It was towards the end of January, 1891, that I left Hudson's Hope for
Edmonton, a distance of six hundred miles, giving up all further attempt
to reach Macleod's Lake. A son of Mr. Brick, of Smoky River, turned up
just before I started, and promised to go with Pat to my _cache_ at the
junction of the Findlay and Parsnip when the days grew long in spring.
The rough ice would then be covered with deep snow, and with snow-shoes
and hand-sleighs it would be easy to bring away the guns, journals, and
many other articles that I had been obliged to abandon.
Two days and a half took me to St. John's, and after a week's stay there
a dog-train, carrying the winter packet, arrived, and I took this chance
of getting to Dunvegan. Alick Kennedy, one of the very best half-breed
_voyageurs_ in Canada, was in charge of the packet. The distances this
man has been known to run in a day would hardly be credited in a land
where people travel by railways and steamboats: moreover, he is a
pleasant companion to travel with; his conversation is interesting, and
entirely free from the boasting which most of the half-breeds indulge
in. Alick was captain of a boat-brigade on the Nile; and if all the
Canadian contingent had been of his stamp instead of the Winnipeg
loafers, who were too worthless to get employment in their own country,
a different story might have been told of the behaviour of the
_voyageurs_ on the march to Khartoum.
Five days took us to Dunvegan, where I again met Mr. Macdonald, and
travelled with him to the Lesser Slave Lake. From Dunvegan we made the
portage straight to Smoky River, crossing a pretty prairie country and
camping a night at Old Wives' Lake, where Mr. Brick winters some of his
cattle. With a splendid track along the waggon-road, we made the ninety
miles to the Lesser Slave Lake in two days, and, judging from the number
of people and houses, we seemed to have reached civilization already.
Besides the Hudson's Bay establishment, the missions and the buildings
of the free-traders, many half-breeds have houses scattered along the
lake, and devote part of their attention to raising horses and cattle,
though of course whitefish are the main support of life. A favourite
haunt for wildfowl is this lake in spring and autumn, but big game and
fur have been nearly killed out by the large population, and most of the
Indian trade is done at the out-posts nearer to the hunting-grounds.
I spent several days at the fort, being well treated as usual, and
February was nearly finished when I started with Mr. Frank Hardistay on
my last journey with dogs. The Lesser Slave Lake is about seventy miles
in length, and covering this distance easily in two days we travelled
down the Little Slave River which leaves the east end of the lake. A
good deal of labour has been expended in blasting rocks out of the
channel of this river, to enable the steamer from the Athabasca landing
to reach the lake, and so avoid the expense of building boats and
engaging crews to transport the Peace River cargo, but so far these
efforts have proved unsuccessful.
I think we followed the course of this stream about twenty miles, then
dived into the thick pine-forest on the east bank, and making a
twelve-mile portage came out on the Athabasca River, seventy miles above
the landing at the end of the waggon-road from Edmonton. The Athabasca
has here the same monotonous look that one becomes so tired of in its
lower reaches. When a point was rounded another point exactly similar
showed three or four miles ahead, and this continued till we reached the
landing, in clear cold weather, on March 3rd; three days later our dogs,
bearing the smartest of dog-cloths and with sleigh-bells ringing
merrily, rattled into Edmonton, and the wild free life of the last
twenty months was over.
The excitement that the arrival of a stranger never fails to create at a
lonely Northern fort is rather apt to give that stranger an exaggerated
idea of his own importance; but when I reached Edmonton I at once
realised that there are many people in the world who have ideas beyond
musk-ox and caribou, dog-sleighs and snow-shoes. An election was at its
height to decide who should have the honour of representing the
territory of Alberta at Ottawa. Edmonton had been drinking, although it
is supposed to keep strictly to the rules of the Prohibition Act, and
before I had been an hour in the town I found myself in the midst of a
free fight. I was unfortunate in not knowing the names of the
candidates, or what policy they represented, and as I could give no
clear account as to what I had done with my vote, I was roughly used by
both sides and was glad to escape to the less boisterous hospitality of
the Hudson's Bay Fort.
There were still two hundred miles of snow-covered prairie to be crossed
to reach Calgary, but with horses to drag our sleigh, and a house to
sleep in every night, there could be little hardship in the journey. At
the crossing of the Red Deer we saw the iron rails that had already
pushed far out towards Edmonton, but work had ceased for the winter and
no trains were running. As we travelled south the snow became less every
day, till we were forced to change our runners for wheels when still
sixty miles from Calgary. Late in the evening of March 15th the whistle
of a locomotive told me, more plainly than anything I had yet heard,
that it was time to pull myself together and take up the common-place
life of civilization; a few more miles of level country, down a steep
pitch or two, across the frozen stream of the Elbow, and close ahead the
lights of Calgary were blinking over the prairie.
[Illustration: Edmonton]
* * * * *
I am writing these concluding lines in a fashionable garret off St.
James's Street. Close at hand are all the luxuries that only
ultra-civilization can give, and these luxuries are to be obtained by
the simple method of handing over an adequate number of coins of the
realm; there is no necessity to shoulder your gun and tramp many weary
miles on snow-shoes before you get even a sight of your dinner in its
raw state. But surely we carry this civilization too far, and are in
danger of warping our natural instincts by too close observance of the
rules that some mysterious force obliges us to follow when we herd
together in big cities. Very emblematical of this warping process are
the shiny black boots into which we squeeze our feet when we throw away
the moccasin of freedom; as they gall and pinch the unaccustomed foot,
so does the dread of our friends' opinion gall and pinch our minds till
they become narrow, out of shape, and unable to discriminate between
reality and semblance. A dweller in cities is too wrapped up in the
works of man to have much respect left for the works of God, and to him
the loneliness of forest and mountain, lake and river, must ever appear
but a weary desolation. But there are many sportsmen who love to be
alone with Nature and the animals far from their fellow-men, and as this
book is intended solely for the sportsman, a few words of advice to
anyone who is anxious to hunt the musk-ox may not be out of place.
I am not quite sure that Fort Resolution is the best point to start
from. Fort Rae, on the north arm of the Great Slave Lake, lies nearer
the Barren Ground, and the Dog-Ribs are said to be more amenable to
reason than the Yellow Knives, while the distance to travel through a
woodless country is shorter. Fort Good Hope, on the Lower Mackenzie,
would be another good spot to make headquarters; but there is less
certainty of finding the caribou in that neighbourhood, and without the
caribou there is little chance of reaching the musk-ox. It is not the
slightest use starting from a post with the theory that musk-ox can be
killed in so many days, and that, by taking a load of provisions
sufficient to last for the same length of time, a successful hunt will
be made. The only plan is to work your way up slowly, to stay among the
caribou in the autumn, and kill and _cache_ meat whenever an opportunity
offers, ready for a rush on the first snow. Remember, too, when
provisions get scarce, as they certainly will at some time or other, the
country ahead is as big as the country behind, and the best chance lies
in pushing on. To turn back may prove fatal, when another day's travel
may put you in a land of plenty. It is possible to reach the
hunting-ground and return to Fort Resolution with a canoe in the summer,
but the robes are then worthless, and the whole sport savours too much
of covert-shooting in July. Make quite sure before you start that you
are determined to push on through everything, as even the Great Slave
Lake is far to go on an unsuccessful errand. Here, in London, in front
of a good fire at the club and under the influence of a good dinner, it
is easy enough to kill musk-ox and make long night-marches on snow-shoes
by the flashes of the Northern Lights; but the test of practice takes
off some of the enjoyment.
A year has slipped away since our winter journey through the Peace River
Pass. Young Brick kept his promise of getting the _cache_ right well,
and a couple of months ago my journals arrived in England, so that I
have been able to put together this rough record of my Northern travels.
On looking back one remembers only the good times, when meat was
plentiful and a huge fire lit up the snow on the spruce trees; misery
and starvation are forgotten as soon as they are over, and even now, in
the midst of the luxury of civilization, at times I have a longing to
pitch my lodge once more at the edge of the Barren Ground, to see the
musk-ox standing on the snowdrift and the fat caribou falling to the
crack of the rifle, to hear the ptarmigan crowing among the little pines
as the sun goes down over a frozen lake and the glory of an Arctic night
commences.
