Part 10
Provisions still continued very plentiful; which was a singular piece of good fortune, and the only circumstance which at this time could contribute to our happiness or safety; for notwithstanding the early season of the year, the weather was remarkably bad and severely cold, at least it appeared so to us, probably from having no kind of skin-clothing. In this forlorn state we continued our course to the South East; and, to add to the gloominess of our situation, most of the Northern Indians who had been in our company all the first part of the fall, were by this time gone a-head, as we could not keep up with them for want of snow-shoes.
[Sidenote: 20th.]
In the evening of the twentieth, we were joined from the Westward by a famous Leader, called Matonabbee, mentioned in my instructions; who, with his followers, or gang, was also going to Prince of Wales's Fort, with furrs, and other articles for trade. This Leader, when a youth, resided several years at the above Fort, and was {53} not only a perfect master of the Southern Indian language, but by being frequently with the Company's servants, had acquired several words of English, and was one of the men who brought the latest accounts of the Coppermine River; and it was on his information, added to that of one I-dot-le-ezey, (who is since dead), that this expedition was set on foot.
[Sidenote: 1770. October.]
The courteous behaviour of this stranger struck me very sensibly. As soon as he was acquainted with our distress, he got such skins as we had with us dressed for the Southern Indians, and furnished me with a good warm suit of otter and other skins: but, as it was not in his power to provide us with snow-shoes, (being then on the barren ground), he directed us to a little river which he knew, and where there was a small range of woods, which, though none of the best, would, he said, furnish us with temporary snow-shoes and sledges, that might materially assist us during the remaining part of our journey. We spent several nights in company with this Leader, though we advanced towards the Fort at the rate of ten or twelve miles a day; and as provisions abounded, he made a grand feast for me in the Southern Indian style, where there was plenty of good eating, and the whole concluded with singing and dancing, after the Southern Indian style and manner. In this amusement my home-guard Indians bore no inconsiderable part, as they were both men of some {54} consequence when at home, and well known to Matonabbee: but among the other Northern Indians, to whom they were not known, they were held in no estimation; which indeed is not to be wondered at, when we consider that the value of a man among those people, is always proportioned to his abilities in hunting; and as my two Indians had not exhibited any great talents that way, the Northern Indians shewed them as much respect as they do in common to those of very moderate talents among themselves.
During my conversation with this Leader, he asked me very seriously, If I would attempt another journey for the discovery of the Copper-mines? And on my answering in the affirmative, provided I could get better guides than I had hitherto been furnished with, he said he would readily engage in that service, provided the Governor at the Fort would employ him. In answer to this, I assured him his offer would be gladly accepted; and as I had already experienced every hardship that was likely to accompany any future trial, I was determined to complete the discovery, even at the risque of life itself. Matonabbee assured me, that by the accounts received from his own countrymen, the Southern Indians, and myself, it was very probable I might not experience so much hardship during the whole journey, as I had already felt, though scarcely advanced one third part of the journey.
[Sidenote: 1770. October.]
{55} He attributed all our misfortunes to the misconduct of my guides, and the very plan we pursued, by the desire of the Governor, in not taking any women with us on this journey, was, he said, the principal thing that occasioned all our wants: "for, said he, when all the men are heavy laden, they can neither hunt nor travel to any considerable distance; and in case they meet with success in hunting, who is to carry the produce of their labour? Women," added he, "were made for labour; one of them can carry, or haul, as much as two men can do. They also pitch our tents, make and mend our clothing, keep us warm at night; and, in fact, there is no such thing as travelling any considerable distance, or for any length of time, in this country, without their assistance. Women," said he again, "though they do every thing, are maintained at a trifling expence; for as they always stand cook, the very licking of their fingers in scarce times, is sufficient for their subsistence." This, however odd it may appear, is but too true a description of the situation of women in this country; it is at least so in appearance; for the women always carry the provisions, and it is more than probable they help themselves when the men are not present.
[Sidenote: 23d.]
[Sidenote: 25th.]
[Sidenote: November. 1st.]
