CHAPTER XIII

From Skagway to Vancouver : On the _Princess May_ : Fort

Simpson : Prince Rupert : End of the Journey.

The ocean voyage between Skagway and Vancouver is so well known that I

need only refer to it briefly. Nearly the whole course is so sheltered

on the one side by the main land, and on the other by islands, almost

innumerable, that it was easier to fancy that we were back on the

_Wrigley_ threading the islands of the Mackenzie rather than that we

were on the waters of the great Pacific.

The fine C.P.R. steamer _Princess May_ was waiting at the dock at

Skagway when we arrived, and at 8 P.M. on Monday, August 27, we

started for Vancouver. I was sorry that the trip down the Lynn canal

was made at night, and a very dark one at that, which prevented our

having a view of the glaciers that otherwise would have been visible.

Tuesday was a dull, rainy day without anything of interest to record.

The steamer called at Fort Simpson early on Wednesday morning, and

passed Kaein Island, the site of the future city Prince Rupert, in the

forenoon, but did not stop. A little later we called at Port Essington

but the tide was out and our steamer was unable to reach the dock.

Further on we called at Caxton where there is a very large cannery and

where we took on a quantity of canned salmon. On Thursday, at 6 A.M.,

we called at Bella Bella, and at 3 P.M. at Alert Bay on Vancouver

Island, to see the totem poles of the Indian village there.

Fort Simpson deserves more than a passing reference. It was for many

years the chief place on the west coast north of Victoria, and it

had for some time great hopes of being the western terminus of the

G.T.P. Railway. This last aspiration has, however, been blasted by the

selection of Prince Rupert, twenty-five miles farther south, but, as

in many other small places, the few residents have an abiding faith

that their town will yet be a great city outrivalling any other from

San Francisco north, and they now pin their faith on the Canadian

Northern Railway making this their northern ocean port.

[Illustration: INDIAN CHILDREN AT FORT SIMPSON]

Fort Simpson enjoys the distinction of being the home of a band of

Indians who surpass any I have ever seen in the east in general

intelligence as well as in their advancement in civilisation. Fully

three fourths of the inhabitants of the village are native Indians

of the Tsimpsian tribe. They are not only industrious but also

frugal; live in good frame houses painted white and all numbered. In

front of the dwelling usually stands a totem pole with its strange

hieroglyphics. These dwellings are for the most part comfortably

furnished. I had not the privilege of seeing the interior of a very

fine looking house owned by the chief of the band, but was informed

that the furniture cost several thousand dollars.

In addition to the village house most of the families have a small plot

of land outside the town with a small house erected on it where they

spend part of the summer cultivating vegetables for their use. The

community owns a saw mill that supplies them with lumber. The affairs

of the village are managed by a council presided over by their chief.

I am unable to say whether they manage their public affairs as well as

some of our municipalities do. They could scarcely be managed worse

than some are. They can all speak English, but conversation among

themselves is usually in their own tongue. They build and equip their

own fishing and sail boats, of sufficient size to weather the heavy

seas and tidal currents of the coast.

In the early spring they move out to their garden plot generally in a

small valley sloping down to the sea. Here they plant their potatoes

and other vegetables. Next comes the fishing season and the canneries

rely largely on the catch made by these people. When the run of the

salmon is plentiful, the money earned by a family with a good boat and

plenty of nets is quite equal to the proceeds from an ordinary farm.

The fishing season over, they next go south to the valleys of southern

British Columbia and Washington State where they further increase their

earnings by assisting in the hop fields there.

Then they return home in time to store their vegetables before the wet

weather sets in. Finally, the year is rounded off by the winter hunt.

The result is that scarcely a family is without some ready money, while

many have considerable, either kept safely at home or deposited in

banks at Victoria or Vancouver.

Thanks to the enterprise of the early missionaries in establishing

schools among these people they are now fairly well educated. The

Anglican and Methodist churches were early in the field and the fruit

of their labour is apparent.

Prince Rupert from its geographical position might be called the

Canadian Vladivostock. Each city is the ocean terminus of a great

transcontinental railway. Each can boast of a high northern latitude,

and consequently lessened distances between meridians. Prince Rupert

however, has a great advantage over its _vis-à-vis_ in one particular.

The Siberian Port is practically closed during the whole of the winter

season, while the magnificent harbour at Prince Rupert, though many

degrees farther north, is open the year round.

The Grand Trunk Pacific engineers searched diligently along this

northern coast to find a harbour worthy of such a railway. There were

many places offering special advantages of situation but which perhaps

lacked some essential qualification. Those of first importance were a

depth of water covering a large area; shelter from the ocean; ease of

access both by rail and water, and (on this coast, the most difficult

of all) a good shore line for wharves with at least some adjacent land

where a city could be built. It was finally decided that the north and

east coast of Kaien Island fulfilled the requirements more nearly than

any other point and the present site of Prince Rupert was selected.

There is no question that few ports in the world offer greater

attraction to the mariner; the area is large enough to accommodate the

navies of the world, the approach is easy, and with few currents to

trouble the navigator. The shelter is secure; the water deep and the

wharves convenient. The approach by the railway too in the vicinity of

the port is for miles along the sea almost on a level.

It has been said that the greater portion of British Columbia “stands

on end,” and certainly to no portion of the Province does this more

aptly apply than to this northern coast, and there, perhaps, was never

a case in the history of the world, a case where the initial cost in

the building of a city was as great as it is there to-day. The land for

about a mile and a quarter back from the shore is a succession of rock

ridges with swampy land intervening. At the present time in order to

make streets these rocks are being levelled down to afford a passable

grade. In most cases this necessitates the cutting down of the adjacent

lots to get a frontage on the street level. The amount of explosives

being used for this purpose must be very great. Blasting is constantly

going on and the visitor can easily fancy himself in a beseiged town.

On waking on Friday morning, August 31, I found we were approaching

Vancouver. It was a delightful morning, and as we entered the narrows

and then passed around Brockton Point and entered Burrard inlet, we

beheld that great modern city which, in a few years has risen from a

small village to one of the foremost places in the Dominion. I felt

that at last I was practically home again. The distance I had travelled

from Edmonton to this point was about 4250 miles, and had occupied a

few days less than three months.

I had now time to look over my diary and to recall to memory many

incidents which had received little attention at the time. In fact

nothing counted for much then that did not aid me in what I had

undertaken. My one idea was by some means to make the trip to the

Arctic and return exactly as I had planned it, and in doing so every

day had brought its duties, and there was little time to recall what

was past. The present and the future took all our immediate attention.

But now there was time and with it the inclination, to retrace every

foot of the journey from start to finish.

What a panorama opened to view. There was the wearisome journey on the

Athabaska ending at the “Lake of the Hills.” Then opened to the mental

vision the Slave River, Slave Lake and the Mackenzie ending at that

strange but interesting Arctic village, McPherson. Then those anxious

days on the trail over the mountains. Then the canoe trip on the Bell

and Porcupine with three Indians. The encampment at Old Crow and

next the arrival at Rampart House.

[Illustration: TOTUM POLES AT ALERT BAY ON VANCOUVER ISLAND]

Then the somewhat pleasant trip still down the Porcupine till Fort

Yukon is reached. The road house there. The slow trip up the Yukon to

Dawson and finally the journey from Dawson to Vancouver. All these with

the numerous incidents on the way passed before the vision. It was like

the developing of a picture without the aid of any camera except that

furnished by the human eye and recorded in the mind of the observer.

And even yet, though several years have elapsed, those impressions

of places, of people and of events frequently pass vividly in review

before my mental vision. These impressions I have, with a feeble pen,

attempted to develop for any who have had the patience to follow this

review, but I am painfully conscious of my failure to pass on to my

indulgent readers anything more than the bare outlines of a picture

which to my own mind is not only vivid but intensely fascinating.

PART II

FOREWORD

It may be well for me to add to the foregoing narrative a few brief

general observations on certain characteristics and productions of

the country, such as the climate, the soil, the minerals, the timber;

of the animals, the fish, the wild fowl, that migrate there and breed

during the summer months; and, lastly, of the native inhabitants, as

well as the traders and missionaries who have for the last century or

more made their home in the country.

