WRITING JOURNALS--FUR-LADEN BRIGADES--VALUABLE FURS--HUNTING
PREPARATIONS--BIG TOM, THE FAMOUS GUIDE--THE START--FIRST CAMP ON THE
ROCKS.
Soon after breakfast and a glorious plunge bath in the cold waters of
Hudson Bay, the lads were informed by Mr McTavish that the ship's cargo
was now about unloaded, and that just as soon as the brigades, with the
last winter's catch of furs, which were looked for every hour, should
arrive she would with the first favourable wind begin the return
journey. He suggested that instead of hunting that day they should
devote its hours to writing letters to their friends far away, as months
would elapse ere another opportunity would be theirs. Of course this
kind suggestion was most gratefully accepted, and in an unused office in
one of the buildings Frank, Alec, and Sam were soon busily engaged in
this very interesting work.
Before leaving home they had been furnished with regulation journals,
and had been offered substantial rewards if they would write something
in their books every day. Readily had they promised; but, alas! when
the Atlantic storms had for some days assailed them their good
resolutions, stimulated by the promised rewards, failed most signally.
During the first few days after starting they had so much to write
about, and had so filled up the pages, that they all regretted that
their books were not larger, or that they had not three or four pages
for each day. This, however, had all changed. The pages were now too
large, and it was a burden to write even a few sentences.
We need not stop here to give any detailed accounts of these letters;
suffice it to say they were just such as any of the bright, happy,
boyish readers of these pages would have written under similar
circumstances to their loved mothers and friends far away. It was
noticed that while they were full of fun and laughter while writing to
their school chums and other young friends, yet when they came to the
writing of the letters to their mothers there was a quiet time among
them, and some tears dropped on the pages, and some throats had lumps in
them. All right, boys; we think not the less but much the more of you,
because of the love and affection for your mothers, between whom and you
now rolls the wide Atlantic. Months will elapse ere letters from home
will reach you, or you will have the opportunity of writing again; and
so now, while you have the chance, send loving letters to the precious
mothers, whose love excels all other earthly love. Frank, Alec, and Sam
all have, as you have, good mothers. They never gave bad advice, but
always the best counsel. They never led the boys astray, but ever
stimulated to a noble life. They always loved and were ever more
anxious to forgive and forget than the boys were to be forgiven.
Great was the noise and excitement at the fort next morning, and very
early were the boys astir to see what was the cause. The long-expected
brigades of boats had arrived with the cargoes of furs. As they were
all sorted in well-packed bales, weighing each about eighty or ninety
pounds, the work of transferring them to the ship did not take very
long. One boat in running some wild and dangerous rapids had been
submerged and nearly lost, with all its crew, who escaped only because
they could swim like otters. The cargo of furs had all gone under the
waves ere rescued, and so it was necessary to open all the bales of fur,
with which the boat had been loaded, and dry them in the bright sun as
quickly as possible. This work very much interested the boys, and, as
the assortment of furs was a varied one, they had their first
opportunity of seeing what rich and valuable furs this wild country
could produce.
There were no less than six varieties of foxes, the most valuable being
the black and silver ones. Then there were cross foxes, blue foxes, as
well as white and red ones. The rich otters and splendid black beavers
very much interested them, and especially the prime bear and wolf skins.
And as they looked at them and many other kinds their mouths fairly
watered at the prospect of during the few months being engaged in the
exciting sport of capturing the comrades of these in their native
forests.
Yes, they would succeed in some instances, as our book will tell; but
now as they looked at these splendid skins lying so quiet and still they
little imagined the dangers and hardships which would be theirs ere the
fierce bears and savage wolves they were to assail would render up their
splendid robes.
Very much interested also were they in the hardy voyageurs, or trip men,
who constituted these brigades. Dark and swarthy they were, with
beardless faces, and long black hair that rested on their shoulders.
From remote and different regions had they come. Here were brigades
from the Assiniboine, Red River, Cumberland, and the Saskatchewan
region. Many of the boatmen were of the Metis--half-French and Indian;
and they spoke a language that was a mixture of both, with some English
intermixed that was not always the most polite.
From the mighty Saskatchewan had come down that great river for a
thousand miles, and then onward for several hundred more, brigades that
had, in addition to the furs and robes of that land, large supplies of
dried meat and tallow, and many bags of the famous food called pemmican,
obtained from the great herds of buffalo that still, in those days, like
the cattle on a thousand hills, thundered through the land and grazed on
its rich pasturage and drank from its beautiful streams. The men of
these Saskatchewan brigades were warriors who had often been in conflict
with hostile tribes, and could tell exciting stories of scalping
parties, and the fierce conflict for their lives when beleaguered by
some relentless foes. Some of them bore on face or scalp the marks of
the wounds received in close tomahawk encounter, and, for the gift of a
pocketknife or gaudy handkerchief from our eager boys, rehearsed with
all due enlargement the story of the fierce encounter with superior
numbers of their bitterest enemies, how they had so gloriously
triumphed, but had not come off unscathed, as these great scars did
testify.
