OCTOBER 10, 1792.
Having made every necessary preparation, I left Fort Chepewyan, to
proceed up the Peace River, I had resolved to go as far as our most
distant settlement, which would occupy the remaining part of the season,
it being the route by which I proposed to attempt my next discovery,
across the mountains from the source of that river; for whatever
distance I could reach this fall, would be a proportionate advancement
of my voyage.
In consequence of this design, I left the establishment of Fort
Chepewyan, in charge of Mr. Roderic Mackenzie, accompanied by two canoes
laden with the necessary articles for trade: we accordingly steered West
for one of the branches that communicates with the Peace River, called
the Pine River; at the entrance of which we waited for the other canoes,
in order to take some supplies from them, as I had reason to apprehend
they would not be able to keep up with us. We entered the Peace River
at seven in the morning of the 12th, taking a Westerly course. It is
evident, that all the land between it and the Lake of the Hills, as far
as the Elk River, is formed by the quantity of earth and mud, which is
carried down by the streams of those two great rivers. In this space
there are several lakes. The Lake Clear Water, which is the deepest,
Lake Vassieu, and the Athabasca Lake, which is the largest of the three,
and whose denomination in the Knisteneaux language implies, a flat, low,
swampy country, subject to inundations. The two last lakes are now so
shallow, that from the cause just mentioned, there is every reason to
expect, that in a few years they will have exchanged their character,
and become extensive forests.
This country is so level, that, at some seasons, it is entirely
overflowed, which accounts for the periodical influx and reflux of the
waters between the Lake of the Hills and the Peace River.
On the 13th at noon we came to the Peace Point; from which, according to
the report of my interpreter, the river derives its name; it was the
spot where the Knisteneaux and Beaver Indians settled their dispute; the
real name of the river and point being that of the land which was the
object of contention.
When this country was formerly invaded by the Knisteneaux, they found
the Beaver Indians inhabiting the land about Portage la Loche; and the
adjoining tribe were those whom they called slaves. They drove both
these tribes before them; when the latter proceeded down the river from
the Lake of the Hills, in consequence of which that part of it obtained
the name of the Slave River. The former proceeded up the river; and
when the Knisteneaux made peace with them, this place was settled to be
the boundary.
We continued our voyage, and I did not find the current so strong in
this river as I had been induced to believe, though this, perhaps, was
not the period to form a correct notion of that circumstance, as well as
of the breadth, the water being very low; so that the stream has not
appeared to me to be in any part that I have seen, more than a quarter
of a mile wide.
The weather was cold and raw, so as to render our progress unpleasant;
at the same time we did not relax in our expedition, and, at three on
the afternoon of the 17th we arrived at the falls. The river at this
place is about four hundred yards broad, and the fall about twenty feet
high: the first carrying place is eight hundred paces in length, and the
last, which is about a mile onwards, is something more than two-thirds
of that distance. Here we found several fires, from which circumstance
we concluded, that the canoes destined for this quarter, which left the
fort some days before us, could not be far a-head. The weather
continued to be very cold, and the snow that fell during the night was
several inches deep.
On the morning of the 18th, as soon as we got out of the draught of the
fall, the wind being at North-East, and strong in our favour, we hoisted
sail, which carried us on at a considerable rate against the current,
and passed the Loon River before twelve o'clock; from thence we soon
came along the Grande Isle, at the upper end of which we encamped for
the night. It now froze very hard: indeed, it had so much the
appearance of winter, that I began to entertain some alarm lest we might
be stopped by the ice: we therefore set off at three o'clock in the
morning of the 19th, and about eight we landed at the Old Establishment.
The passage to this place from Athabasca having been surveyed by
M. Vandrieul, formerly in the Company's service, I did not think it
necessary to give any particular attention to it; I shall, however, just
observe, that the course in general from the Lake of the Hills to the
falls, is Westerly, and as much to the North as the South of it, from
thence it is about West-South-West to this fort.