SECTION I

CLIMATE

I have already referred to the extreme heat which we experienced along

the Athabaska River and at Fort Chippewyan, and that this hot wave

extended beyond the Arctic Circle was testified to by Indians who

suffered the loss of some of their dogs from this cause, on crossing

the portage between the Bell River and Fort McPherson. Of course this

was exceptional and lasted only a few days, but nevertheless, there

is no question that for a couple of months in midsummer the aggregate

amount of heat which is imparted by the sun’s rays interrupted only for

a few hours out of the twenty-four, and shining through a wonderfully

clear atmosphere goes far to counter-balance what is lost by their

refraction owing to the obliquity of their course in reaching the

earth. The law of compensation here makes heroic efforts to assert its

claim, and though it fails in giving to those regions an equality

of heat, it does succeed to the last fraction in bestowing on every

portion of the globe an equality of light, the great luminary gives to

the Esquimaux exactly as much sunlight during the entire year as the

dweller on the far off Amazon or the Nile. There is as much truth as

poetry in the lines of the old song: “For taking the year all round my

dear, There isn’t more night than day.”

We found it difficult when we got below the last obstruction to

navigation, and began to make rapid progress to the north, to accustom

ourselves to the changed conditions and to seek rest at the old

accustomed hours, and frequently while waiting for the darkness, the

midnight hour was passed and the northern dawn was upon us before we

realised that the evening and morning twilight were not separated by

any perceptible intervening darkness. The wonderful beauty of the

tropical dawn has been told by every traveller in the equatorial

regions, but in these regions only a few minutes elapses from the time

it begins till the sun asserts its supremacy and dispels the brilliant

colouring. In the sub-Arctic regions there is no such haste. When

the glittering rays no longer reach us we can watch their reflection in

the clear ethereal spaces above during the whole of that period we call

night. But I have dwelt, perhaps, too long and too frequently on this

subject, and my only apology is that this portion of time was to me

always a recompense for any of the labours or hardships of the previous

day, and one is apt to be garrulous over what has afforded him pleasure.

[Illustration:

_Copyright Ernest Brown_

ESQUIMAUX IN THEIR KAYAKS]

It was difficult on those exceedingly hot days of midsummer to realise

that in a few months’ time the ice king would reign supreme over all

the land. But this is a country of extremes, and even in some of the

hottest days when the wind would turn suddenly to the north and angry

clouds would arise from the horizon and spread across the heavens

obscuring the sun from view, one could form a faint idea of what would

happen a few months later.

After entering the Mackenzie we noticed the constant dropping of earth

from the banks causing a dull splash in the water. This was caused by

the melting of the frozen earth along the shore of the stream. In

some cases the action of the water had worn deep caverns into the

perpendicular clay banks. When these caverns had become so large as

to remove the support of the superincumbent mass, an earth slide of

considerable magnitude would occur. In the greater part of this whole

country frost is found at varying depths during the whole year, and of

course the distance below the surface decreases as we go north. On our

journey across from McPherson to Bell River we found it a little less

than a foot to perpetual frost.

Some one has suggested the building of a line of railway between the

Peel and Bell Rivers. All I would say of this visionary enterprise is

that a solid ice foundation for the roadbed will certainly be found

without much excavation. Bearing on this subject a well authenticated

story is told. Some years ago an agent of the Hudson Bay Company died

at Fort McPherson, and, being a man of some importance a deep grave

was excavated for his remains out of the frozen earth. Some time

after stories were told of strange appearances around this grave. As

the years went by one after another of the inhabitants of the place

imagined that he saw something uncanny around the resting place of the

former master of the post. Finally, it became the settled belief of the

community, that the lonely grave had frequent visits from unearthly

beings. This went so far as to menace the existence of the post, and

the company at length concluded either to move it to another locality

or to remove the cause of the trouble to another resting place. It was

finally decided that it would be better to take the remains up to Fort

Simpson and inter them in the churchyard there where no uncanny visitor

would dare to approach.

The winter season was chosen for the removal. An escort of natives

with a team of dogs hitched to a toboggan was engaged for the work.

After considerable difficulty the frozen earth was removed and the

rude coffin taken up when the occupant was found just as he had been

when placed there some twenty years before, in a perfect state of

preservation. The grave had been made below the perpetual frost line

and an eternity of years would under such conditions have failed to

render literally applicable the words “Dust thou art and to dust thou

shalt return.”

The winter previous to my visit, viz., that of 1905–6 was a

particularly cold one. The thermometer went as low as sixty-eight

degrees below zero, Fahrenheit, and added to this there was a great

deal of wind, but, not having had an opportunity of experiencing

a winter in those latitudes, I shall leave to others the task of

describing it.

In Captain McClintock’s narrative “The Voyage of the _Fox_ in Arctic

Seas” there is found incidentally a most graphic word picture of an

Arctic winter night. It will be remembered that Captain McClintock

commanded the expedition sent out by Lady Franklin in 1857, in search

of her husband, Sir John Franklin. The author makes no attempt at

anything more than giving the occurrences as they took place from day

to day, as recorded in his diary, but one paragraph headed “Burial in

the Pack” is given in words that paint the scene in colours that remain

in the mind of the reader, and I shall quote a couple of extracts which

read as follows:

_December 4, 1857._--“I have just returned on board from the

performance of the most solemn duty a commander can be called upon to

fulfil. A funeral at sea is always peculiarly impressive; but this

evening as we gathered around the sad remains of poor Scott, reposing

under a Union Jack, and read the burial service by the light of

lanterns, the effect could not fail to awaken serious emotions.

The greater part of the church service was read on board, under shelter

of the housing; the body was then placed upon a sledge, and drawn by

the messmates of the deceased to a distance from the ship, where a hole

through the ice had been cut; it was then ‘committed to the deep,’

and the service completed. What a scene it was; I shall never forget

it. The _Lonely Fox_, almost buried in snow, completely isolated from

the habitable world, her colours half-mast with the bell mournfully

tolling; our little procession slowly marching over the rough surface

of the frozen deep, guided by lanterns and direction posts amid the

dreary darkness of an Arctic winter; the deathlike stillness around,

the intense cold, and the threatening aspect of a murky overcast sky;

and all this heightened by one of those strange lunar phenomena which

are but seldom seen even here, a complete halo encircling the moon,

through which passed a horizontal band of pale light that encompassed

the heavens; above the moon appeared the segments of two other halos,

and there were also mock moons or para-selenæ to the number of six.

The misty atmosphere lent a very ghastly hue to this singular display,

which lasted for rather more than an hour.

Scarcely had the burial service been completed, when our poor dogs,

discovering that the ship was deserted, set up a most dismal unearthly

moaning, continuing it until we returned on board. Coming to us from a

distance across the ice, at such a solemn moment, this most strange and

mournful sound was both startling and impressive.”

Again on the eleventh he says: “Position 74 degrees, 31 N 68·21

W. Calm, clear weather, pleasant for exercise, but steadily cold;

thermometer varies between twenty and thirty degrees below zero. At

noon the blush of dawn tints the southern horizon, to the north

the sky remains inky blue, whilst overhead it is bright and clear,

the stars shining, and the pole star near the zenith very distinct.

Although there is a light north wind, thin mackerel clouds are passing

from south to north and the temperature has risen ten degrees.”

What a contrast to this a few months’ time will bring when the king

of the universe has again appeared in constant view, dispelling all

the darkness and bringing warmth in his rays. Then the wild fowl will

come up in myriads from the south to build their nests and rear their

young in rivers, creeks and pools in this boreal land. Then too, the

Esquimaux will lay aside the snow sled for the kaiak. The tent will

take the place of the iglo and his period of real enjoyment will have

begun.

These are, no doubt, the conditions that appeal to him as ideal and

which no other latitude could afford, and so it is that he prefers his

home to that of any other.

SECTION II

SOIL

I have already made frequent reference to the soil conditions as

observed on my line of travel. Of course I had little opportunity of

forming more than a general idea. Before any accurate report can be

given on this subject it will be necessary for the Government to have

an exploration survey made by men competent to give an authoritative

opinion. For many years I have been impressed with the idea that Canada

has failed to realise what it is losing year after year from its lack

of information of its unoccupied areas.

What would be thought of the settler who built his house and commenced

to clear and till his land on the front of his lot without ever taking

the trouble to examine the rest of his possessions? The chances

are that he would afterwards find that much of his labour had been

misdirected. In many parts of the country land has been surveyed and

opened up for settlement that was unfit for Agriculture, and which

should have been left for the growth of timber for which it was well

suited. Frequently this land looked attractive to the inexperienced,

and in many cases the settler spent years of hard labour only to find

at last that beneath the few inches of humus there was nothing but

barren sand.