To the man who is not a lover of Nature in all her moods the Barren
Ground must always be a howling, desolate wilderness; but for my part, I
can understand the feeling that prompted Saltatha's answer to the worthy
priest, who was explaining to him the beauties of Heaven. "My father,
you have spoken well; you have told me that Heaven is very beautiful;
tell me now one thing more. Is it more beautiful than the country of the
musk-ox in summer, when sometimes the mist blows over the lakes, and
sometimes the water is blue, and the loons cry very often? That is
beautiful; and if Heaven is still more beautiful, my heart will be glad,
and I shall be content to rest there till I am very old."
[Illustration: A SKETCH MAP OF Mr. WARBURTON PIKE'S JOURNEYS TO THE
BARREN GROUND OF NORTHERN CANADA]
APPENDIX I
I am much indebted to Professor Dawson, of the Dominion Geological
Survey Department, for his kind permission to publish the following
paper on the Unexplored Regions of Canada. It shows more plainly than
any words of mine could tell how much yet remains to be done before this
great portion of the British Empire is known as it ought to be.
ON SOME OF THE LARGER UNEXPLORED REGIONS OF CANADA.
(By G. M. DAWSON, D.S., Assoc. R.S.M., F.G.S., F.R.S.C.)
If on reading the title of the paper which I had promised to contribute
to the Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club, any one should have supposed it
to be my intention to endeavour to describe or forecast the character of
the unexplored areas mentioned, I must, in the first place, disclaim any
such intention. The very existence of large regions of which little or
nothing is known, is of course stimulating to a fertile imagination,
ready to picture to itself undiscovered "golden cities a thousand
leagues deep in Cathay," but such unscientific use of the imagination is
far removed from the position of sober seriousness, in which I ask your
attention to the facts which I have to present.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, as we may happen to regard it, the
tendency of our time is all in the direction of laying bare to
inspection and open to exploitation all parts, however remote, of this
comparatively small world in which we live, and though the explorer
himself may be impelled by a certain romanticism in overcoming
difficulties or even dangers met with in the execution of his task, his
steps are surely and closely followed by the trader, the lumberer, or
the agriculturalist, and not long after these comes the builder of
railways with his iron road. It is, therefore, rather from the point of
view of practical utility than from any other, that an appeal must be
made to the public or to the Government for the further extension of
explorations, and my main purpose in addressing you to-night is to make
such an appeal, and to show cause, if possible, for the exploration of
such considerable portions of Canada as still remain almost or
altogether unmapped.
What I have to say, in fact, on this subject resolves itself chiefly
into remarks on the map exhibited here, upon which the unexplored areas
to which I am about to refer are clearly depicted in such a manner, I
believe, as almost to speak for themselves.
It is very commonly supposed, even in Canada, but to a greater extent
elsewhere, that all parts of the Dominion are now so well known that
exploration, in the true sense of the term, may be considered as a thing
of the past. This depends largely upon the fact that the maps of the
country generally examined are upon a very small scale, and that upon
such maps no vast areas yet remain upon which rivers, lakes, mountains,
or other features are not depicted. If, however, we take the trouble to
enquire more closely into this, and consult perhaps one of the
geographers whose maps we have examined, asking such awkward questions
as may occur to us on the sources of information for this region or
that, we may probably by him be referred to another and older map, and
so on till we find in the end that the whole topographical fabric of
large parts of all these maps rests upon information of the vaguest
kind.
Of most of the large areas marked upon the map here shown, this is
absolutely true, and the interests of knowledge with respect to these
would be better subserved if such areas were left entirely blank, or, at
least, if all the geographical features drawn upon them appeared in
broken lines, in such a way as to show that none of them are certain. In
other regions, the main geographical outlines, such as the courses of
the larger rivers, are indicated approximately, with such accuracy as
may be possible from accounts or itineraries derived from travellers or
from officers of the Hudson's Bay Company; or from the descriptions or
rough sketches of Indians or other persons by whom the region has been
traversed, but who have been unprovided with instruments of any kind and
whose knowledge of the country has been incidentally obtained.
There is, in the case of such partially explored regions, more excuse
for the delineation of the main features on our maps, as these may be
useful in imparting general information of a more or less inexact kind.
We can scarcely, however, admit that such regions have been explored in
any true sense of that term, while they are certainly unsurveyed, and
very little confidence can be placed in maps of this kind as guides in
travel. When, ten years ago, I struck across from Fort Macleod, on the
west side of the Rocky Mountains, with the purpose of reaching Fort
Dunvegan on the Peace, through a country densely forested and without
trails or tracks of any kind, I had so much confidence in the existing
maps of that region as to assume that Dunvegan was at least
approximately correct in position on them. As often as possible I took
observations for latitude, and each night worked out our position by
latitude and departure, till at a certain point I was about to turn off
to the north of the line previously followed with the confident
anticipation of finding Dunvegan. Just here, very fortunately, we fell
in with some Indians, and though our means of communicating with them
were very imperfect, we gathered enough to lead us to accept the
guidance of one of them, who promised to lead us to the fort, but took
an entirely different direction from that I had proposed taking. He was
right, but Dunvegan proved to be, as shown on the maps, nearly forty
miles west of its real position. Fortunately no very great importance
attached to our reaching Dunvegan on a given day, but none the less,
this practical experience proved to me very conclusively the
desirability of showing features in broken lines, or otherwise
indicating their uncertainty when they have not been properly fixed.
It must be confessed, however, that most of the travellers ordinarily to
be found in these unexplored regions, being Indians or hunters, traders
and others travelling under the guidance of Indians, do not depend on
the latitudes and longitudes of places, or on the respective bearings of
one place from another. The Indians follow routes with which they have
been familiar since childhood, or, when beyond the boundaries of their
own particular region of country, go by landmarks, such as mountains,
lakes, and rivers, which have been described to them by their
neighbours. Their memory in this respect is remarkable; but it must be
remembered that among their principal subjects of conversation when
sitting about the camp-fire are the distances in day's journeys from
place to place, the routes which they have followed or have known others
to follow, the difficulties to be encountered on these, the points at
which food of different kinds may be obtained, and the features which
strike them as being remarkable in the country traversed. Returning,
however, from this digression, which began with the statement that
accurate maps of such regions as are at present merely traversed by
traders and Indians, are not imperative from the point of view of such
travellers, it may with confidence be affirmed that such maps and
explorations upon which they are based are absolutely essential to
civilized society, to show in the first place what the natural resources
of these regions are and how they may be utilized, in the second by what
highways such regions may be most easily reached.
A glance at the map will show, that while many of the larger unexplored
areas may be affirmed to lie to the north of the limit of profitable
agriculture, considerable regions situated to the south of this limit
still await examination. Large districts, again, in which no farmer will
ever voluntarily settle, may afford timber which the world will be glad
to get when the white pine of our nearer forests shall become more
nearly exhausted, while, with respect to mineral resources, it is
probable that in the grand aggregate the value of those which exist in
the unexplored regions will be found, area for area, to be equal to
those of the known regions, comparing each particular geological
formation with its nearest representative. On the grounds alone,
therefore, of geographical knowledge, and of the discovery and
definition of the reserves of the country in timber and minerals, the
exploration of all these unknown or little-known regions may be amply
justified.
Taking a line drawn north and south in the longitude of the Red River
Valley, which is, as nearly as may be, the centre of Canada from east to
west, it may confidently be stated that by far the larger part of the
country in which agricultural settlement is possible lies to the west,
while the great bulk of the actual population lies to the east of this
line. Looking to this grand fundamental fact, I believe it may safely be
affirmed that some members of this audience will live to see the day
when these conditions with respect to population will be boldly
reversed, and in which the greater number of our representatives in
Parliament gathering here will come from this great western region.
This disposition of the cultivable land depends partly upon the physical
characteristics of the country, and in part on its climatic conditions.
Beyond Winnipeg, and stretching therefrom to the west and north-west, is
the great area of prairie, plain, and plateau, which, wider near the
forty-ninth parallel than elsewhere on the continent, runs on in one
form or other, though with diminishing width, to the Arctic Ocean. This
is, generally speaking, an alluvial region, and one of fertile soils.
Very fortunately, and as though by a beneficent provision of nature, the
climatic features favour the utilization of this belt. The summer
isothermals, which carry with them the possibility of ripening crops,
trend far to the north.