The country in general is low from our entrance of the river to the
falls, and with the exception of a few open parts covered with grass, it
is clothed with wood. Where the banks are very low the soil is good,
being composed of the sediment of the river and putrefied leaves and
vegetables. Where they are more elevated, they display a face of
yellowish clay, mixed with small stones. On a line with the falls, and
on either side of the river, there are said to be very extensive plains,
which afford pasture to numerous herds of buffaloes Our people a-head
slept here last night, and, from their carelessness, the fire was
communicated to and burned down, the large house, and was proceeding
fast to the smaller buildings when we arrived to extinguish it.
We continued our voyage, the course of the river being South-West by
West one mile and a quarter, South by East one mile, South-West by South
three miles, West by South one mile, South-South-West two miles, South
four miles, South-West seven miles and a half, South by West one mile,
North-North-West two miles and a half, South five miles and a quarter,
South-West one mile and a half, North-East by East three miles and a
half, and South-East by East one mile.
We overtook Mr. Finlay, with his canoes, who was encamped near the fort
of which he was going to take the charge, during the ensuing winter, and
made every necessary preparative for a becoming appearance on our
arrival the following morning. Although I had been since the year 1787,
in the Athabasca country, I had never yet seen a single native of that
part of it which we had now reached.
At six o'clock in the morning of the 20th, we landed before the house
amidst the rejoicing and firing of the people, who were animated with
the prospect of again indulging themselves in the luxury of rum, of
which they had been deprived since the beginning of May; as it is a
practice throughout the North-West neither to sell or give any rum to
the natives during the summer. There was at this time only one chief
with his people, the other two being hourly expected with their bands;
and on the 21st and 22d they all arrived except the war chief and
fifteen men. As they very soon expressed their desire of the expected
regale, I called them together, to the number of forty-two hunters, or
men capable of bearing arms, to offer some advice, which would be
equally advantageous to them and to us, and I strengthened my admonition
with a nine gallon cask of reduced rum, and a quantity of tobacco. At
the same time I observed, that as I should not often visit them, I had
instanced a greater degree of liberality than they had been accustomed
to.
The number of people belonging to this establishment amounts to about
three hundred, of which, sixty are hunters. Although they appear from
their language to be of the same stock as the Chepewyans, they differ
from them in appearance, manners, and customs, as they have adopted
those of their former enemies, the Knisteneaux; they speak their
language, as well as cut their hair, paint, and dress like them, and
possess their immoderate fondness for liquor and tobacco. This
description, however, can be applied only to the men, as the women are
less adorned even than those of the Chepewyan tribes. We could not
observe, without some degree of surprize, the contrast between the neat
and decent appearance of the men, and the nastiness of the women. I am
disposed, however, to think, that this circumstance is generally owing
to the extreme submission and abasement of the latter: for I observed,
that one of the chiefs allowed two of his wives more liberty and
familiarity than were accorded to the others, as well as a more becoming
exterior, and their appearance was proportionably pleasing; I shall,
however, take a future opportunity to speak more at large on this
subject.