Our governments are wisely spending much public money in bringing

agricultural immigrants into the country, and their next step should

be to direct them to fields where their labour will receive its just

reward.

On the great plains of our north-west this was perhaps not so

necessary, but in the country under consideration, which is mostly

wooded like our eastern Provinces, such supervision should not be

neglected.

Extending from Lesser Slave Lake through to the valley of the Peace

River, and throughout the whole course of that stream, as well as down

the Slave River and the Mackenzie even to the delta of the latter,

the soil appears to be a rich alluvial deposit, broken in some cases

by rocky land and in others by sandy ridges. East of this we may

expect to find more exposed rock, and probably less land which would

be attractive to the agriculturist. I am well aware, however, that

north of the North Saskatchewan, to east of the district I have named,

and in perhaps some instances extending well up to the barren lands,

may be many valleys that will yet be inhabited, but it remains for the

Government to ascertain where these lie in order to direct the incoming

settler aright. The life of the tiller of the soil is arduous enough

in any case, and in a country such as ours there is no reason why his

labour need be in vain.

Beyond the watershed of the North Saskatchewan there are millions upon

millions of acres in the aggregate fully as suitable for settlement as

many parts of Northern Europe which now afford homes for a prosperous

people. Of course this being a wooded country and the climate more

severe, it does not offer the same attractions as the rich prairies

farther south, but after these have been settled the emigrant from

Scandinavia and Russia will find here a new home similar to the one he

has left.

SECTION III

MINERALS

Reference has already been made to the tar sands along the Athabaska

River which evidence the presence of bitumen in great abundance, to

coal along the same river and also on the banks of the Mackenzie near

Fort Norman; to salt at different points on the Slave and Mackenzie

Rivers, and to copper on the Coppermine River near the Arctic Sea. But

these are probably only a few out of many varieties that exist in that

vast unknown region.

The gold of the Yukon and of Alaska in America and the various mineral

products of Siberia in Northern Europe and Asia prove that neither the

precious or baser metals are confined to the lower latitudes, and it is

more than probable that sub-Arctic Canada may yet be heard from as the

depository of what are now hidden treasures.

I have perhaps already wearied the reader with reiterating the need of

more exploration work in Northern Canada. The work of the geological

survey is worthy of all praise, but the annual appropriations for this

department are entirely inadequate to compass so vast a field.

The output of gold in the neighbourhood of Dawson City on the Yukon

with the more recent discoveries of silver at Cobalt, and of gold at

the Porcupine will lure the adventurous explorer into far northern

fields, where much of his time will be spent in not only acquiring a

knowledge of the geology of the country but also in tracing the courses

of unknown rivers and locating great mountain ranges, which information

will be for the benefit of Canada as a whole, and which she herself

should supply in advance.

The press of the country is just now publishing accounts of the

preparation of a vessel to be named the _Princess Patricia_, which will

sail shortly from Newfoundland in quest of gold and coal in Northern

Baffin Land. This expedition is being undertaken by a Canadian named

A. W. Scott, usually known as “Lucky Scott,” and is the result of a

report of Captain Robert S. Janes who was second officer in command of

the Canadian Government steamer _Arctic_ which returned from northern

waters in the summer of 1911.

Captain Janes will be the guide of the expedition and it is his

discoveries which will be examined. The following extracts are from

Captain Janes’ report:

“The _Arctic_ wintered in the north and in December 1910, Captain Janes

was sent by Captain Bernier the commander to North-East Baffin Land

with three Esquimaux, three comatocks, and thirty Esquimaux dogs for

the purpose of exploring that section. During the months of January

and February little work could be done owing to the Arctic night being

on, and the sun only came back in February little by little, but the

intense frost and short days prevented anything being done before

April of 1911. From that time till August, however, Captain Janes was

employed in exploring that section of Northern Baffin Land.”

His report says, “We found in May a coal field extending about thirty

miles from the coast and eight miles from navigable waters. Along the

strike of this outcrop coal could be easily picked up anywhere and I

discovered and staked one coal seam fifteen feet thick without a break.

I burned this coal in a cook stove and it gave forth a tremendous heat

with very little smoke and very little ash. In June I found another

coal field 100 miles north-west. This coal bed extends right to the

water’s edge. I pitched coal from it right into my boat which was tied

at the beach. I think it would be perfectly feasible to transport the

coal by water to a point on the south-east coast of Baffin Land at the

entrance to the Hudson Straits, where it could be used to coal the

grain-carrying fleet which will pass there when the Hudson Bay Railway

is built.”

SECTION IV

PLACER GOLD

Captain Janes also reports the discovery of placer gold. He says

that he found gold quartz with gold in it on the bank of a river and

regarding this he writes as follows:

“I washed out the nuggets and small particles of gold which I brought

back with me, from a dark sand mixed with fine pebbles, found on the

edge of this river. Close to this I found specimens of block tin,

copper and iron. In other districts I also discovered graphite in

abundance. I also discovered a very peculiar and heavy stone or metal

which resembled lead, in the same district in which the coal was

located. This material when put on the coal fire threw off an excessive

amount of sulphur. This includes only a small section of Baffin Land

that I had a chance to prospect. There is a large area that I had not

time to examine.”

Captain Janes further states: “Game of all descriptions is in

abundance and many fur-bearing foxes, white and blue which the natives

trap in great numbers. There is also plenty of bear, musk ox, walrus,

seal and narwhale, which latter is valuable for its ivories.

“On June 1 the whole country becomes alive. Birds of all descriptions

including ducks and geese immigrate from the south. I killed several

white bear myself and saw many interesting bear fights.” He concludes

as follows:

“I have sailed for twenty years on my own vessel as master on the coast

of Newfoundland, Labrador, and in northern waters in the seal and

fishing industry, and I am expecting that this expedition will be a

great success.”

If Captain Janes’ report is verified it is very probable that Canada’s

hinterland will soon furnish the unique spectacle of great mining

enterprises in operation, in regions beyond the Arctic Circle.

SECTION V

TIMBER

As we go north the varieties of trees greatly decrease in number,

and in the sub-Arctic forest belt they are reduced to eight species,

namely, white spruce (_picea Canadensis_), black spruce (_picea

Mariana_), larch or tamarac (_larix Americana_), jack or Banksian

pine (_pinus banksiana_), Canada Balsam (_abies balsamea_), aspen or

white poplar (_populus tremuloides_), balsam poplar or balm of Gilead

(_populus balsamea_), and canoe birch (_betula Papyrifers_).

The first five of these belong to the coniferous family, while the last

three, namely the aspen, the balsam poplar, and the canoe birch, are of

the broad leaf variety.

In addition to these are various species of willow, extending

throughout the whole region, but they are too small in size to be

classed as trees.

The larch or tamarac continues pretty well north to prefer the swampy

land, but as we approach the Arctic regions it attains its best growth

on higher ground.

The black spruce also follows the example of the tamarac in this

respect, while the white spruce thrives best on the higher and drier

land and throughout the whole of the sub-Arctic watershed. The tamarac

vies with the white spruce in enduring the Arctic climate, and is found

almost to the limit of tree growth.

The wood of the tamarac is harder and better than the spruce for

purposes where strength and durability are required. It is also the

best, perhaps excepting the birch of these northern species, for

fuel. Though widely distributed it is only found in little quantities

here and there in scattered patches, whereas the spruces of different

varieties are found in almost every part of Canada from the Atlantic

to the Pacific, and from the southern boundary of the Dominion to the

tundra and frozen land beyond the Arctic Circle.

It would undoubtedly be misleading with our limited knowledge of the

greater part of the country, to attempt to define the areas that may,

with the settlement of the country, offer profitable fields to the

lumberman. It is true that there has been for many years a good deal of

travel through the country, but the routes taken are mostly confined to

the great water courses. While in the country I made diligent inquiries

from those I met who are engaged by the companies, and who take the

place of the old _coureurs du bois_, of the early days in “tripping”

in winter, visiting the hunting lodges of the Indians to get furs.

Occasionally some of the information obtained seemed valuable, but

even these routes or dog trails are always chosen where there is the

least timber to obstruct the course, generally along the lakes and

rivers, or through level and sparsely timbered muskegs. The Indians

being interested in the fish and game of the country, can give reliable

information concerning them, but it would be unwise to make any

calculations from what information can be gained from them regarding

either the quantity or quality of timber in the country.