Let us trace, for example, and as a rough and ready index of the
northern limit of practicable agriculture of any kind, that isothermal
line which represents a mean temperature of 60° Fahrenheit in the month
of July. Passing through the southern part of Newfoundland and touching
the island of Anticosti, this line runs to the north end of Mistassini
Lake, and thence crosses Hudson's Bay, striking the west shore a short
distance north of York Factory. Thence it runs westward, skirting the
north end of Reindeer Lake, and then bending to the north-west, crosses
Great Slave Lake, and touches the southern extremity of Great Bear Lake.
From this point it resumes a westward course and crosses the Yukon River
a considerable distance to the north of the confluence of the Pelly and
the Lewes, turning south again almost on the east line of Alaska. We
need not, however, further follow its course, as owing to peculiar
climatic conditions on the West Coast, it ceases there to be any
criterion as to the conditions of agriculture.
The character of much of the western interior country is such that its
exploration and survey is comparatively easy, and it will be observed
that here the larger unknown regions are to be found only far to the
northward, leaving in the more rugged and inhospitable eastern region
vast islands of unexplored country in much more southern latitudes.
It may be said, in fact, that comparatively little of the region
capable, so far as climate goes, of producing wheat is now altogether
unknown; but it may be added, that increasing as the world now is in
population, its people cannot much longer expect to find wheat-growing
lands unoccupied in large blocks. The time is within measurable distance
when lands with a fertile soil though more or less rigorous climate, in
which only barley, oats, hemp, flax, and other hardy crops can be
matured, will be in demand, and we are far from having acquired even a
good general knowledge of these lands in Canada.
For many of the unexplored regions marked upon this map, however, we can
in reason appeal only to their possible or presumable mineral wealth as
an incentive to their exploration, and if some of them should prove
wholly or in great part barren when such exploration shall have been
carried out, it will not be without utility to acquire even this
negative information, and write upon them in characters as large as need
be, "No thoroughfare."
I will now ask your further attention for a few moments while I run over
and make some remarks in detail on the various unexplored areas as
indicated on the map. It must first, however, be explained in what
manner the unexplored areas referred to have been outlined. All lines,
such as those of rivers, chains of lakes, or other travelled routes,
along which reasonably satisfactory explorations have been made and of
which fairly accurate route-maps are in existence, are given an
approximate average width of about fifty miles, or twenty-five miles on
each side of the explorer's or surveyor's track. The known lines are
thus arbitrarily assumed to be wide belts of explored country, and that
which is referred to as unexplored comprises merely the intervening
tracts. By this mode of definition the unexplored regions are reduced to
minimum dimensions. Neither are any comparatively small tracts of
country lying between explored routes included in my enumeration, in
which the least area mentioned is one of 7500 square miles; nor are the
Arctic islands, lying to the north of the continent, referred to.
Because of the empirical mode in which the unexplored areas have thus
been delineated, it has not been attempted to estimate with more than
approximate accuracy the number of square miles contained in each, my
purpose being merely to render apparent the great dimensions of these
areas.
In enumerating these areas, I shall not refer to the various
explorations and lines of survey by which they are defined and separated
one from another, as this would involve mention of nearly all the
explorers who have traversed the northern part of the continent. I
shall, however, note such excursions as have been made into or across
the regions which are characterized as unexplored.
Beginning, then, in the extreme north-west of the Dominion, we find
these areas to be as follows:--
1. Area between the eastern boundary of Alaska, the Porcupine
River and the Arctic Coast, 9500 square miles, or somewhat
smaller than Belgium. This area lies entirely within the Arctic
Circle.
2. Area west of the Lewes and Yukon Rivers and extending to the
boundary of Alaska, 32,000 square miles, or somewhat larger than
Ireland. This country includes the head-waters of the White and
probably of the Tanana Rivers, and, being comparatively low and
sheltered from the sea by one of the highest mountain-ranges on
the continent, the St. Elias Alps, doubtless possesses some
remarkable peculiarities of climate.
3. Area between the Lewes, Pelly, and Stikine Rivers and to the
east of the Coast Ranges, 27,000 square miles, or nearly as
large as Scotland. This has been penetrated only by a few
"prospectors," from whom, and from Indians, the courses of
rivers shown on my maps published in connection with the Yukon
Expedition Report are derived. It lies on the direct line of the
metalliferous belt of the Cordillera, and its low lands are
capable of producing hardy crops.
4. Area between the Pelly and Mackenzie Rivers, 100,000 square
miles, or about twice the size of England. This belongs partly
to the Yukon Basin and partly to that of the Mackenzie, and
includes nearly 600 miles in length of the main Rocky Mountain
Range. Many years ago, Mr. A. K. Isbister penetrated the
northern part of this area for some distance on the line of the
Peel River,[1] but owing to the manner in which he had to
travel, but little accuracy can be attributed to his sketch of
that river. Abbé Petitot also made a short journey into its
northern part from the Mackenzie River side, but, with these
exceptions, no published information exists respecting it.
5. Area between Great Bear Lake and the Arctic Coast, 50,000
square miles, or about equal to England in size. Nearly all to
the north of the Arctic Circle.
6. Area between Great Bear Lake, the Mackenzie, and the western
part of Great Slave Lake, 35,000 square miles, or larger than
Portugal. With respect to this region and that last mentioned,
it must be explained that I have felt some doubt whether they
should be characterised as unexplored on the basis previously
explained as that which is generally applied. Between 1857 and
1865, Mr. R. Macfarlane, of the Hudson's Bay Company, carried
out an intelligent and valuable examination of part of the
region north of Great Bear Lake, some results of which have
lately been published,[2] and in both of these areas, between
1864 and 1871, the indefatigable missionary, Abbé Petitot, made
numerous journeys, of which he subsequently published an
account.[3] As Petitot's instruments consisted merely of a
compass, and a watch which he rated by the meridian passage of
the sun, it must be assumed that his mapping of the country does
not possess any great accuracy. His work, however, considering
the difficulties under which it was performed, is deserving of
all praise, and his several descriptions of the character of
the country traversed are most valuable. It does not appear from
his account of these regions that they are likely to prove of
great utility to civilized man, except as fur-preserves, or
possibly from the minerals which they may contain. He writes:
"Ce pays est composé de contrées silencieuses comme le tombeau,
des plaines vastes comme des départements, des steppes glacés
plus affreux que ceux de la Sibérie, de forêts chétives,
rabougries comme on n'en voit que dans le voisinage des glaciers
du Nord."
7. Area between Stikine and Liard Rivers to the north and Skeena
and Peace Rivers to the south, 81,000 square miles, or more than
twice as large as Newfoundland. This includes a portion of the
western Cordillera, and, between the Liard and Peace Rivers, a
large tract of the interior plateau region of the continent,
parts of which, there is reason to believe, consist of good
agricultural land. Its western extremity was crossed in 1866 and
1867 by the exploratory survey of the Western Union or Collins'
Telegraph Company, then engaged in an attempt to connect the
North American and European telegraph systems through Asia. No
details of this part of their exploration have, however, been
published, and if we may judge from other parts of their line,
since checked, the survey made was of too rough a character to
possess much geographical value.
8. Area between Peace, Athabasca, and Loon Rivers, 7500 square
miles, or about half as large as Switzerland.
9. Area south-east of Athabasca Lake, 35,000 square miles. This
may be compared in extent to Portugal.
10. Area east of the Coppermine River and west of Bathurst
Inlet, 7,500 square miles. This again may be compared to half
the area of Switzerland.
11. Area between the Arctic Coast and Back's River, 31,000
square miles, or about equal to Ireland.
12. Area surrounded by Back's River, Great Slave Lake, Athabasca
Lake, Hatchet and Reindeer Lakes, Churchill River, and the west
coast of Hudson's Bay, 178,000 square miles. Much larger than
Great Britain and Ireland, and somewhat larger than Sweden. The
lakes and rivers shown in this great region depend entirely on
the result of the three journeys made by Hearne in 1769-1772.[4]
Hearne really wandered through parts of this region in company
with Indians whom he was unable to control, his ultimate object
(which he at length accomplished) being to reach the Coppermine
River, in order to ascertain for the Hudson's Bay Company
whether it was possible to utilize the native copper found
there. Not even roughly approximate accuracy can be assigned to
his geographical work. Referring to the position of the mouth of
the Coppermine, he writes:--"The latitude may be depended upon
to within 20 miles at the utmost." In reality it afterwards
proved to be 200 miles too far north. This country includes the
great "barren grounds" of the continent, and is the principal
winter resort of the musk-ox as well as of great herds of
caribou. Hearne's general characterization of it is not very
encouraging, but certainly we shall know more about it. He
writes:--"The land throughout the whole tract of country is
scarcely anything but one solid mass of rocks and stones, and in
most parts very hilly, particularly to the westward, among the
woods." The north-eastern extremity of this region was also
crossed by Lieut. Schwatka in the course of his remarkable
journey to King-William Land, but his geographical results
possess little value.[5]
13. Area between Severn and Attawapishkat Rivers and the coast
of Hudson's Bay, 22,000 square miles, or larger than Nova
Scotia. Several lakes and rivers are shown upon the maps in this
region in practically identical form since Arrowsmith's map of
1850, but I have been unable to ascertain the origin of the
information.