There were frequent changes of the weather in the course of the day, and
it froze rather hard in the night. The thickness of the ice in the
morning was a sufficient notice for me to proceed. I accordingly gave
the natives such good counsel as might influence their behaviour,
communicated my directions to Mr. Findlay for his future conduct, and
took my leave under several vollies of musketry, on the morning of the
23d. I had already dispatched my loaded canoes two days before, with
directions to continue their progress without waiting for me. Our
course was South-South-East one mile and an half, South three quarters;
East seven miles and a half, veering gradually to the West four miles
and an half, South-East by South three miles, South-East three miles and
an half, East-South-East to Long Point three miles, South-West one mile
and a quarter, East by North four miles and three quarters, West three
miles and an half, West-South-West one mile, East by South five miles
and a half, South three miles and three quarters, South-East by South
three miles, East-South-East three miles, East-North-East one mile, when
there was a river that flowed in on the right, East two miles and an
half, East-South-East half a mile, South-East by South seven miles and
an half, South two miles, South-South-East three miles and an half; in
the course of which we passed an island South by West, where a rivulet
flowed in on the right, one mile, East one mile and an half, South five
miles, South-East by South four miles and an half, South-West one mile,
South-East by East four miles and an half, West-South-West half a mile,
South-West six miles and three quarters, South-East by South one mile
and an half, South one mile and an half; South-East by South two miles,
South-West three quarters of a mile, South-East by South two miles and
an half, East by South one mile and three quarters, South two miles,
South-East one mile and an half, South-South-East half a mile, East by
South two miles and an half, North-East three miles, South-West by West
short distance to the establishment of last year, East-North-East four
miles, South-South-East one mile and three quarters, South half a mile,
South-East by South three quarters of a mile, North-East by East one
mile, South three miles, South-South-East one mile and three quarters,
South by East four miles and an half, South-West three miles, South by
East two miles, South by West one mile and an half, South-West two
miles, South by West four miles and an half, South-West one mile and an
half, and South by East three miles. Here we arrived at the forks of
the river; the Eastern branch appearing to be not more than half the
size of the Western one. We pursued the latter, in a course South-West
by West six miles, and landed on the first of November at the place
which was designed to be my winter residence: indeed, the weather had
been so cold and disagreeable, that I was more than once apprehensive of
our being stopped by the ice, and, after all, it required the utmost
exertions of which my men were capable to prevent it; so that on their
arrival they were quite exhausted. Nor were their labours at an end,
for there was not a single hut to receive us: it was, however, now in my
power to feed and sustain them in a more comfortable manner.
We found two men here who had been sent forward last spring, for the
purpose of squaring timber for the erection of a house, and cutting
pallisades, &c., to surround it. With them was the principal chief of
the place, and about seventy men, who had been anxiously waiting for our
arrival, and received us with every mark of satisfaction and regard
which they could express. If we might judge from the quantity of powder
that was wasted on our arrival, they certainly had not been in want of
ammunition, at least during the summer.
The banks of the river, from the falls, are in general lofty, except at
low woody points, accidentally formed in the manner I have already
mentioned: they also displayed, in all their broken parts, a face of
clay, intermixed with stone; in some places there likewise appeared a
black mould.
In the summer of 1788, a small spot was cleared at the Old
Establishment, which is situated on a bank thirty feet above the level
of the river, and was sown with turnips, carrots, and parsnips. The
first grew to a large size, and the others thrived very well. An
experiment was also made with potatoes and cabbage, the former of which
were successful; but for want of care the latter failed. The next
winter the person who had undertaken this cultivation, suffered the
potatoes which had been collected for seed, to catch the frost, and none
had been since brought to this place. There is not the least doubt but
the soil would be very productive, if a proper attention was given to
its preparation. In the fall of the year 1787, when I first arrived at
Athabasca, Mr. Pond was settled on the banks of the Elk River, where he
remained for three years, and had formed as fine a kitchen garden as I
ever saw in Canada.
In addition to the wood which flourished below the fall, these banks
produce the cypress tree, arrow-wood, and the thorn. On either side of
the river, though invisible from it, are extensive plains, which abound
in buffaloes, elks, wolves, foxes, and bears. At a considerable
distance to the Westward, is an immense ridge of high land or mountains,
which take an oblique direction from below the falls, and are inhabited
by great numbers of deer, which are seldom disturbed, but when the
Indians go to hunt the beaver in those parts; and, being tired with the
flesh of the latter, vary their food with that of the former. This
ridge bears the name of the Deer Mountain. Opposite to our present
situation, are beautiful meadows, with various animals grazing on them,
and groves of poplars irregularly scattered over them.