So far as our present knowledge affords us a means of judging, the

whole of the Arctic basin, except the barren lands of the far north

and certain limited areas in the watersheds of the Athabaska and Peace

Rivers, which latter are prairie, may be correctly described as forest

land.

It must not be inferred that the whole of the vast area is timbered in

the same sense that Ontario and Quebec were in their primeval state.

The timber is not as large, and by no means as evenly distributed. Very

frequently after proceeding a mile or less from one of the large rivers

we will enter a muskeg with only a few small scattered spruce and

tamarac here and there dotting the landscape.

This will probably continue till we approach a small stream draining

the muskeg, and as we pass down such a stream we will frequently find

very good spruce, poplar and birch along the banks and extending for

varying distances to the right and left.

From the information at hand I think it is quite safe to assert that

the largest extent of timber in the Mackenzie basin as well as the

largest in size, is to be found along the tributaries of the Mackenzie

which flow from the west, such as the Athabaska, Peace, Laird, Nahanni

and others. It must be remembered that these are themselves great

rivers with many tributary streams and the aggregate quantity of spruce

suitable for lumber which is the principal timber tree in that region,

must be very large; while trees of the same variety large enough for

pulpwood are found in great quantities throughout the whole of the

Mackenzie waters extending all the way down to the delta of that river.

This spruce is of two varieties, namely, the white and black spruce;

the former is the larger and more valuable. Both varieties when

accessible are now becoming very valuable, as they furnish the best

material for the manufacture of pulp, and this district contains a

world’s supply of such timber of sufficient size for that purpose. At

present there is no outlet for this supply, but if a railway were built

between Athabaska Lake and Fort Churchill it would open a pulp district

extending from tide water to the Rocky Mountains.

SECTION VI

ANIMALS

One of the resources to which I have not yet referred is the native

wild animals that find a home in the wilderness. Among them are, the

moose, the caribou, the bear, the wood buffalo, and the musk ox, and

the experiments recently made in Alaska and on the Labrador Coast by

the introduction of the Lapland reindeer indicate that the semi-barren

lands may yet furnish meat for export.

To these must be added the fur-bearing animals for which the country

is already famous. The beaker, martin, fox and mink are only a few

of the varieties with which the country abounds. It is unnecessary

to say that but for the fur that these produce it is probable that

the country would never have been visited except by a few adventurous

explorers and missionaries. Attracted, however, by the value of these

furs, the North-West Company and “The Honourable The Hudson’s Bay

Company,” were early in the field, and to-day in addition to the

latter there are a large number of independent traders whose agents

traverse practically the whole of the country, and if records of their

journeyings were collected, very interesting information of great value

would be obtained. I might remark that at certain of the Hudson’s

Bay posts diaries written by the agents may be seen which record the

most interesting events that have come under their notice almost from

the establishment of these stations. Some of them convey graphic

descriptions of every day life in those regions. Here is a virgin field

for any adventurous author who wishes to gather details at first hand.

[Illustration: A MOOSE AND INDIAN TEPEE]

As one observes on a winter’s day in our cities and towns the great

quantity of furs that are worn practically by all classes of our

population, most of which come from this north country, he cannot

but be impressed by the fact that we owe a debt of gratitude to that

country and to those who endure its rigours for our comfort. Whether

this supply will diminish in the future is a question of very great

importance to us. Though I have already stated that certain parts

of this region will probably in time be settled, there is yet a vast

proportion of it that will remain probably for all time uninhabited,

and there seems no reason why in those parts the productiveness of

the valuable furs may not only be maintained but greatly increased if

judicious supervision is established and proper methods adopted. The

forest reserves should be utilised as game preserves and it can be

scarcely doubted, considering the rapidly increasing value of the fur

product, that they could be made to yield a splendid profit.

SECTION VII

FISH

The fish found in those cool northern waters are, as might be expected,

for the most part of excellent quality. They are found in abundance in

all the northern lakes and rivers; the whitefish (_coregonus_) being

the most widely distributed. The pike (_lucius_) is also common in most

of the waters. The fresh-water linge (_lota_) and the Arctic trout,

sometimes called Back’s trout, are found in many of the lakes and

streams. The inconnu (_stenodus_) is peculiar to the Mackenzie River.

It was named _Inconnu_ (unknown) by Sir Alexander Mackenzie’s exploring

party, as it was to them an unfamiliar fish. It is of excellent quality

and is also the largest of any of the species found in the Arctic

watershed.

The salmon is the great fish of the Pacific waters, and of it there are

a great many species. Among them are the King salmon, in Alaska and

the Yukon; the spring salmon and the sock eye or blue back, called also

the red fish of British Columbia. The last named is the most valuable

for canning purposes, on account of its flavour and for the deep red

colour of its flesh. Another species called the coho, or silver sides,

is of less importance than the sock eye on account of the colour. It is

generally frozen for use. The dog salmon reaches a considerable size.

It is chiefly salted for the Japanese market. The hump back is seldom

over five or six pounds in weight. It is chiefly used by the Indians.

One of the very best fish found on the coast is the steel head. It is

large, weighing from twenty to forty pounds. It is unlike in appearance

any of the other salmon of the west, and exactly resembles the salmon

of Eastern Canada and Europe. It is very good for cooking and is

pronounced one of the most delicious of fish.

SECTION VIII

WILD FOWL

The forest of America in the far north is essentially a solitude. In

winter the stillness is deathlike and profound. In summer a few birds

may be seen in the woods bordering on the great wilderness, but like

man, they do not penetrate beyond its outskirts. It is true that the

loon seeks out unfrequented lakes and his doleful cry may be heard

where it is the only thing to indicate the existence of animal life.

The visitor from more southern latitudes will certainly miss the

melodious bird songs with which he is familiar.

However, in certain localities where marshes are found and where

feeding grounds exist, these are visited by ducks and wild geese in

vast numbers during the summer months. Here they build their nests and

rear their young. I have already referred to the great area of drowned

land and marsh lying along the west shore of Athabaska Lake and

extending from the Athabaska River on the south to the Peace River on

the north. This is one of the favourite resorts for both ducks and wild

geese and will yet be known as the fowlers’ paradise.

This great lagoon resembles those on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico

south of Vera Cruz, and it may be that these two localities are the

homes, in alternate seasons, of members of this favoured division of

the animal creation.

It is a fortunate thing for the native to have his home in a country

where fish and wild fowl abound, and without these it is doubtful if

the native Indian could have preserved his existence. True it is that

the caribou comes somewhat irregularly up from the barren lands and

then there is abundance of meat. The moose and the bear also at times

serve to keep starvation from the wigwam, but frequently they all fail

to appear, but the wild fowl come as regularly as the seasons, and the

fish is a constant occupant of the lakes and streams.

On our trip down the Porcupine we saw very few duck but the wild goose

was there in great quantities. The young brood almost full grown, but

with wings not yet strong enough to fly, were, as has been previously

described, chased to the shore and killed in their attempt to climb

the steep banks of the stream, without the waste of the precious

ammunition. They were young and tender and had no fishy taste, as one

would expect, at least I did not detect any. I have often wondered

since whether under different conditions my taste would have been more

delicate. However, I will always remember gratefully the manner in

which they came to our aid when our food supplies were rapidly growing

near to the vanishing point; and ever since, when in the spring I see

these wonderful creatures wending their unerring way in the upper air

to their summer home in the far north, I am not only impressed with the

thought of that marvellous instinct that guides them in their flight,

but also with the knowledge that they are going to supply food to

some of those poor natives who depend on them to supply them on their

journeys through the country.

Though, as I have stated, it was an easy matter to capture all we

required, here in their summer home, it is a very different matter

to attempt to intercept them on their journey either to or from the

country. To be sure they have certain resting places where they can get

a food supply. This is obtained from the wild rice growing in shallow

water in the marshes, in the uncultivated districts, and from the grain

fields farther south; here they are often shot in great numbers, but to

bring down a flock from a high altitude when engaged in making their

long journey, one would perhaps think impossible. However, I have seen

this done. The desire for companionship is a very wide law in creation,

and the Indian is an adept in imitating the sounds made by the wild

animals with which he is familiar, as well as those of the bird tribe;

and these he often employs to attract those he wishes to capture. On

one occasion I saw this gift exercised with great success where I

thought at first the attempt was useless. It was on the Little Slave

River near the lake of the same name.