14. Area between Trout Lake, Lac Seul, and the Albany River,
15,000 square miles, or about half the size of Scotland.
15. Area to the south and east of James Bay, 35,000 square
miles, which also may be compared to the area of Portugal. This
region is the nearest of those which still remain unexplored to
large centres of population. It is probable that much of it
consists of low land which may afford merchantable timber.
16. Area comprising almost the entire interior of the Labrador
peninsula or North-east Territory, 289,000 square miles. This is
more than equal to twice the area of Great Britain and Ireland,
with an added area equal to that of Newfoundland. Several lines
of exploration and survey have been carried for a certain
distance into the interior of this great peninsula, among which
may be mentioned those of Professor Hind, Mr. A. P. Low, and Mr.
R. F. Holme.[6] The limits of the unexplored area have been
drawn so as to exclude all these. The area regarded as still
unexplored has, however, it is true, been traversed in several
directions at different times by officers of the Hudson's Bay
Company, particularly on routes leading from the vicinity of
Mingan on the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the head of Hamilton
Inlet, and thence to Ungava Bay. These routes have also,
according to Mr. Holme, been travelled by a missionary, Père
Lacasse; but the only published information which I have been
able to find is contained in a book written by J. McLean,[7] and
in a brief account of a journey by Rev. E. J. Peck.[8] Mr.
McLean made several journeys and established trading-posts
between Ungava and Hamilton Inlet in the years 1838-1841, while
Mr. Peck crossed from Little Whale River, on Hudson Bay, to
Ungava in 1884. Something may be gathered as to the general
nature of the country along certain lines from the accounts
given by these gentlemen, but there is little of a really
satisfactory character, while neither has made any attempt to
fix positions or delineate the features of the region on the
map. In all probability this entire region consists of a rocky
plateau or hilly tract of rounded archæan rocks, highest on the
north-east side and to the south, and sloping gradually down to
low land towards Ungava Bay. It is known to be more or less
wooded, and in some places with timber of fair growth; but if it
should be possessed of any real value, this may probably lie in
its metalliferous deposits. In this tract of country
particularly there is reason to hope that ores like those of
Tilt Cove, in Newfoundland, or those of Sudbury, in Ontario, may
occur.
To sum up briefly, in conclusion, what has been said as to the
larger unexplored areas of Canada, it may be stated that, while
the entire area of the Dominion as computed at 3,470,257 square
miles, about 954,000 square miles of the continent alone,
exclusive of the inhospitable detached Arctic portions, is for
all practical purposes entirely unknown. In this estimate the
area of the unexplored country is reduced to a minimum by the
mode of definition employed. Probably we should be much nearer
the mark in assuming it as about one million square miles, or
between one-third and one-fourth of the whole. Till this great
aggregate of unknown territory shall have been subjected to
examination, or at least till it has been broken up and
traversed in many directions by exploratory and survey lines, we
must all feel that it stands as a certain reproach to our want
of enterprise and of a justifiable curiosity. In order, however,
to properly ascertain and make known the natural resources of
the great tracts lying beyond the borders of civilization, such
explorations and surveys as are undertaken must be of a truly
scientific character. The explorer or surveyor must possess some
knowledge of geology and botany, as well as such scientific
training as may enable him to make intelligent and accurate
observations of any natural features or phenomena with which he
may come in contact. He must not consider that his duty consists
merely in the perfunctory measuring of lines and the delineation
of rivers, lakes, and mountains. An explorer or surveyor
properly equipped for his work need never return empty-handed.
Should he be obliged to report that some particular district
possesses no economic value whatever, besides that of serving as
a receiver of rain and a reservoir to feed certain
river-systems, his notes should contain scientific observations
on geology, botany, climatology, and similar subjects, which may
alone be sufficient to justify the expenditure incurred.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] _Some account of Peel River, North America_, by A. K. Isbister,
Journ. Roy. Geog. Soc., vol. xv, 1845, p. 332.
[2] _Canadian Record of Science_, Jan., 1890.
[3] _Bulletin de la Société de Géographie_, Tom. x, 1875.
[4] _A Journey from Prince of Wales Fort, in Hudson's Bay, to the
Northern Ocean_, 1796.
[5] _Schwatka's Search_, by H. W. Gilder.
[6] _Explorations in Labrador_, 1863; Annual Report Geol. Surv. Can.,
1887-88, Part. J; Proc. Royal Geog. Soc., 1888; Ott. Nat., Vol. iv.
[7] _Notes of a Twenty-five Years' Service in the Hudson's Bay
Territory_. London, 1849.
[8] _Church Missionary Intelligencer_, June, 1886; Proc. Roy. Geog.
Soc., 1887, p. 192.
APPENDIX II
I have to thank the authorities at Kew for the following list of a small
collection of flowering plants that I found growing in the Barren
Ground, chiefly in the neighbourhood of the head-waters of the Great
Fish River.
_Draba nivalis_, Liljebl.?
_Oxytropis campestris_, L. (yellow and purple varieties).
_Potentilla nivea_, L.
_Dryas integrifolia_, L.
_Saxifraga tricuspidata_, Retz.
_Epilobium latifolium_, L.
_Arnica angustifolia_, Vahl.
_Taraxacum palustre_, DC.
_Vaccinium uliginosum_, L.
_Cassiope tetragona_, L.
_Andromeda polifolia_, L.
_Phyllodoce taxifolia_, Salisb. (_Menziesia cærulea_, Wahl.).
_Ledum palustre_, L.
_Loiseleuria procumbens_, Desv.
_Rhododendron lapponicum_, L.
_Kalmia glauca_, L.
_Diapensia lapponica_, L.
_Pedicularis hirsuta_, L.
_Pedicularis lapponica_, L.
INDEX
Alaska, Southern, 231.
Alberta, its prairies remembered, 196;
an election of its representative, 298.
America, the Eastern States of, 256.
Anderson, Mr., his route referred to, vi, 36, 63, 151, 152, 171,
185, 196, 215.
Arnavatn, in Iceland, 42.
Arctic exploration, its records, 47.
Arctic flowers, 187.
Arctic fox, shot at, 40.
Arctic hare, described, 68.
Arctic Ocean or Sea, v, 4, 12, 20, 63, 64, 65, 178, 205, 214, 265;
the best route to, 221.
Arctic regions, no extraordinary thickness of clothes required in
them, 104.
Arrowsmith's map, compared with that issued by the Dominion
Government, 216.
Artillery Lake, 220, 221, 224.
Athabasca district, 63, 235;
its limits, 12.
Athabasca Lake, 15, 16, 68, 231, 235;
reached by Mr. Pike, 13;
its produce, 13, 14.
Athabasca River, v, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 11, 17, 36, 231, 293;
the landing, 4, 297.
Aylmer Lake, or the Lake of the Big Cliffs, 64, 178, 179, 180, 191,
213, 216, 221.
Back, Sir George, vi, 36, 151, 180, 185, 215;
his map, 200.
Back's, or the Great Fish, River, _see_ Great Fish River.
Baptiste, little, _see_ Beaulieu, Baptiste.
Baptiste Testerwich, a half-breed Iroquois, 253, 255, 258, 292, 294;
his daughters, the "belles" of Hudson's Hope, 258.