Thus excited and interested did the boys wander from one encampment of
these brigades to another. The word had early gone out from the chief
factor, Mr McTavish, that these boys were his special friends, and as
such were to be treated with consideration by all. This was quite
sufficient to insure them a welcome everywhere, and so they acquired a
good deal of general information, as they became acquainted with people
from places, of which they had heard but little, and from others of some
regions until then to them unknown.
In addition to those already referred to, there were brigades from Lac-
la-Puie, the Lake of the Woods, Cumberland House, Athabasca, and Swan
River, and other places many hundreds of miles away.
As each brigade arrived it formed its own encampment separate from the
others. Here the fires of dry logs were built on the ground, and the
meals prepared and eaten. When the day's work was over, the men
gathered around the fire's bright glow and smoked their pipes, laughed
and chatted, and then, each wrapping himself in a single blanket, they
lay down on the ground to sleep, with no roof above them but the stars.
As the goods brought from England in large bulk had to be made up into
bundles, called in the language of the country "pieces," each weighing
from eighty to one hundred pounds, that could be easily carried around
the portages by the Indians, several days must elapse ere the return
trip would be begun. Very interesting were these days to the boys, as
from camp fire to camp fire they wandered, making friends everywhere
with the Indians by their hearty, manly ways.
At first the wildest and fiercest looking fellows most attracted them;
those wild warriors who could tell of scalping parties and horse-
stealing adventures among the warlike tribes of the great plains. After
a while, however, they found themselves most interested in the brigades
that could travel fastest, that had the record of making the fastest
trip in the shortest time. What at first was a surprise to them was
that the brigades that held these best records were the Christian ones,
who took time to say their prayers morning and evening and always rested
on the Sabbath. This proved that these hard-working men, who rested one
day in seven, could do and did better and faster work than those who
knew no Sabbath, but pushed on from day to day without rest. Man as a
working animal needs the day of rest, and with one off in seven will, as
has been here and in other places proved, do better work in the
remaining six than the one who takes no day of rest.
Soon after the arrival of the brigades with the furs, which were
estimated as being worth in London over three hundred thousand pounds,
they were all safely stowed away in the vessel, and a favourable wind
springing up from the south-west, the anchor was lifted, the sails
hoisted, and the good ship _Prince Arthur_ started on her return voyage
to the old land. The boys waved their handkerchiefs and shouted their
farewells until the vessel was far out on the dancing waves like a thing
of life and beauty.
To Big Tom, of the Norway House Brigade, had been intrusted the
responsibility of safely taking the boys up from York Factory to the
residence of Mr Ross. His Indian name was Mamanowatum, which means, "O
be joyful," but he had long been called Big Tom on account of his
gigantic size.
Ample resources had been sent with the boys to pay for all their
requirements. Mr McTavish had an experienced clerk look after their
outfit and select for them everything needed, not only for the journey,
but for their requirements during the year of their stay in the country.
So they were here furnished with what was called the yearly supplies,
as York Factory is the best place, keeping as it does large reserve
supplies for all the interior trading posts. The English boots were
discarded for moccasins; fringed leggings manufactured out of well-
tanned skins and various other articles of apparel more suitable to the
wild country were obtained.
Two good Hudson Bay blankets were purchased for each boy, and, as they
had come to rough it, it was thought best to give them no tent, but each
one had in his outfit a large piece of oiled canvas in case of a fierce
rainstorm assailing them. They were given the usual rations of food,
with tea and sugar for so many days, and each lad was furnished with a
copper kettle, a tin cup, a tin plate, a knife, fork, and spoon. As
luxuries they furnished themselves with towels, soap, brush, and comb.
In addition to these supplies for this first trip there were sent up all
that would be needed during the long months that they were to spend in
the country. The boys were specially anxious that the supply of
ammunition should be most liberal.
For weapons they each had a good double-barrelled breech-loading gun--
then just beginning to come into use--which had been carefully selected
for them ere they left home. In addition they each had a first-class
sheath knife with hilt, good for close hand-to-hand encounter with
animals, and also useful in skinning the game when killed or in cutting
kindling wood for a fire. A first-class knife is an indispensable
requisite for a hunter in the North-west. Indeed, there is a saying in
that country, "Give an Indian a knife and a string, and he will make his
living and his way anywhere."
A brigade in the Hudson Bay service consisted of from four to twenty
boats; each boat was supposed to carry from eighty to a hundred pieces
of goods or bales of fur in addition to the supplies for the men. They
were made out of spruce or balsam, and were like large skiffs, sharp at
both ends.