We saw a flock of wild geese in the distance at a very high altitude

going south. At once the Indians ran the boat into some rushes along

the shore, and we all lay flat and motionless in the bottom, while

one commenced in a loud voice to imitate the cry of the goose. The

flock were ranged up in their usual triangular manner with the leader

in front. Presently we saw that the sound had reached them, their

direction was immediately changed and we could also see that they were

coming nearer the earth. Our Indian kept on in the vernacular of the

goose, which was answered back by the latter. It was most interesting

to see that the leader of the flock was unable to detect exactly from

what particular direction the sound came. Two or three circles were

made around us, each one smaller than the other. Evidently they were

surprised at not finding the others where the sound came from. Finally

the circle narrowed, and the altitude decreased till it was brought

within gunshot range, when two of their number were shot and went to

furnish our evening meal.

After this their broken ranks were reformed, and under the same leader

they resumed their flight.

SECTION IX

INHABITANTS

Interesting as are the natural characteristics of the country and its

undeveloped resources, the inhabitants who make their home there should

demand from us first consideration.

The Indian, the Esquimaux, the half breed, the white trader and the

missionary constitute the different classes of the very scattered

population of that vast region between the borders of civilisation on

the south and the Arctic sea on the north.

In the region traversed between Edmonton and Fort Yukon we meet with

several tribes of Indians speaking as many different tongues. The

first of these as we go north are the Wood Crees, the Knisteneaux, of

Mackenzie. Then as we reach Athabaska Lake we have the Chippewyan; next

the Slaves, and lastly the Loucheaux or Squint Eyes.

The Cree, the Chippewyan and the Slave though differing somewhat in

speech resemble each other in character and in appearance, but when

we come to the Loucheaux we seem to have reached a different type and

one more closely allied to the eastern Asiatic than to the American

Indian. They inhabit the country of the lower Mackenzie, the Porcupine

and the lower Yukon. They are of rather small stature and dark

colour; are very inquisitive and much disposed to imitate the white

man in several particulars. In one characteristic, however, that of

cleanliness, perhaps from lack of example on the part of our race, they

have made very little progress. They are very devout in their religious

observances, most of them being members of the Anglican Church, and,

so far as I could judge, they lived a life quite as consistent with

its teachings as their white brethren. In the following reference to

Indian character and characteristics I wish it understood that I refer

to the other tribes not including the Loucheaux. On account of my short

acquaintance with the latter it would be presumptuous for me to say

anything further.

[Illustration:

_Copyright Ernest Brown_

COMING IN FROM THE NORTH]

The ordinary Indian is usually considered stoical and unsympathetic.

In the first of these qualities he certainly in some respects deserves

a place not second to his Greek prototype. He will endure torture as a

matter of pride that would shock the sensitive. His self-denial in some

cases also is almost heroic. To rob a cache, even when he is enduring

extreme hunger would be to him an unworthy act if he knew that the

owner were depending on it for his own use.

I wish also to qualify this by the statement that I am speaking of the

race as a whole and not of every individual constituting it. There is

diversity of individual character among the uncivilised equal to that

found in civilised society. It is incorrect also to deny to the native

Indian the possession of any measure of human sympathy. It is quite

true that he may sometimes seem to us cold and indifferent, but this is

more in appearance than in reality.

When fortune favours the hunter and he brings home a moose to his

wigwam, the first thing he does is to send a piece of the meat to his

neighbours. These may be many miles away. I remember on one occasion

in winter I engaged an Indian with two teams of dogs and toboggans to

bring me from the northern boundary of Ontario out to the main line

of the Canadian Pacific Railway. It had happened that just before

starting he had shot two moose. On the route were a few wigwams at long

distances apart, and at every one of these a present of fresh venison

was made. In some cases no one was in the wigwams at the hour of our

visit, but nevertheless, a portion of the meat was always left; a

pleasant surprise for the occupant on his return.

Their affection for their kindred and for their children is quite equal

to that of the ordinary white man. There is something very morose in

this affection. It was my fortune to spend a winter on Rainy River many

years ago before the railway had entered any part of Canada beyond Lake

Superior. There were several Indian settlements along the stream. Wild

game, especially the caribou and moose, were plentiful in the woods and

fish abundant in the river, so they were seldom in actual want of food

such as they were accustomed to. Very little sickness among them was

then heard of, but years after I went up the same river in a steamer

and sad were the stories told of the misfortunes that had come upon

these people. With the white settlers came the contagious diseases

such as smallpox, measles, scarlet fever, and others of even a worse

nature with the result that their settlements were practically wiped

out, and the graveyards, with their numerous little wooden houses built

over each grave, showed where the stalwart braves with their wives and

children had gone.

We noticed one old man who had lost all his family in one of those

epidemics, walking aimlessly among the graves, and we were told that he

spent most of his time there, no doubt in fancied communication with

the spirits of the departed.

The grief of the Indian woman at the loss of her child is very

touching. On one occasion I remember seeing at a distance two Indians

and a squaw pulling a little sleigh up the bank of a river, and

curiosity prompted me to join them when I saw them stop at a little

open space where there was a new made open grave. Then I noticed on

the sleigh the dead child which they proceeded to bury. The mother

was perfectly quiet until the men commenced to cover up the grave when

she uttered a wild shriek which revealed the depth of her maternal

feelings. She seemed to protest at what the men were doing, and on

inquiring from them I learned that she belonged to a tribe who buried

their young children in trees. This was done by cutting out a section

of the tree of sufficient size to receive the body and then closing it

up again, their belief being that the child would in some way enjoy

the life of the tree. Their ideas of these matters are vague and

undefined, but the grief of this poor mother at the thought that her

child was smothered in the earth instead of in some way living another

form of life in conjunction with the tree, showed that ages of struggle

for existence in the wilderness had failed to obliterate those finer

feelings of the soul.

On another occasion an Indian, residing on one of the reserves on the

Spanish River in Northern Ontario was engaged on a tug that towed scows

on that stream during the construction of the Algoma branch of the

C.P.R. His wife, living at their home on the bank of the river, seeing

the boat with her barges coming down stream hurriedly, gathered up her

husband’s laundry garments which she had ready, and picking up her baby

rushed down to her birch bark canoe, placed the little infant in its

wooden cradle in the bottom of the canoe and soon reached the barge,

but as she came in contract with it her canoe was upset. The tug was

stopped and a boat quickly launched and the mother rescued and taken

ashore while the upset canoe went floating down stream. Immediately she

recovered consciousness her first words were “Where is my baby?” This

was the first the men knew that the baby had been with her and they at

once paddled out to the canoe, and on turning it over found the little

one was there uninjured, between two cross pieces in the canoe the

baby in the wooden cradle was supported. They, of course, lost no time

in bringing it to its mother who received it with all the affection

possible, and during the whole of the afternoon she would laugh and

then burst out crying, uttering words in her own tongue which meant “I

thought I lost my baby.”

Turning from the serious and sentimental to the humorous or droll we

will find that the Indian is by no means lacking in his sense of the

ludicrous, neither is he slow in imitating by word and action any

individual who excites his mirth. He is really a born mimic and the

rehearsals around the camp fire are often as humorous as one would find

in any comic play. There comes now to my mind a dirty little Indian boy

who could easily make his mark in any of our theatres. He had the gift

of portraying the appearance, the actions and the walk of others and

of imitating the voice in a manner which I have never seen surpassed.

He had attended a mission school for some time, and one evening I

overheard him at their camp fire, intoning the English Church service

in a manner so like the Oxford graduate that it was difficult to

believe that the beautifully modulated sentences were uttered by this

little ragamuffin.

Let no white man who has any peculiarities of action or speech (and who

has not), visit an Indian settlement without expecting to have these

dramatised by the wit of the band.

They have also the gift of inventing names for individuals which aptly

hit off their character. For instance, during the long period in

office of the late Sir John A. Macdonald he was frequently visited by

deputations of Indians, which, like most deputations, asked for more

than could be conveniently given. Sir John was too astute to make any

definite promise that he knew could not be fulfilled, and too wise to

refuse them point blank, so he usually told them that he would consult

the great Queen Mother who was a good friend of the red man and that

they could go home trusting that they would be well treated.

These visits were repeated frequently without the desired result. As

one of the members expressed it, it was always to be done to-morrow,

till finally, Sir John was given the name “Old To-morrow.”