Barren Ground, The, v, vi, 14, 15, 19, 23, 35, 48, 54, 55, 58, 63,
65, 75, 80, 84, 88, 89, 90, 91, 94, 96, 97, 99, 102, 110, 116,
122, 126, 130, 137, 143, 168, 174, 176, 177, 196, 209, 221, 225,
232, 271, 300, 302;
Mr. Pike's various expeditions to it, 19-77, 99-128, 164-228;
Mr. Pike's advice to future travellers there, 24;
its mosses and lichens, 42;
it produces one species of _Cervidæ_, 47;
its birds, 175;
exploration in it is ceasing, 185;
its animals, 198, 199;
Mr. Pike longs to return to it, 301;
a list of its flowers, 320.
Barrow, Thomas, 257, 261, 290, 291, 292;
his house or cabin, 259, 281, 288, 289.
Bathurst Inlet, 120, 191, 197, 204, 208.
Battle River reached, 248.
Beaulieu, Baptiste, a son of King Beaulieu, 33, 89.
Beaulieu, François, a son of King Beaulieu, 22, 39, 43, 61, 79, 93,
97, 135, 136, 137, 139, 141.
Beaulieu, José, brother of King Beaulieu, 234.
Beaulieu, José, a son of King Beaulieu, 22, 61, 91, 92, 136, 137,
236;
his love-affairs, 245.
Beaulieu, King, a French half-breed and guide, 19, 32, 38, 41, 61,
66, 71, 72, 81, 82, 83, 90, 94, 95, 97, 101, 102, 128, 135,
166, 233;
his character, 19, 23, 24;
his father and sons, 22, 23;
he calls the snow _le couvert du bon Dieu_, 62;
a lake is called after him, 62;
his cleverness, 73;
his opinions and anecdotes, 83-88;
he refuses to join the second musk-ox hunt, 97.
Beaulieu, Paul, a son of King Beaulieu, 22, 39, 43, 61, 70, 79, 92,
93, 97, 101, 103, 108, 111, 118, 130.
Beaulieu, Pierre, a brother of King Beaulieu, 148, 149, 233.
Beaulieus, the, 33, 64, 77, 134, 136, 138;
their character, 23;
they are not agreeable to live with, 126;
the final settlement with them, 147;
they apparently try to damage Mr. Pike's chances of success, 168.
Beaulieus, the young, the sons of King Beaulieu, 22, 38.
Beaver tribe dying out, 253.
Beavers, their actions mould geography, 155;
an account of the other animals found in their country, 156, 157.
Beaver Indians, their language, 251.
Beechey Lake, 190, 204, 205.
Biche, Lake La, 6.
Big Lake, 131.
Big River, the usual native name for the Slave River, 26.
Blackfeet, the, 3, 132.
Blue hills in the distance tempt one to push on, 207.
Bloody Falls, the, 152.
Boiler Rapid, the, 9.
Boiling, the favourite method of cooking, 55.
British Columbia, _see_ Columbia.
Brick, Mr., a farmer of Smoky River, 244, 296;
his mission, 249;
his son, 295, 301.
Buffalo bands, 156;
a hunt for, 154-159.
Bull-dogs, "a cross between a bee and a blue-bottle," an annoyance
to the horses, 3.
Bull's Head, the, 256, 289.
Calgary, ix, 2, 3, 11, 298, 299;
left in June, 1889, 1.
California, 256.
Camp, a good, 40, 126.
Campbell, Mr., 228.
Camsell Lake, 43, 46, 61, 76, 80, 128.
Camsell, Mr., in charge of the Mackenzie River district, 20, 22, 231.
Canada, Eastern, 13.
Cannicannick Berry used for tobacco, 31.
Canoe, a birch-bark, is a "pretty poetical thing," 197.
Cap, the, 250.
Capot Blanc, an Indian, 140, 168, 171, 172, 176, 181, 182, 185, 187,
188, 191, 213.
Carcajou, the, is a cunning beast, 57.
Caribou, the, sometimes found near the Fond du Lac, 14;
Mr. Pike's prospect of finding it, 32;
he finds some bands, 43, 64, 72, 76, 89, 108;
_Et-then, Et-then!_ the cry on the sight of it, 44;
the methods of cooking it, 44-46;
it is the one specimen of _Cervidæ_ found in the Barren Ground,
47;
its different species described, 47, 48;
killed by Esquimaux, 56;
some details of its appearance and habits, 48-60;
the methods of freezing it, 67;
it is killed by women and boys, 76;
the cry, _La Foule, La Foule!_ when a band is in sight, 89;
the most remarkable passage of caribou seen by Mr. Pike, 91.
Caribou diggings, 256.
Caribou-eaters, 19.
Caribou gold-fields, 231.
Caribou mountains, 239, 241.
Carquoss, an Indian, 190, 197.
Cassiar mining district, 231.
Catholics, all half-breeds are, 41.
Charlie, a half-breed from Quesnelle, 258, 260, 266, 270, 272, 273,
276, 277, 283, 285, 286, 288, 289, 293, 294;
his character, 292.
Chesterfield Inlet, 210.
Chinook wind, the, 259.
Chipeweyan Fort, the head-post of the Athabasca district, 5, 12,
150, 163, 231, 234, 235, 238, 241, 245;
its history and present life, 13-15;
trout-lines may be worked there, 14;
the appearance of the country changes on leaving it, 16.
Chipeweyan language, 26, 251.
Christie's Bay, 30.
Civilisation is degenerating, 299.
Clark, Mr., arrives as Mr. Mackinlay's substitute, 163, 164.
Clearwater River, the main route to the North, 11, 12.
Clinton Golden Lake, or the Lake where the caribou swim among
the ice, 216, 220, 223;
described, 217, 218.
Columbia, British, 231, 265.
Company, the, _see_ Hudson's Bay Company.
Cooking, the favourite method is boiling, 55.
Cooper, Fenimore, 129.
Coppermine River, 64, 65, 67, 72, 108, 110, 152;
the Bloody Falls of, 152.
Corbeau, Lac du, 43.
Country, the, its nature between Calgary and Edmonton, 1, 2;
and after leaving Chipeweyan, 16, 17.
Crees, the, 3, 132;
their language the medium of conversation on the Athabasca, 11;
their lodges passed, 241.
Cree-speaking belt, 26;
left by Mr. Pike, 251.
Cries: that on the sight of caribou, _Et-then, Et-then!_, 44;
on the sight of a band of caribou, _La Foule, La Foule!_, 89;
to awake a camp, _He lève, lève, il faut partir!_, 122;
that of _Hi hi he, Ho hi he_, to bring out the stars, 123.
Dakota blizzard, brought to Mr. Pike's mind by his experience of
wind, 88.
David, the Esquimaux, 162, 206, 210, 211, 271, 276;
falls in love with the daughter of King Beaulieu, 168;
a keen hunter, 180;
his first summer outside the Arctic circle, 207.
Davis, Twelvefoot, 256, 257.
Dease Lake, 230.
Deluge, King Beaulieu's story of the, 85-88.
Dog-rib tribes, the, 32, 53, 60, 85, 90, 95, 195;
a spot on their history, 72;
they gamble with the Yellow-knives, 167;
they are more amenable than the Yellow-knives, 300.
Dogs are a trouble in winter travelling from their need of much
food, 149.
Dominion Day, a Canadian anniversary, 182.
Dominion government's map, 216.
Dunvegan, 245, 249, 250, 253, 292, 295, 296.
Dupire, Father, in charge of the Catholic mission at Fort
Resolution, 144, 149.
Edmonton, 2, 295, 297, 298;
the starting point for the territory of Hudson's Bay Company, 1;
an election at, 298.
Enemy, the, 81, 187.
Enemy, the Lake of the, 80, 127.
English is little spoken in the north, 11.
English Channel, the, 229.
Enterprise Fort, 65.
Esquimaux, the, 186, 192, 195, 196, 204, 208, 211;
they also kill the caribou, 56;
they are dreaded by the Indians, 151, 152;
presents for them, 164, 167, 209;
signs of their camp, 201-205.
Etitchula, the Indian, 135, 136.
_Et-then, Et-then!_ the cry on the sight of the caribou, 44.
Euclid's methods, 275.
Expedition, the object of Mr. Pike's, v, vi, 70;
the ceremony of commemorating one, 228.
Fat, Antoine, a blind Indian, 176.
Fat, Pierre, a blind Indian, 176;
he appreciates scenery, 178.
Findlay River, 260, 263, 265, 268, 276, 280, 295;
its rapids, 264, 265, 281;
its source, 265.