My tent was no sooner pitched, than I summoned the Indians together, and
gave each of them about four inches of Brazil tobacco, a dram of
spirits, and lighted the pipe. As they had been very troublesome to my
predecessor, I informed them that I had heard of their misconduct, and
was come among them to inquire into the truth of it. I added also that
it would be an established rule with me to treat them with kindness, if
their behaviour should be such as to deserve it; but, at the same time,
that I should be equally severe if they failed in those returns which I
had a right to expect from them. I then presented them with a quantity
of rum, which I recommended to be used with discretion; and added some
tobacco, as a token of peace. They, in return, made me the fairest
promises; and having expressed the pride they felt on beholding me in
their country, took their leave.
I now proceeded to examine my situation; and it was with great
satisfaction I observed that the two men who had been sent hither some
time before us, to cut and square timber for our future operations, had
employed the intervening period with activity and skill. They had
formed a sufficient quantity of pallisades of eighteen feet long, and
seven inches in diameter, to inclose a square spot of an hundred and
twenty feet; they had also dug a ditch of three feet deep to receive
them; and had prepared timber, planks, &c., for the erection of a house.
I was, however, so much occupied in settling matters with the Indians,
and equipping them for their winter hunting, that I could not give my
attention to any other object, till the 7th, when I set all hands at
work to construct the fort, build the house, and form store houses. On
the preceding day the river began to run with ice, which we call the
last of the navigation. On the 11th we had a South-West wind, with
snow. On the 16th, the ice stopped in the other fork, which was not
above a league from us, across the intervening neck of land. The water
in this branch continued to flow till the 22d, when it was arrested also
by the frost, so that we had a passage across the river, which would
last to the latter end of the succeeding April. This was a fortunate
circumstance, as we depended for our support upon what the hunters could
provide for us, and they had been prevented by the running of the ice
from crossing the river. They now, however, very shortly procured us as
much fresh meat as we required, though it was for some time a toilsome
business to my people, for as there was not yet a sufficient quantity of
snow to run sledges, they were under the necessity of loading themselves
with the spoils of the chase.
On the 27th the frost was so severe that the axes of the workmen became
almost as brittle as glass. The weather was very various until the 2d
of December, when my Farenheit's thermometer was injured by an accident,
which rendered it altogether useless. The table on page 353, therefore,
from the 16th of November, to this unfortunate circumstance, is the only
correct account of the weather which I can offer.
[Transcriber's Note: The table referenced in the preceding paragraph
follows immediately below.]
Month|Date|Hours|Below|Above|Wind|Weather||Hour|Below|Above|Wind|Weather||Hour|Below|Above|Wind|Weather||
and | |A.M. | 0 | 0 | | || | 0 | 0 | | ||P.M.| 0 | | | ||
year | | | | | | || | | | | || | | | | ||
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1792 | | | | | | || | | | | || | | | | ||
Nov. |16 |8-1/2| ... | 10 |....| || 12 | 0 | 14 |....| || 6 | .. | 15 |....|Cloudy.||
|17 |8-1/2| ... | 17 |....|Clear. || 12 | .. | 20 |... |Clear. || 6 | .. | 23 |....|ditto. ||
|18 | 9 | ... | 19 |ESE | || 12 | .. | 21 |ESE | || 6 | .. | 14 |ESE |Clear. ||
|19 | 8 | ... | 5 |NW | || 12 | .. | 12 |NW | || 6 | .. | 9 |NW |ditto. ||Strong wind
|20 |8-1/2| ... | 4 |... |ditto. || 12 | .. | 14 |....|ditto. || 6 | .. | 19 |....|Cloudy.||At 10 last night 1 below 0
|21 | 8 | ... | 19 |... | || 12 | .. | 25 |....| || 6 | .. | 23 |....|...... ||River stopped.
|22 | 9 | ... | 27 |... |Cloudy.|| 12 | .. | 29 |....|Cloudy.|| 6 | .. | 28 |....|Cloudy ||Ice drove and water rises.