Another individual who occupied a prominent government position in the

early days, in the country west of Lake Superior was the late Simon

J. Dawson, the originator of the Dawson route between Thunder Bay and

the Red River of the North. He was known by every Indian between Fort

William and Fort Garry and from his official position they regarded

him practically as the government, and in fact it was not uncommon for

them to call him “Government,” but he, too, earned from them a derisive

name. Mr. Dawson was also a man of tact who lived up to the maxim

that a “soft answer turneth away wrath.” The Indians were not slow in

detecting this characteristic, and they humorously applied to him the

name of “Old Smoothbore,” and it would have been impossible to choose a

name that fitted his character so well.

At one time I had in my employ on the Saskatchewan River a number

of men, some of whom were Indians. One day on the trail the Indians

were conversing among themselves in the Cree language, and the word

“Mooneas,” which really means greenhorn, was frequently repeated. One

of the white men, a Canadian, could not restrain his curiosity, and

inquired from one of the Indians who spoke English as to the meaning of

the word. The reply came quickly with a chuckle “Canadian,” which was

followed by a shout of laughter.

They are also quick to detect anything in an argument or discourse

that to them does not seem logical. On one occasion a young clergyman

arrived at Norway House, north-east of Lake Winnipeg where he became

the guest of the agent of the post. The Indians were asked on Sunday

morning to come into the big room for Divine service. Obedient to the

invitation the Chief appeared with his people and listened attentively

to the sermon which was made intelligible to them through an

interpreter. The minister took for his text “Lay not up for yourselves

treasures on earth.” After the return to the post the agent made bold

to tell the young man that he thought his text rather inapplicable

to his audience; that the hoarding up of treasures could scarcely be

called the besetting sin of the native Indian, that in fact, his own

efforts and also those of the company, were constantly exercised in

urging them to provide for the morrow. The young man replied that

this phase of the situation had not presented itself to him but

that he would the following Sunday morning endeavour to correct the

evident mistake. So on the next occasion before the same audience he

prefaced his remarks by a few observations on his previous sermon by

stating--that what he had previously said was not to be taken literally

but figuratively; but when this reached the ears of the Chief through

the interpreter it meant that what he had said the former Sunday was

not true. Immediately this sermon was concluded the chief gathered his

men around him and told them that this man told lies; that he had just

told them that what he had said before was not true and that he did not

want to hear him any more.

On a Sunday morning in summer at Fort Simpson, the Roman Catholic

population of the little village were assembled at early mass in

obedience to the call of the visiting priest he would be with them the

following Sunday, and that he wished all his children to come prepared

to contribute liberally to a special collection that would then be

taken. On the following Saturday an Indian, or perhaps more properly

a half breed, for though practically an Indian he had inherited

sufficient French blood to entitle him to the name of Antoine, visited

the priest and asked him to lend him two dollars in hard money

(silver), stating that he would soon return it. The priest knowing that

Antoine always had a good account at the Company’s store readily gave

him the money. Antoine accompanied by his sweetheart was in attendance

the next day at the service and astonished the congregation by

ostentatiously drooping two dollars on the collection plate. Some time

passed without Antoine offering to return the money. Finally, one day

as the priest was preparing to leave on one of his periodical visits to

other members of his flock he accidentally met Antoine and reminded him

of the fact, to which the latter replied that he had already paid him

in church. The priest informed that this money was not for him but for

God. To this Antoine replied that God did not need the money, that he

was rich, at the same time reminding the priest of a recent sermon of

his, in which he had stated that where God lived all the streets were

made of gold, and ended by advising the priest to keep the money and

not be foolish.

It is a very noted characteristic of the Indian not to exhibit surprise

under any circumstance. Whether this is owing to his indifference or

whether it is an instance of his restraint born of his stoical nature I

am unable to say.

I had a young man of the Ojibway tribe in my employ for a whole winter

on one occasion. Fully fifteen years afterwards I requested the agent

at a post of a Hudson’s Bay Company to engage an Indian with his canoe

for me for a few days. On the following morning a middle-aged man

appeared. He spoke fair English and conversed freely as we paddled

around among the islands in the Lake of the Woods till noon when we

went ashore and had lunch; after which we resumed work and continued

till evening. On leaving for his camp he inquired if I wished him

for the following day, to which I replied in the affirmative. On the

following day at the noon hour I asked him his name. His reply was

simply “John.” I told him I knew that, but asked for his full name to

which his reply was “John Begg.” I told him that I had had a young man

of that name many years before who worked several months for me on the

Rainy River, and asked him if he knew him. His reply was simply “Was

me.”

After this he talked very freely and recalled to my memory many

incidents of the former period that I had almost forgotten, but I have

little doubt that though he knew me from the start if I had not made

the advance he would have left me without revealing his identity.

One other very similar case comes to my mind. When I was a boy, my

father used to employ, at certain times of the year, Indians living on

a reserve near by. Among these was a boy who spoke good English and who

was known by and answered to the euphonious name of “Hickory Jackson.”

For several successive summers he was almost a companion to my brother

and myself. As time went on my place of residence was changed and

probably twenty years after on visiting my old home I was taking a

stroll along the banks of a very familiar stream in the dusk of a

summer evening. The time and place served to call up many incidents of

my early days. When absorbed in such reminiscences I barely noticed in

the twilight the figure of an Indian with a boy walking behind him

on the opposite side of the road, who, in a dull monotone uttered the

words intended for me, “where you going,” and without halting passed

on out of sight. This was “Hickory Jackson” whom I had not seen since

I was a boy and never since. Though he manifested this indifference I

have little doubt knowing his character that when he reached his wigwam

this incident would be related to his family coupled with that of many

others of past years.

There is to my mind something very fascinating in the contemplation

of the characteristics, of the impulses and modes of thought, so to

speak, of those members of the human family who have not come under the

influence of civilised life where the Divine spark has had only nature

for its tutor.

Sitting by the camp fire I have often watched the immobile countenance

of the savage, (if such a name is applicable), and refrained from

making any suggestion as I wondered what was passing through his mind;

whether his thoughts were simply of the earth earthy, or whether there

was enjoyment in the contemplation of higher things. Does nature, of

which he is a child, furnish him with her richer gifts? If so, then he

should seldom be without enjoyment, for certainly his life is spent

close to her very heart.

Without pretending to answer these questions I am not unwilling to

reaffirm what I have said before, that in the uncivilised man we have

just as great a divergence of character as we have in civilised society.

That some among them take pleasure in and are appreciative of the

beautiful in nature is certain, and few there are who do not enjoy

melody, whether expressed in the semi-religious chants or the more

melodious songs of the feathered creation.

I must refer to one other characteristic which seems common to the

North American Indian irrespective of the tribe to which he may belong,

and that is his superiority over most civilised nations in his good

humour. It is very rare indeed to find any quarrelling among them, and

rarer still is such a thing as fighting among individuals unless they

are under the influence of spirits.

SECTION X

HALF BREEDS

The term “Half breed” is applied throughout Western Canada in a general

and indifferent way to the individual in whose veins there is an

admixture of Indian and European blood. In some cases the proportion

may be very largely that of the native race and in others quite the

reverse; but in each case the individual is quite content to be classed

under the general name.

In the early days the country along the Red River and the Assiniboine

in the Province of Manitoba was divided into parishes, in some of which

the inhabitants were almost all Scotch in others English and in others

still French, and from each of these races in alliance with the native

red men sprang the Scotch, English or French half breeds all having

certain similar characteristics combined in their several cases with

others as different as the several nationalities referred to.

The Frenchman coming principally from the Province of Quebec, where

his ancestors had already during two centuries become inured to

forest life, more readily adopted the life of the wigwam, and his

children became frequently Indians in many respects, while the English

and Scotch settler coming direct from the old land made a somewhat

unsuccessful attempt to bring up the children of his native wife as

Scotchmen or Englishmen. In nothing is this difference more noticeable

than in the speech of these different inheritors of Indian blood. Even

to-day in the parish of Kildonan, below Winnipeg, where there are many

descendants of the union of the Scotchman with native Indian women you

will hear a strange dialect, but still with sufficient similarity to

that spoken in certain shires in old Scotia to indicate its origin. The

terms “boy” and “whatever,” the latter peculiarly characteristic of the

Highlands of Scotland, are here used with great freedom, no matter what

the age or station of the party so addressed may be.