Flett, Mr., and his family, passengers down the Athabasca, 5;
in charge of Fort Smith, 234.
Fond du Lac, 12, 14, 15, 28, 31, 32, 38, 40, 57, 61, 62, 79, 91,
92, 93, 96, 97, 101, 104, 120, 130, 134, 135, 136, 137, 139,
141, 144, 148, 163, 164, 166, 167, 168, 171, 176;
described, 32;
women and children left there, 33.
Fogs, effect of, 108.
Forest fires, 1.
France is not sighed for by the priest of an Indian encampment, 232.
François, _see_ Beaulieu, François.
François the little, conducts a buffalo hunt, 154-160;
his wife, 161.
Franklin, Sir John, vi, 36, 77, 185, 205; his expedition, 63;
his wintering-place, 65.
Fraser Lake, 258.
Fraser River, 231, 256.
French-Canadians, their _chansons_ dying out, 10.
French patois of the Red River and the North, 11, 26.
Gold-dust is to be found by the Peace River, 252.
Good Hope, Fort, 300.
Government, motherly, defied, 3.
_Grahame_, the steamer, 12, 16.
_Grand Pays_, the half-breeds' name for the outside world, 82, 150.
Grand Traverse, the, 141, 142.
Grand Rapids, not reached by the steamer, 5;
reached by Mr. Pike, 7;
a description of the channel and its passage, 8-11.
Gras, Lac de, 64, 70, 108, 109, 121, 175.
Grease longed for in the cold, 55.
Great Bear Lake, 68.
Great Fish or Back's River, 36, 64, 115, 151, 152, 162, 164, 168,
171, 180, 184, 185, 188, 204, 205, 221.
Great Slave Lake, _see_ Slave Lake.
Great Slave River, _see_ Slave River.
Gros Cap, 148.
Gunn, Mr., of St. John's, 251;
he knew Beaver Indian tongue, 252.
Half-breeds are all Catholics, 41.
Half-way River, 251.
Halket Fort, 231.
Hanging Rock, the Lake of, 93.
Hardistay, Mr. Frank, 296.
Hay River, 156.
Hearne, Mr., vi, 36, 152;
his _Journey to the Northern Ocean_, 50.
_Hi hi he, Ho hi he!_ the cry for the stars, 123.
_Ho lève, lève, il faut partir!_ the cry for arousing a camp, 122.
Hood, vi.
Hospitality is in inverse proportion to a man's means, 143.
Hudson's Bay, 48, 50, 223.
Hudson's Bay Company, or The Company, v, 1, 3, 14, 50, 52, 82, 83,
84, 99, 131, 156, 197, 210, 226, 228, 231, 238, 240, 250,
253, 296;
Mr. Pike's gratitude to the officers of, for their hospitality,
viii, 142, 143;
one of their early trading posts, 2;
their steamers are well-managed, 17;
they bring a certain amount of civilisation, 25;
their duffel _capotes_, 52;
their compressed tea not good to smoke, 136;
they are fair to the Indians, 242, 243.
Hudson's Bay Fort on Macleod's Lake, 260.
Hudson's Hope, 249, 250, 252, 265, 291, 294, 295;
visited, 253-257.
Iceland, 42.
Inconnu, a fish found only in the Mackenzie River, 29.
"Indian, the burnt," his bad luck, 221, 222.
Indians, the great northern territory is their hunting-ground, 1;
they are more easily managed than the half-breeds, 7;
they are sent from Locheaux to man the "inland boats," 7;
they cannot find their way in snow, 122;
they are very improvident, 131, seq.;
they are peaceable by nature, 145;
they dread the Esquimaux, 152;
their women quarrel, 172;
they imitate birds very well, 172;
some of them show themselves much interested in the skin of a
seal, an animal they had never seen, 202;
they have a stupid love of killing, 209;
intoxicating drink may not be given to them, 226.
Inland boats described, 6.
John, 258, 268, 270, 271, 276, 277, 278, 280, 281, 283, 285, 288,
292;
he visits Mr. Pike, 246-254;
his character, 246, 247.
John, Saint, _see_ Saint John.
José, _see_ Beaulieu, José.
José, the brother-in-law of Zinto, 171, 173.
Kennedy, Alick, a good _voyageur_, 295.
Khartoum, 296.
King, _see_ Beaulieu, King.
King Lake, 62, 127.
Labrador tea, 41, 194, 275, 283.
_La Foule, la Foule!_ the cry on the sight of a caribou band, 89.
Languages, those of the North, 11;
those beyond the Cree-speaking belt on the Mackenzie, 26.
Lard, Lac du, 36.
Lawrence, Mr., a farmer of Vermillion, 244.
Lesser Slave Lake, 4, 6, 249, 250, 261, 292, 296, 297.
Liard River, 155, 156, 230, 231, 251.
Little Buffalo River, 145, 158;
it is impregnated with sulphur, 158.
Little Red River, in Athabasca district, 12;
its beautiful scenery, 240.
Little River, 266, 276.
Little Slave River, 145, 297.
Locheaux language, 26.
Lockhart's house, 164.
Lockhart's or Outram River, 63, 64, 70, 178, 179, 212, 214, 215,
224;
different opinions of its route, 216.
Lockhart, Pierre, a guide, 164, 171.
Lower Peace River, 235.
Lynx and rabbits, their periodic dying out, 293.
Macdonald, Ewen, the chief of the Peace River district, 250.
Macdonald, Walter, son of Ewen MacDonald, 261, 291, 294, 296.
Macdougall, 228.
Macfarlane, 228.
Mackay, Dr., in charge of the Athabasca district, 12, 17, 18, 63,
240;
a visit from him, 150, 151;
he sends presents, 163;
he is absent, 235;
he is met by Mr. Pike, 238.
Mackay, Lake, or the Lake of the Hanging Rock, 63, 64, 70, 72, 75,
80, 89, 92, 99, 106, 125, 178, 179, 220;
described, 63.
Mackay, Mr., a Company's clerk, 7, 8.
Mackay, Murdo, a servant at Fort Resolution who accompanies
Mr. Pike, 146, 151, 162, 206, 233, 236, 239, 246, 247, 258, 270,
273, 278, 282, 283, 292.
Mackenzie, Sir Alex., 13, 253.
Mackenzie River, or _La Grande Rivière en Bas_, v, 4, 10, 18, 19,
20, 36, 48, 50, 60, 142, 180, 230, 233, 265, 300;
its origin, 16;
the languages spoken along its banks, 26.
Mackinlay, Mr., in charge of Fort Resolution, 22, 144, 148, 162,
189, 193, 197, 206, 209, 213, 228, 233, 234;
joins Mr. Pike in expedition to the Barren Ground, 151.
Mackinlay, Mrs., 144.
Macleod, Fort, 266, 271, 277, 278.
Macleod's Lake, 231, 237, 254, 258, 259, 261, 266, 276, 291, 295;
Hudson's Bay Fort on it, 260.
Macleod's River, 266, 271, 273, 276.
MacMurray, Fort, 7;
Mr. Pike starts for it, 9;
reaches it, 11;
it is the most southerly post of the Athabasca district, 12;
it is near some natural tar deposits, 13.
Mandeville, François, the brother of Michel Mandeville, 225.
Mandeville, Michel, the interpreter at Fort Resolution, 146, 148,
151.
Mandeville, Moise, the brother of Michel Mandeville, who joins
Mr. Pike, 151, 162, 168, 179, 183, 197;
is a good steersman, 198.
Maps, those of Mr. Pike are not very accurate, vii.
Marble Island, 210.
Marlo, the brother of Zinto, 97, 102, 111, 114, 116, 134, 139, 168,
181, 190, 197.
Michel, a son-in-law of King Beaulieu, 33, 46, 61, 92, 93, 97, 104,
110, 130, 134, 139.
Misère, Point de, 67, 72, 78, 108.
Mission Island, 144, 228, 229, 230.
Moberley's Lake, 292, 294.
Moise, _see_ Mandeville, Moise.
Montaignais dialect of Chipeweyan language, 26.
Moose Island, 144.
Mort, Lac de, 37, 92, 134.
Mouse chased for a caribou, 107.
Murdo, _see_ Mackay, Murdo.
Muskeg country ends at the Point of Rocks, 27.
