed that
the worthy blacksmith was at least doing his best to understand me.
"Well, then," I continued, "you see that we shall have no difficulty as
to the dam. Then, as to the wheel, it will be a simple one of not more
than four feet diameter, presented vertically to what I may term the
water-spout, so that its axle, which will have a crank in it, will work
the saw direct; thus, avoiding toothed wheels and cogs, we shall avoid
friction, and, if need be, increase the speed easily, d'you see?"
"Bon, monsieur--good, good," exclaimed Coppet, becoming quite
enthusiastic in his appreciation of my plans.
"Of course," I continued, "the saw can easily be fitted to a frame, and
a very simple contrivance can be made to drive along the larger frame
that will carry the logs to be sawn; but these are trifling matters of
detail which you and I will work out at our leisure, Dumont."
"Oui, monsieur, oui," replied the blacksmith, with tighter knitted
brows, and with a readiness of assent which I do believe the good fellow
would have accorded if I had proposed to fit a new axis to the world.
"There is only one thing that troubles me," said I: "how are we to gauge
or estimate the force of our water-spout so as to regulate our mill when
made? Do you understand such matters--the measurement of force--
Coppet?"
The carpenter shook his head.
"That's unfortunate. Do you, Dumont?"
"Non, Monsieur."
"H'm! I'm sadly ignorant on the point myself," I continued. "Of course
I know that so many cubic feet of water will exert a certain pressure,
but then I don't know what that certain pressure is, nor how to find out
how many cubic feet our somewhat irregular dam will contain. Nor do I
know precisely the strength of the material required in the dam to
resist the water."
Dumont humbly suggested here that we could at all events act on the
principle that guided Adam and Eve in the formation of their first
water-mill, and find out by experiment. And Coppet said that we could
get over the difficulty about the strength of materials by making
everything ten times stronger than was required.
"You are right lads," said I, much amused with the earnest manner in
which they gave the advice. "Now let us go at it without delay, so that
we may get into working order before the frost stops us."
We set to with enthusiasm, and progressed with our labour much faster
than I had expected. The natural basin, to which I have referred, lay
just below a ledge of rock over which the rivulet flowed into it,
forming a pretty deep pool about ten feet in diameter. Flowing out of
this pool, it ran about twelve feet further through a narrow gorge,
where it dropped over another ledge. Now, all that we had to do was to
shut up the outlet of the narrow gorge with a strong dam, and so cause
the pool to swell and rise into a small but very deep pond.
Our first step was to divert the channel of the brook so as to leave us
free to construct the dam. The nature of the ground rendered this easy
enough. Then, before going further, we made the trough which was to
conduct the water out of the dam. It was made of four strong planks
about ten feet long and eight inches wide, forming, so to speak, a
square pipe. This we laid firmly in the bottom of the basin with its
end projecting over the lower ledge. To the inner end we attached a
perpendicular piece of wooden piping which rose several feet from the
ground. This was meant to prevent mud and stones from getting into, and
choking, the pipe.
This done, we laid some very large timbers over the pipe and across the
opening of the gorge, above and between which we put heavy stones and
large quantities of gravel--also turf and twigs, and all sorts of
rubbish. Thus was the dam begun, and we continued the process until we
raised it to a height of some twenty feet or so.
"What a magnificent pool it will be to dive in!" said Lumley, one day,
when he came to see us at work.
"Won't it," said I; "especially in winter!"
"Whatever happens to your works, the dam, I think, will never give way,"
continued Lumley; "it seems to me unnecessarily strong."
Not to try the reader's patience, I may say at once that we advanced
with our labour without a hitch until it was nearly finished. To the
opening in the pipe or spout we attached a powerful sluice, by which to
stop the flow desired, and, all being ready, broke down the dyke that
had turned aside our stream, and let the water in. Of course we had
constructed an overflow part of the basin, by which to conduct the
surplus water back to its proper channel below our works.
It was a trying moment when we first let the water in. Would it leak?--
would it break down?--was in everyone's mind. I had no fear as to the
latter point, but felt uncertain as to the former. We had much longer
to wait, however, for the filling than I had expected; but when at last
it was full up to the brim, and the trees around were reflected on its
surface, and no leak appeared anywhere, I could not resist giving a
cheer, which was heartily taken up and echoed by our whole party--for we
had all assembled to watch the result.
"Now, Coppet, lend a hand at the winch. We'll open the sluice and
observe the force."
After a few turns our winch refused to move, and only a small part of
the opening had been uncovered, from which the water was squirting
furiously.
"Something wrong," said I, looking down at the men below. "Just take a
look, Salamander, and see what it is."
Our lively interpreter went down on hands and knees and made an earnest
examination, despite the squirting water.
"Oh! I sees. All right now," he shouted, "heave away!"
"Get out of the way, then," we cried, as we once more applied all our
force to the winch. It turned with unexpected suddenness, the sluice
flew up, and out came a straight column of water with extreme violence.
It hit Salamander full in the stomach, lifted him off his legs, and
swept him right down the gully, pitching him headlong over another
ledge, where he fell with such force that his mortal career had
certainly been ended then and there but for a thick juniper bush, which
fortunately broke his fall. As it was, he was little the worse of his
adventure, but he had learned a lesson of prompt obedience to orders
which he did not soon forget.
I now planned a sort of movable buffer by which the force of the
water-spout could be diminished or even turned aside altogether. It
acted very well, and, under its protection, we set up the saw and
started it. We were all assembled again, of course, at the first
starting of the saw, along with a good many of our red friends, whose
curiosity in our various proceedings knew no bounds.
Opening the sluice slowly, and fixing the buffer so as to turn at least
three-quarters of the furious water-spout aside, I had the extreme
satisfaction of seeing the saw begin to rip up a large log. It went on
splendidly, though still with somewhat greater force than I desired.
But, alas! my want of critical knowledge of engineering told heavily
against us, for, all of a sudden, the sluice broke. The buffer still
acted, however, and being needlessly strong, was, I thought, safe, but
the hinges of the thing were far too weak. They gave way. The violent
spout thus set free dashed against the wheel with its full force,
turning it round with a whirr-r-r! that sent the saw up and down so fast
as to render it almost invisible.
We stood aghast! What fearful termination to the machine impended we
could not guess. A moment later and the crank broke, entangled itself
with the wheel and stopped it. As if maddened by this additional
resistance, the water-spout then swept the whole concern away, after
which, like a wild-horse set free, it took a leap of full thirty feet--a
straight column of solid water--before it burst itself on the ground,
and rushed wildly down to the lake! It was a humiliating termination--
and showed how terrible it is to create a power which one cannot
control.