On one occasion the Bishop of Saskatchewan who was somewhat

irreverently-called “Saskatchewan Jack” had in his employ a half breed

boy as his valet. I am not aware that this individual ever dared, at

least in his Lordship’s presence, to use the latter term, but in the

most reverential tone he invariably addressed him as “boy My Lord.”

On one occasion I had in my employ one of these Scottish half breeds

whose constant reiteration of the word “whatever” became wearisome,

and I asked him why he employed it so frequently. To which he replied

“We use the word because we could not express ourselves without it

whatever.” Then rather piqued at my criticism he asked “Is it not a

correct word, whatever?” I said that it was correct in certain cases

but unnecessary in nine out of ten where he used it. To this he replied

that if it was a correct word he could see no objection to using it

“whatever!” This ended the conversation for the time.

The half breed whether of English, Scotch or French descent has

inherited from the Indian side certain qualities peculiar to that

race. While he has in many cases lost to a degree some of the higher

qualities of his untutored ancestor of the wilderness such as absolute

honesty, for which the latter was once famous, he has retained the

quality of enduring the greatest privations without complaint. He has

also usually a better physique than his native Indian cousin, and in

many instances is possessed of great strength. The loads that men of

his type frequently carry for great distances on rough trails, over

hills and even mountains is truly remarkable. On the other hand they

have little idea of the value of time--and are never in a hurry. This

they inherit from the Indian whose boast is that he has no need to be

in a hurry; that he owns all the time there is, and will tell you that

the white man acts as if there were no to-morrow. This characteristic

has also impressed itself on the few white men whose lot has been to

pass their existence in the lonely outposts. The dull monotony of

life at a trading post in unsettled Canada could hardly fail to have

this effect. Procrastination is common enough everywhere, but the

complacent way in which these people, whether Indian, half breed or

white, will allow the opportune moments to escape, frequently results

in far greater work for them in the future, and is very trying if not

exasperating to the ambitious traveller, delayed by their deliberate

methods. As an example of this I once had a journey to make in a very

rough country but where there was a chain of lakes leading out to my

destination. With the lakes open, a pleasure trip was possible, but

winter was fast setting in, and from the time the ice began to take

on the lakes, till it would be safe to travel over it, weeks might

elapse, and as there were no trails overland this would be our only

alternative. I had arranged with some Indians and half breeds who

possessed bark canoes to commence the trip on a certain morning. We

were up early and waiting for them to arrive. The morning was passing

without their appearance and precious time was being lost. We all

longed to be on our journey back to civilisation after months in the

woods. But there was no sign of their arrival. Finally I took a small

canoe, only capable of carrying two persons, and went in search of our

Indians. On arriving at a small lake we found them having rare sport

with some loons. The latter would dive and after several minutes come

to the surface when the men would try their luck with their rifles. In

this way they had spent a full half day at our expense. What mattered

to them if the lakes froze over that night? They were at their home and

had indulged in a forenoon’s sport which apparently had afforded them

great enjoyment. For days after they talked and laughed like children

over this adventure.

SECTION XI

THE TRADERS

I have already referred to the two great trading companies which a

century ago held undisputed sway over the whole north country of what

is now known as Canada.

After the union of these corporations under the name of the Hudson’s

Bay Company many years elapsed before the merged enterprises had much

opposition. During these years they established many posts some of

which were enclosed by a wall or stockade and dignified by the name

of fort. The officers at the more important posts were generally men

brought out from the Old Country largely from the North of Scotland and

the Orkney Islands. Most of them reached the country by way of Hudson’s

Bay and had had no opportunity of seeing the older Canadian Provinces.

Some of these men were of good families at home and had received a fair

education before leaving. All were honest and their loyalty to the

Company even surpassed that which they owed to their sovereign. It was

looked upon by them as treason almost worthy of death for any employee

of the Company to traffic in furs except for the Company, and the

independent trader was an Ishmael in the land.

These days have now changed. In addition to the great French House of

“Revillon et Frères” which has recently established posts at most of

the important points in the wild lands of Canada, there are a number of

other companies who have their tugs and barges on the rivers and lakes

which transport their supplies to their stores scattered here and there

along the route. Still the old Company with its organised staff and

well equipped service does by far the largest business in the peltries

of the country. Whatever may be said to the contrary the Hudson’s Bay

Company has much to its credit for its honourable dealings with the

Indians. As a result of its policy the Indian grew to respect the white

man and in a measure to acknowledge his authority so that when the

Canadian Government took over the north-west in the early seventies the

transition of authority from the Company to the latter was made without

difficulty, and the pioneer settler suffered little at the hands of

the red man. How different the history of pioneer life in the Western

States where massacres of the white settlers constantly occurred! This

I think should be largely attributed to the policy and conduct of this

pioneer Company.

[Illustration:

_Copyright Ernest Brown, Edmonton_

TRADING WITH THE ESQUIMAUX]

A post of this historic corporation is a veritable house of refuge

to the weary traveller through the great wilderness. The agent is

proverbial for his hospitality and the traveller from the outside world

is royally welcomed, especially if he comes accredited by some one

of authority belonging to the “Company.” None but the traveller who

has been so favoured can appreciate the comfort that he experiences

on being welcomed by a fellow white man at one of these posts after

perhaps weeks of travel; over a rough trail in winter, or through

dangerous rapids in summer. This enjoyment too, is not lessened by the

consciousness which he feels that his visit is welcome. He can on his

part afford some enjoyment to his entertainers in the way of furnishing

news of what has recently occurred in the outside world, for the agent

and his family have little to break the dull monotony of their lives.

If you want to enjoy absolute quiet for a season you can have it with

a few days’ travel by visiting one of those posts just outside the

borders of Canadian civilisation.

No rumblings of carriages, no screeching of whistles, no ringing of

bells greet you in the morning. You may perchance hear a cow bell

somewhere, but it is in perfect keeping with the tranquil surroundings.

In summer if the post is on a lake or river as it usually is you may

amuse yourself by paddling or fishing and shooting. But whatever you

do it will be in no haste. Even the sun seems to move so slowly,

and the days--especially the afternoon--seem loathe to give way to

the evenings; and the evenings never end till you have succumbed to

somnolent influences and have entered the land of dreams. If I were a

physician I would send my over wrought and brain racked patients to

one of these posts, and would guarantee a cure of all ordinary mental

troubles.

On the Lower Mackenzie the great event of the year is the arrival of

the Hudson’s Bay Company’s steamer which makes but one trip a year to

Fort McPherson. This steamer takes in the year’s supplies and brings

out the furs that have been gathered during the past season from all

the surrounding country. In addition to this she brings the “permits.”

This term includes not only _permission_ for the individual named to

receive ardent spirits but also the article itself which accompanies

the permit.

The quantity allowed any one person is supposed to be sufficient

to last him till the boat returns again a year hence, but with the

improvidence so characteristic of the native, and which the half breed

and white trader seem to have copied, this supply is usually consumed

in a few days. In some cases the agent at the post may retain a little

of the much prized article to treat his brother officers on state

occasions, but even this is exceptional.

The story is told of a meeting of officials at one of these posts

on a certain occasion after the annual supply had long since been

exhausted. During the preceding summer the post had been visited by

a party of entomologists who, on leaving for home had left a small

jar containing a liquid necessary for their work. After the ordinary

business had been attended to, the resident agent expressed his regret

at not having the wherewithal properly to entertain his guests.

This important and rather unexpected announcement caused a feeling

of sadness and disappointment to pass over the visitors which was

plainly visible as well as painful to the host, when all at once he

remembered that the summer visitors had left something that might in

combination with a liberal amount of water act as a substitute for the

“real stuff.” The jar was at once sent for and minutely inspected, but

whether it would be even safe to taste it, was a question. One of the

party expressed himself very strongly that it was nothing “whatever”

but deadly poison.

The host however, was very resourceful and just at the psychological

moment he saw one of his men, a faithful Scotch half breed, passing

with a team of dogs. He at once hailed him and asked him into the

august presence of the great men of the company. Archie, with cap in

hand, greatly surprised at such conduct on the part of his master,

wondered at first what fearful act of insubordination he had committed.

To his surprise, however, he was asked to help himself to a decoction

which the agent prepared. Archie was then asked to sit down and smoke

his pipe before starting out on his long journey with his dog team. The

assembly watched eagerly to see the effects on him but none appeared,

when the agent filled his glass again making the mixture stronger than

before. Sufficient time was then given to show that no evil effects

were to follow, when Archie was told that his dogs would be getting

cold and that he could go. What happened after this need not be

stated!