|23 |8-1/2| ... | 2 |N |Clear. || 12 | .. | 23 |....|Clear. || 6 | .. | 15 |N |...... ||Ice drove again.
|24 | 8 | 3 | .. |... |ditto. || 12 | 0 | 0 |NE | || 6 | 1 | .. |NE |Cloudy.||
|25 | 8 | 14 | .. |... |ditto. || 12 | 4 | .. |....| || 6 | 2 | .. |....|Clear. ||Snowed last night 2 inches.
|26 | 9 | 10 | .. |N |ditto. || 12 | .. | 2 |N | || 6 | 0 | 0 |N |ditto. ||
|27 | 8 | 2 | .. |... |ditto. || 12 | 3 | 2 |....| || 6 | .. | 1 |SW |ditto. ||
|28 | 8 | 16 | .. |... |ditto. || 12 | .. | .. |....| || 6 | 7 | .. |S |ditto. ||After dark, overcast.
|29 |7-1/2| ... | 4 |... |Cloudy.|| 12 | .. | 13 |....| || 6 | .. | 7 |....|ditto. ||Ditto, a little wind S. W.
|30 | 9 | ... | 4 |S | || 12 | .. | 13 |S |Cloudy.|| 6 | .. | 16 |S |Cloudy.||
Dec.| 1 | 9 | ... | 0 |... | || 12 | | 19 |SE | || 5 | .. | 24 |SE |ditto. ||Fell 3 inches snow last night.
| 2 | 9 | ... | 27 |E | || | | | | || 5 | | | | ||
In this situation, removed from all those ready aids which add so much
to the comfort, and, indeed is a principal characteristic of civilized
life, I was under the necessity of employing my judgment and experience
in accessory circumstances by no means connected with the habits of my
life, or the enterprise in which I was immediately engaged. I was now
among the people who had no knowledge whatever of remediable application
to those disorders and accidents to which man is liable in every part of
the globe, in the distant wilderness, as in the peopled city. They had
not the least acquaintance with that primitive medicine, which consists
in an experience of the healing virtues of herbs and plants, and is
frequently found among uncivilised and savage nations. This
circumstance now obliged me to be their physician and surgeon, as a
woman with a swelled breast, which had been lacerated with flint stones
for the cure of it, presented herself to my attention, and by
cleanliness, poultices, and healing salve, I succeeded in producing a
cure. One of my people, also, who was at work in the woods, was
attacked with a sudden pain near the first joint of his thumb, which
disabled him from holding an axe. On examining his arm, I was
astonished to find a narrow red stripe, about half an inch wide, from
his thumb to his shoulder; the pain was violent, and accompanied with
chilliness and shivering. This was a case that appeared to be beyond my
skill, but it was necessary to do something towards relieving the mind
of the patient, though I might be unsuccessful in removing his
complaint. I accordingly prepared a kind of volatile liniment of rum
and soap, with which I ordered his arm to be rubbed, but with little or
no effect. He was in a raving state throughout the night, and the red
stripe not only increased, but was also accompanied with the appearance
of several blotches on his body, and pains in his stomach; the propriety
of taking some blood from him now occurred to and I ventured, from
absolute necessity, to perform that operation for the first time, and
with an effect that justified the treatment. The following night
afforded him rest, and in a short time he regained his former health and
activity.
I was very much surprised on walking in the woods at such an inclement
period of the year, to be saluted with the singing of birds, while they
seemed by their vivacity to be actuated by the invigorating power of a
more genial season. Of these birds the male was something less than the
robin; part of his body is of a delicate fawn colour, and his neck,
breast, and belly, of a deep scarlet; the wings are black, edged with
fawn colour, and two white stripes running across them; the tail is
variegated, and the head crowned with a tuft. The female is smaller
than the male, and of a fawn colour throughout, except on the neck,
which is enlivened by an hue of glossy yellow. I have no doubt but they
are constant inhabitants of this climate, as well as some other small
birds which we saw, of a grey colour.