They were manned by nine men. The man in charge was called the
steersman; standing in the sharp angle of the stern, he steered the boat
either by a rudder or a long oar, which he handled with great skill.
The other eight men rowed the boat along with great oars, in the use of
which they were very clever. Each boat was provided with a small mast
and a large square sail. When there was no favourable wind the mast was
unstepped and lashed on the outside of the boat under the rowlocks.
Often for days together only the oars were used. This was specially the
case in river routes. However, in the great lakes whenever there was
any possibility of sailing the mast was stepped, the sail hoisted, and
the weary toilers at the oars had a welcome rest; and often did they
need it, for the work was most slavish and exhausting.
In each brigade there was a boss who had control of all the boats. He
gave the word when to start in the morning and when to camp at night.
His word was absolute in all matters of dispute. He had the privilege
of selecting the best boat in the brigade, and was supposed to always be
at the front when dangerous rapids had to be run, or death in any form
had to be faced; in storm or hurricane his boat had to be the first to
face the trying ordeal, and his hand to be on the helm. Only the well-
tried old steersman of many years' experience could hope to reach to
this position, and when once it was obtained unceasing vigilance was the
price paid for the retention of the post. One mistake in running the
rapids, or a single neglect to detect the coming of the storm in time to
get to shore and the furs securely covered over with the heavy
tarpaulins, with which each boat was supplied, was quite sufficient to
cause him to lose the much coveted position. About the only liberty
taken with him was, if possible, when the boats were crossing a great
lake, with each big sail set, to try if possible by superior management
of the boat to get to the distant shore ahead of him.
The start was made about three o'clock in the afternoon, as is the
general custom of these brigades of boats; the idea being only to go a
few miles for the first day and thus find out if everything is in
thorough working order, and that nothing has been forgotten.
The camp was made on the bank of the river where dry wood was abundant,
and where there was some sheltered cove or harbour in which the boats
could safely be secured in case of violent storms coming up in the
night, which was not an infrequent occurrence.
Big Tom appointed one of the Indian oarsmen to look after the boys. His
duties were to cook their meals and select for their beds as smooth and
soft a place as was possible to find on the granite rocks; or, if it
happened to be in a soft and swampy place where the boats stopped for
the night, he was expected to forage round and find some dry old grass
in the used-up beaver meadows, or to cut down some balsam boughs on
which the oilcloth would be spread, and then their blanket beds would be
made. These boughs of the balsam or spruce, when broken up, make a
capital bed. The boys, after a few nights' experiment with various
kinds of beds, became so much attached to those made of the spruce or
balsam that, unless very weary with some exciting sport during the day,
they generally took upon themselves the work of securing them at each
night's camping place.
Tables were considered unnecessary luxuries. The dishes were arranged
on a smooth rock if one was to be found. The food was served up by the
Indian attendant, and the three boys and Big Tom sat down and enjoyed
the plain but hearty meal. It is generally the custom for the commodore
of the brigade to take his meals with any travellers he may have in
charge. When they have dined, the Indian servant or attendant then sits
down and has his meal. After supper the Indians who have more quickly
prepared and eaten their suppers, as they waste but little time in
details, gather round the splendid camp fire, and for an hour or so
engage in pleasant chat; and while having their evening smoke they show
to each other their various purchases secured at York Factory. At this
post they are allowed to take up in goods half of their wages for their
services, and carry them along with them in their boats.
After a final visit was made by the different steersmen to their boats
to see that everything was snug and tight, and a consultation with Big
Tom as to the likelihood or not of a storm coming up, they all gathered
round the camp fire for evening prayers. Big Tom took charge of the
evening service. He first read from his Indian Testament, translated
into his own language and printed in the clear, beautiful syllabic
characters invented by one of the early missionaries. After the
Scriptures were read Martin Papanekis, a sweet singer, led the company
in singing in their own language a beautiful translation of the "Evening
Hymn." When this was sung they all reverently bowed while Big Tom
offered up an appropriate prayer.
Very sweetly sounded the voices of these Christian Indians as here amid
nature's solitudes arose from their lips and hearts the voice of prayer
and praise. The effect on the boys was not only startling but helpful.
In their minds there had been associated very little of genuine
Christianity with the Indians, but just the reverse. They expected to
meet them with tomahawks and scalping knives, but not with Bibles and
hymn books; they expected to hear war-whoops, but not the voice of
Christian song and earnest prayer.
As the boys lay that night in their blanket beds on the rocks they could
not but talk of the evening prayers, and perhaps that simple but
impressive service did more to bring vividly and helpfully before them
the memories of their happy Christian homes far away than anything else
that had occurred since they left them.