SECTION XII

MISSIONARIES

The different religious denominations have left to the Roman Catholic

and the Anglican the vast field included in the Arctic slope drained

by the Mackenzie and its tributaries, as well as that of the Porcupine

country to the west and the shores of the Arctic Sea to the north.

At several points here and there over this vast area these two

bodies have established missions and schools. Both bodies have been

represented by Bishops whose names will not be forgotten by this or the

succeeding generation. Bompas of the Anglicans and Grouard of the Roman

Catholics well deserve to rank among the greatest of modern missioners.

The former came out from England many years ago, and at once entered

this far away field. He soon became proficient in the different

languages of the country and lived a life of toil and privation of

which but little is known, for it is said he seldom spoke of such

things. He died at Carcross on the Upper Yukon in 1906 a few months

before I was there. His life work has been well portrayed in a recent

publication by one of his clergy to which I would refer any one who

wishes to be informed on the life and work of this “Great Apostle of

the North.”

On our journey from Hay River to Fort McPherson we had as a fellow

passenger Bishop Reeves who, for many years had been a co-worker with

Bishop Bompas, and his many accounts of the self-sacrificing devotion

of the latter prevented our learning much of his own experiences of

which he seemed too modest to speak, though it is well known that

his best days were spent in the country from which he has recently

returned, and is now Coadjutor Bishop of Toronto.

Bishop Grouard, though now well advanced in years, continues a work

very similar to that of his great contemporary. Both were familiar with

all the great streams of the north. Each had trodden over the same

trails, each knew as few others did the natives for whose welfare they

had both in their early life relinquished pleasant surroundings in the

Old World, for both belonged to influential if not noble families,

Bompas in England and Grouard in France.

I met Bishop Grouard only twice. First _en route_ on the Upper

Athabaska on my way back from Peace River, and a few years later at

Smith’s Landing on the Slave River. At first he was far from his home,

visiting his scattered flock and superintending the work of his clergy

over a diocese much larger than the whole of his native country.

On the last occasion he was hurrying back to his head-quarters before

starting for a journey to Rome where he expected to be in about six

weeks, but only for a short time, for circumstances compelled him to be

back with his charge before the long winter set in.

It is said that politics make strange bedfellows. The same may be

said of travelling in the sparsely settled districts of the north.

More particularly in what might be called the border land between

the pioneer settlements and the wilderness. When a journey is to

be made in the latter, one goes prepared with his own tent and camp

equipment and in most cases he is much more comfortable than when

he is approaching civilisation where there are certain houses of

accommodation called “sleeping places,” but usually pronounced without

the sound of the final “g” in the first word.

Once I had the honour of occupying a place on a wide bed made on the

floor of one of these road houses. Among the company thus accommodated

were Bishop Young of Athabaska Landing, the late Bishop Holmes, then

Archdeacon of Lesser Slave Lake, a Roman Catholic priest from Peace

River and several half breeds. Bishop Young and I agreed to “double up”

under the same blankets while the Archdeacon and Père Lazaret made the

same arrangement.

After each of the men of Holy Orders had offered up his evening

devotions in his own forms, the priest and the Archdeacon, who were

neighbours in the mission field, commenced a conversation, not in the

native language of either the one or the other but in the Cree tongue.

There was no affectation in this on the part of either. Father Lazaret

was of course familiar with French his mother tongue but knew very

little English, while the Archdeacon, an Englishman by birth, was not

particularly fluent in _la langue Française_; but a common ground of

communication was found in the tongue of the Cree Indian in which both

were equally at home.

Father Lazaret was at this time fifty-four years of age. Twenty-seven

years before he had come out from France as a young missionary at once

entering the field in the neighbourhood of Peace River, and this was

the first time that he had ventured out even as far as Edmonton. As we

approached this modern city in the evening with its lighted streets

and throngs of busy people and he mentally compared it with the little

port of the lonely post twenty-seven years before, his surprise at the

change can well be imagined. He was then on his way back to visit his

aged mother and to bid her a last farewell; then to return again to end

his days on the banks of the Peace; for him at least, so happily named.

Speaking of the use of different languages reminds me of the case of

a lay brother of the Oblate Brotherhood whom we met at the Roman

Catholic mission at Fort Good Hope near the Arctic Circle on the

Mackenzie. Forty years before he had left Ireland and joined the

members of his order in that distant field. Most of the clergy were

French and it was seldom indeed that he heard his mother tongue. The

consequence was that while he spoke French fluently, with a Hibernian

accent, and also the language of the Indian tribes of the country he

informed me that it was with great difficulty that he could remember

how to express himself in the tongue of his fathers. Thus do men of the

older civilisations sacrifice themselves for the sake of the most lofty

ideal the world has ever known.

CONCLUSION

AN APPEAL

I cannot close without calling public attention to a matter that

impressed me very forcibly on my journey and which has ever since been

before my mind, and that is the great need for the establishment of

a hospital somewhere in that vast region of the Mackenzie watershed

and its vicinity. Here is a country sparsely populated to be sure,

but of vast extent compared with which most European countries are

insignificant. Between Edmonton and the Arctic Sea we pass over sixteen

degrees of latitude, while the distance by the travelled route is over

2000 miles. Again from the Rocky Mountains on the west to the Hudson

Bay on the east the distance is almost equally as great.

At Athabaska Landing and at Peace River on the southern fringe of this

great wilderness a few physicians have now established themselves

but beyond these places the only medical aid available is from an

occasional visit of the Government physician and what the missionaries

are able to furnish. At practically every post and Indian village on

our way we were besieged for medicine by the afflicted. In many cases

they were the victims of chronic diseases which would undoubtedly

yield to surgical treatment provided proper means were afforded for

attendance and nursing.

A few of the missionaries have some knowledge. One of them, perhaps

the most proficient in this respect, informed me that appendicitis was

quite as prevalent among the Indians of those regions as it is in the

outside world, but that he felt incompetent to attempt an operation,

and, moreover, even if such operations were properly performed, the

conditions of life in the wigwam would afford poor chances for an

ultimate recovery.

If a small hospital properly equipped were established say at Fort

Simpson, at the junction of the Laird and Mackenzie Rivers, or at some

point on Great Slave Lake, it could be reached by canoes in summer

from points all along the Mackenzie even down to the sea on the north

as well as the country to the south along the Athabaska and Great Slave

Lakes and their tributary streams. By this means the poor people who

are at present compelled to live out a life of suffering till death

comes to their relief, would have the benefits that modern science

affords to the afflicted in civilised life.

All know the splendid results that have attended similar efforts on the

Atlantic Coast between Newfoundland and Hudson’s Straits through the

agency of Dr. Grenfell. Here is a field even greater than that of the

Labrador but where no such a benefactor has yet appeared, and my last

words in this connection must be an appeal to our people on both sides

of the Atlantic to unite in what would really be a most beneficent work

for suffering humanity. I cannot but believe that if this want were

generally known it would not be long till the charitably disposed would

come to the relief of those lonely and helpless people.

I have now concluded an imperfect narrative of a hasty trip through

the country, and I may as well confess that it is doubtful if I would

have sought the public ear through this publication had I not thought

it my duty to call attention to this matter, and if words of mine

should aid in bringing about an amelioration of the sufferings of those

dwelling in that lone wilderness, I shall feel well rewarded for having

attempted an unfamiliar task in the preparation of this narrative.

[Illustration:

Department of the Interior

HONOURABLE ROBERT ROGERS. MINISTER

W. W. CORY. DEPUTY MINISTER

WESTERN CANADA

_Route followed in 1905 by Elihu Stewart, D.S.L._

_Accompanying Report of Elihu Stewart, D.S.L._

]

Transcriber’s Notes

Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a

predominant preference was found in the original book; otherwise they

were not changed.

Simple typographical errors were corrected; unbalanced quotation

marks were remedied when the change was obvious, and otherwise left

unbalanced.

Illustrations in this eBook have been positioned between paragraphs

and outside quotations. In versions of this eBook that support

hyperlinks, the page references in the List of Illustrations lead to

the corresponding illustrations.

Text uses “totem” but one illustration uses “totum” in its caption and

in the List of Illustrations. Both spellings have been retained here.

Two duplicate pages between the Title page and the Preface have been

deleted by the Transcriber.

Page 70: “Donoueschingen” should be “Donaueschingen.”