Musk-ox, 69, 70;
the object of Mr. Pike's journey, v, vi;
to be sought on the Barren Ground, 23;
the first killed, 69;
birds seen during the hunt for them, 68;
an expedition in search of them, 61 seq.;
a band of them, 113;
the method of slaughtering them is unpleasant, 116;
their horns described, 119;
a description of a hunt for them, 181-183;
they are said to understand the Yellow-knife language, 183;
advice to hunters of them, 300, 301.
Musk-ox, the giant, 81.
Musk-ox Lake, 185, 186, 187, 188, 194, 212, 214.
Musk-ox Mountain, 188;
it is the limit of the Yellow-knives' hunting-ground, 186.
Nation River, 291.
Nelson Fort, 156, 251.
New Year's Day, an occasion of trade, 139, 146.
Nile, the, 296.
Noel, an Indian, who joins Mr. Pike's expedition, 97, 111, 112, 115,
181, 190, 197, 205, 217.
Northern Packet, the, 150.
North-West Company, the, 14.
Old Wives' Lake, 296.
Omineca, 265, 291.
Orkney Island, 5.
Ottawa, 13, 244, 298.
Outram River, _see_ Lockhart's River.
Pacific, Canadian Railway, 11, 271.
Pacific Coast, 209;
routes to, 231.
Pacific Ocean, 265.
Paradox gun, its uses, 137, 138.
Parsnip River, 260, 263, 266, 267, 270, 271, 276, 277, 291, 295;
its source, 265;
its method of freezing, 268.
Pat, a Sicannee, 258, 260, 266, 271, 272, 273, 274, 276, 277, 283,
286, 292, 293, 294, 295.
Paul, _see_ Beaulieu, Paul.
Peace River, 4, 16, 155, 156, 209, 231, 237, 240, 242, 244, 245,
246, 248, 249, 251, 252, 253, 256, 265, 293, 294, 297;
one of the easiest northern waterways, 238;
farmers should not be tempted to it, 244-246;
gold-dust is found on its banks, 252.
Peace River, the Lower, 236.
Peace River Pass, 278, 285, 301.
Peel's River, a tributary of the Mackenzie, 20, 162.
Peel's River Fort, 208.
Peter, an Indian, who joined Mr. Pike's expedition, 97, 111, 115,
116.
Pike, Mr. Warburton: the object of his journey is to see the
musk-ox, v, vi;
his conveyance and outfit, 1;
he starts from Calgary for Edmonton, the entrance of the Hudson's
Bay Company's territory, 1;
his French half-breed driver, 2, 3;
he reaches Athabasca Landing and starts down the river, 4;
he reaches the island at the head of the Grand Rapids, 7;
he starts for MacMurray Fort, 9, and reaches it, 11;
he reaches Athabasca Lake, 13;
he starts for Fort Smith, on the Great Slave Lake, 16, and
reaches it, 18;
he makes preparations for the actual journey to the Barren Ground,
and engages the Beaulieu family as guides and servants, 19;
he leaves the Company's main route at Fort Resolution, 24;
he takes too few provisions, 25;
the details of his outfit, his fleet, and his companions, 25, 26;
he picks up a little of the Montaignais dialect, 26;
he encamps in the delta of the Slave River, 26, 27;
he reaches Fond du Lac, 31, where the women, children, and as much
baggage as possible are left behind, 33;
he leaves the Great Slave Lake, and contemplates the country
he has just left and that towards which he is journeying, 35;
he takes a new route and names new lakes, 36;
a good caribou hunt, 43 seq.;
he approaches the genuine Barren Ground, 46;
a chapter on the caribou, 47-60;
he makes an expedition from Lake Camsell in search of the musk-ox,
61;
he shoots his first musk-ox, 69, 70;
he concludes that it would be reckless to push further North,
and turns back, 71;
he reaches Lake Camsell again, 76;
plans for the next musk-ox hunt, 79;
King Beaulieu's theories and anecdotes, 81-88;
a remarkable passage of the caribou, 89-91;
a visit of the chief Zinto and his followers, 93;
arrangements for the second musk-ox hunt, 96, 97;
he starts, 99;
his first winter camp in the Barren Ground, 101-104;
a description of the country, 105-110;
he is in difficulties for food, 110;
the musk-ox come in sight and are killed, 112-116;
the land of the musk-ox, 117;
another band of musk-ox killed, 118;
their horns described, 119;
the return road is lost in the snow, 122, but found the next
morning, 123;
he reaches Lake Camsell again and goes on towards Fond du Lac,
128;
he visits Zinto's camp, 129 seq.;
he sleeps at Fond du Lac on his road to the Great Slave Lake, 139;
he is joined by more Indians, 140, 141;
he reaches Fort Resolution and comparative civilisation, 143;
some account of the Fort, 143-147;
he makes a small expedition for caribou with Mackinlay, 148;
he makes plans for a summer trip to the Barren Ground, 150 seq.;
he goes on a short buffalo hunt with Mackinlay, 154-162;
the difficulties in starting for the Barren Ground, 162, 163;
he leaves Fort Resolution,164;
he leaves the great Slave Lake with Mackinlay and some of the
Indians, 174;
a new method of hunting the musk-ox, 181;
he makes little expeditions, one with Capot Blanc, 187 seq.;
a division of the party before going further down the Great
Fish River, 190;
Syene, the medicine man, prophesies, 191 seq.;
two of the Indians desert, 197;
he turns up-stream, 204;
he explores a new tributary, 205-208;
he leaves presents in a deserted Esquimaux camp, 209;
the return journey, 216-230;
he cannot stay long at Fort Resolution, and makes plans for
his journey up-stream, to cross the Rocky Mountains,
and if possible reach the Pacific, 231;
he decides between the routes and starts, 232;
he enters Athabasca Lake, 235;
he camps at Quatre Fourches, 237;
he turns westward up the Peace River, 238;
he reaches Vermillion Fort, 241;
his difficulties in getting a crew, 245 seq.;
he reaches Dunvegan, 249, and St. John's, 251;
he leaves the Cree-speaking belt and enters that of the
Beaver Indians, 251;
his first glimpse of the Rockies, 252;
he reaches Hudson's Hope, 253;
he camps at the head of the Cañon, 258;
a change in the wind prevents his making use of sleighs, 259;
he begins a more detailed account of his winter in the Rockies,
260;
a dangerous journey to the Findlay Rapids, 263, 264;
a glance at his geographical position, 265;
he discovers that the road is lost, 272 seq.;
a search for food, 274;
he begins to retrace his way, 276;
his decision concerning the Indians who steal the rations, 284,
285;
he reaches Tom Barrow's house, 290;
he leaves Hudson's Hope for Edmonton, 295,
which he reaches during an election, 298;
he writes the last words in St. James's Street, giving advice
to musk-ox hunters and longing for the Barren Ground, 299 seq.
Pierre, _see_ Beaulieu, Pierre.
Pierre, Blind, _see_ Fat, Pierre.
Pierre the Fool, 218, 219, 223, 224;
his description of the country east of Clinton Golden Lake, 223.
Pierre, an Indian boy, the son of little François, 159.
Pierre, Ile de, 141, 142, 166, 229;
a good spot for fishing, 27.
Pine River, 294.
Pine River Pass, 292.
Poplar Rapid, 262, 265, 287.
Portage, the Long, 12;
the work of portaging described, 17, 18.
"Prairie, the bald-headed," a term of the cattlemen, 2.
Proverb of the North, a, 267.
Ptarmigan plentiful, 44.
Ptarmigan Lake, 219.
Quatre Fourches, 16, 237.
Quesnelle, 231, 246, 250, 258, 271, 292.
Rabbit and lynx, their periodic decease, 293.
Rae, Dr., vi.
Rae, Fort, 95, 148, 167,
a good starting-point for the Barren Ground, 299.
Raven, a superstition concerning the, 66.
Red-deer, the stream of, 2.
Reid, Mr., of Fort Province, told King Beaulieu that the earth went
round the sun, 83.
Resolution, Fort, on the Great Slave Lake, the northern limit of
the Athabasca district, 12, 22, 24, 50, 59, 97, 130, 150, 154,
163, 167, 185, 210, 225, 227, 228, 230, 232, 233;
Mr. Pike returns to it, 143;
its history and present life, 144, 145;
it is not perhaps the best starting-point for the Barren Ground,
300.
Richardson, vi.
Riel, Louis, his rebellion, 83.
Rocher, Lac du, 38, 39, 63, 73, 91, 128;
it is a haunt of the caribou, 39;
trout are caught in it, 39;
its products and geological structure, 41, 42;
it is like the desert of Arnavatn in Iceland, 42.
Rocks, Point of, the end of the Muskeg country, 27.
Rocky Mountains, the, v, ix, 1, 143, 155, 209, 231, 237, 238, 241,
248, 250, 260, 265, 272, 281, 291, 294;
the first glimpse of, 252, 253;
Mr. Pike's attempt to cross them, 232-272.
Round, Mr., in charge of Dunvegan, 250.
Saint James's Street, 299.
Saint John, Fort, often called St. John's, 156, 249, 251, 252, 253,
294, 295.
Salt River, 19, 21.
Saltatha, an Indian who joins Mr. Pike's expedition, 97, 109, 111,
112, 114, 115, 120, 122, 123, 168, 171, 172, 193, 195, 197, 202,
203, 208, 217, 219, 226;
his energy, 105, 190;
his character, 115;
his illness and its cure by brandy, 211, 227;
his friendly parting with Mr. Pike, 232;
his answer to the priest concerning the beauties of heaven, 302.
Sandy Bay, 180, 275.
Saskatchewan River, 2, 4.
Shooting etiquette must be abandoned among the Indians, 159.
Sicannee fashion of burying, 269, 279.
Simpson, Fort, 230.
Simpson, Mr. Scott, in charge of river transport, 6.
Simpson, Sir G., 253.
Simpson's group of islands, 28.
Slave or Great Slave Lake, vii, 13, 15, 16, 20, 21, 25, 36, 40, 41,
42, 44, 48, 50, 63, 68, 84, 85, 88, 131, 148, 155, 156, 172,
176, 178, 191, 213, 215, 218, 219, 221, 223, 225, 228, 242, 248,
300, 301;
Mr. Pike's journey on, finished, 34;
his last view of, 35;
the vegetation on its banks, 30, 31;
it is a charming place to live on, 232.
[There is a Lesser Slave Lake, _see_ "Lesser."]
Slave or Big River, 16, 26, 48, 142, 233, 238;
its rapids, 12;
described, 21;
its wild-fowl, 27.
[There is also a Little Slave River, _see_ "Little."]
Slavi language, 26.
Sleighs of the North described, 99-101.
Smith, Fort, in Athabasca district, 12, 21, 29, 48, 145, 156, 158,
161, 163, 231, 234, 236, 245;
Mr. Pike starts for it, 16;
the game near it, 18;
described, 18.
Smoking, the Company's compressed tea not recommended, 136.
Smoky River, a tributary of the Peace, 249, 295, 296.
Snow, called _le couvert du bon Dieu_ by Beaulieu, 62;
prevents the Indians from finding their way, 122.
Snow-blindness, its cause and cures, 175.
Stars, supposed to be brought out by the cry _Hi hi he, Ho hi he_,
123.
Stewart, Mr., vi, 36, 63, 171, 184, 195.
Sunday wash, the, 79.
Superstitions, concerning the caribou, 59;
and miracles, 133.
Syene, an Indian medicine man, 152, 168, 222;
he prophesies, 191, 192.
Syene, Mrs., assists at the prophesying, 191.
Tête Jaune Pass, 293.
Tête Noire's House, 166.
Thomas, an Indian, the brother of Zinto, 141;
he is a good guide, 142.
Tobacco, is missed more than tea, 120, 121;
the various kinds in use among the Indians, 31;
it may be made from Cannicannick berry, 31.
Vermillion, Fort, in Athabasca district, 12, 156, 236, 238, 240,
241, 242, 247, 248, 249;
described, 241-244.
Walls of meat, as in a fairy tale, 76, 77.
Whisky Jack, the ways of the, 134, 135.
William, an Indian who joined Mr. Pike's expedition, 97, 111,
112, 114.
Willows pulled up for firewood, 121.
Wilson, Mr., of Vermillion Fort, 245, 246.
Winnipeg, vii, 11, 144, 214, 296.
Wolves and wolverines, 57, 89;
their ways of stealing, 45, 128;
they hunt the caribou, 56, 57.
Women, given the heaviest loads, 38;
their hard work and usefulness, 81;
they are treated better by half-breeds than by Indians, 82.
Wood, Mr., in charge of the Athabasca landing, 5.
Wrangel Fort, 231.
_Wrigley_, the, a steamer on the Mackenzie, 10, 19, 231, 233;
her make and work, 20.
Yellow-knife river, 36, 63.
Yellow-knife tribe, 32, 37, 48, 53, 60, 66, 72, 85, 86, 92, 95, 96,
115, 152, 195, 202, 211, 214;
their etiquette in hunts, 111;
their encampment, 131 seq.;
the kind of husband most desired among them, 133;
their dancing, 147, 148;
their gambling with the Dog-Ribs, 167;
their stupidity and cowardice outside their own country, 197;
their language, 213;
they are less amenable than the Dog-Ribs, 300.
York Boat, its peculiarities, 228, 229.
York factory, 50.
Zinto, a chief of the Yellow-knives, 96, 97, 129, 130;
his visit to Mr. Pike and his speech, 93-95;
his camp and people, 129-134;
he makes promises of help, 152, 153;
but does not fulfil them, 163, 164, 167.
INDEX TO APPENDIX I
Alaska, 309.
Anticosti, 309.
Areas in the Dominion of Canada unexplored, 311-319.
Canada, 310.
Dunvegan, 306.
Exploration still possible and useful, 304.
Great Bear Lake, 309.
Great Slave Lake, 309.
Hudson's Bay, 309.
Hudson's Bay Company, 305.
Lewes, 309.
Macleod Fort, 306.
Maps proved wrong, 306.
Mistassini, 309.
Newfoundland, 309.
Pelly, 309.
Red River Valley, 308.
Reindeer Lake, 309.
Rocky Mountains, the, 306.
Winnipeg, 308.
York Factory, 309.
Yukon River, 309.
* * * * *
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Transcriber's note:
Obvious punctuation errors were corrected.
Hyphen added: birch[-]bark (p. 38), foot[-]hills (p. ix), mid[-]day (p.
3), north[-]east (p. 65), sand[-]bars (p. 13), snow[-]shoes (pp. 82,
92), south[-]east (p. 30), up[-]stream (p. 209).
Hyphen removed: back[-]bone (p. 53), cattle[-]men (p. 331), land[-]marks
(p. 307), medicine[-]man (pp. 330, 332), over[-]land (p. 7), pin[-]tail
(p. 175).
The following words appear both with and without hyphens and have not
been changed: deer[-]skin(s), gun[-]shot, half[-]way, snow[-]drift(s),
snow[-]time, Store[-]room, touch[-]wood, wild[-]fowl, wind[-]bound.
P. 23: "prosspect" changed to "prospect" (the prospect of finding the
musk-ox).
P. 41: "buerre" changed to "beurre" (le pain avec le beurre).
P. 67: "afternon" changed to "afternoon" (well on in the next
afternoon).
P. 94: "suppose" changed to "supposed" (but supposed there was
some good reason).
P. 104: "let" changed to "left" (have left us houseless).
P. 124: "feul" changed to "fuel" (fuel was rapidly vanishing).
P. 130: "abtruse" changed to "abstruse" (more abstruse subjects).
P. 131: "scare" changed to "scarce" (when the caribou are scarce).
P. 142: "sankbanks" changed to "sandbanks" (mostly inside sandbanks).
P. 143: "semed" changed to "seemed" (How strange it seemed).
P. 151: "winter" changed to "water" (to descend the Great Fish River
with the first open water).
P. 187: "debateable" changed to "debatable" (there was a debatable
ground).
P. 191: "tighty" changed to "tightly" (tightly-stretched deer-skin).
P. 216: "was" changed to "we" (we passed into the short stretch of
river).
P. 221: "roughtly" changed to "roughly" (we reckoned roughly).
P. 226: "given" changed to "give" (forbids a white man to give an
Indian).
P. 238: "and" deleted (end in dry sand [and] instead of running).
P. 244: "hgher" changed to "higher" (higher up at Smoky River).
P. 249: "Lukily" changed to "Luckily" (Luckily whitefish are very
plentiful).
P. 321: "Baptiste Testerwick" changed to "Baptiste Testerwich".