Early in the morning of the twenty-third, I struck out of the road to the Eastward, with my two companions and two or three Northern Indians, while Matonabbee and his crew continued their course to the Factory, promising {56} to walk so slow that we might come up with them again; and in two days we arrived at the place to which we were directed. We went to work immediately in making snow-shoe frames and sledges; but notwithstanding our utmost endeavours, we could not complete them in less than four days. On the first of November we again proceeded on our journey toward the Factory; and on the sixth, came up with Matonabbee and his gang: after which we proceeded on together several days; when I found my new acquaintance, on all occasions, the most sociable, kind, and sensible Indian I had ever met with. He was a man well known, and, as an Indian, of universal knowledge, and generally respected.
[Sidenote: 1770. November.]
Deer proved pretty plentiful for some time, but to my great surprise, when I wanted to give Matonabbee a little ammunition for his own use, I found that my guide, Conreaquefè, who had it all under his care, had so embezzled or otherways expended it, that only ten balls and about three pounds of powder remained; so that long before we arrived at the Fort we were obliged to cut up an ice-chissel into square lumps, as a substitute for ball. It is, however, rather dangerous firing lumps of iron out of such slight barrels as are brought to this part of the world for trade. These, though light and handy, and of course well adapted for the use of both English and Indians in long journies, and of sufficient strength for leaden shot or ball, are not strong enough for {57} this kind of shot; and strong fowling-pieces would not only be too heavy for the laborious ways of hunting in this country, but their bores being so much larger, would require more than double the quantity of ammunition that small ones do; which, to Indians at least, must be an object of no inconsiderable importance.
[Sidenote: 20th.]
[Sidenote: 21st.]
[Sidenote: 1770. November.]
[Sidenote: 23rd.]
[Sidenote: 1770. November.]
I kept company with Matonabbee till the twentieth, at which time the deer began to be so scarce that hardly a fresh track could be seen; and as we were then but a few days walk from the Fort, he advised me to proceed on with all speed, while he and his companions followed at leisure. Accordingly, on the twenty-first, I set out post-haste, accompanied by one of the home-guard (Southern) Tribe, and three Northern Indians. That night we lay on the South side of Egg River; but, long before daybreak the next morning, the weather became so bad, with a violent gale of wind from the North West, and such a drift of snow, that we could not have a bit of fire: and as no good woods were near to afford us shelter, we agreed to proceed on our way: especially as the wind was on our backs, and though the weather was bad near the surface, we could frequently see the moon, and sometimes the stars, to direct us in our course. In this situation we continued walking the whole day, and it was not till after ten at night that we could find the smallest tuft of woods to put up in; for though we well knew we must have passed by several hummocks of shrubby woods {58} that might have afforded us some shelter, yet the wind blew so hard, and the snow drifted so excessively thick, that we could not see ten yards before us the whole day. Between seven and eight in the evening my dog, a valuable brute, was frozen to death; so that his sledge, which was a very heavy one, I was obliged to haul. Between nine and ten at night we arrived at a small creek, on which we walked about three quarters of a mile, when we came to a large tuft of tall willows, and two or three sets of old tent-poles. Being much jaded, we determined not to proceed any farther that night; so we went to work, and made the best defence against the weather that the situation of the place and our materials would admit. Our labour consisted only in digging a hole in the snow, and fixing a few deer skins up to windward of us; but the most difficult task was that of making a fire. When this was once accomplished, the old tent-poles amply supplied us with fuel. By the time we had finished this business, the weather began to moderate, and the drift greatly to abate; so that the moon and the _Aurora Borealis_ shone out with great splendour, and there appeared every symptom of the return of fine weather. After eating a plentiful supper of venison, therefore, of which we had a sufficient stock to last us to the Fort, we laid down and got a little sleep. The next day proving fine and clear, though excessively sharp, we proceeded on our journey early in the morning, and at night lay on the South East side of Seal River. We should have made a much longer day's {59} journey, had we not been greatly embarrassed at setting out, by a jumble of rocks, which we could not avoid without going greatly out of our way. Here I must observe, that we were more than fortunate in not attempting to leave the little creek where we had fixed our habitation the preceding night, as the spot where we lay was not more than two or three miles distant from this dangerous place; in which, had we fallen in with it in the night, we must unavoidably have been bewildered, if we had not all perished; as notwithstanding the advantage of a clear day, and having used every possible precaution, it was with the utmost difficulty that we crossed it without broken limbs. Indeed it would have been next to an impossibility to have done it in the night.
[Sidenote: 24th.]
[Sidenote: 25th.]
The twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth proved fine, clear weather, though excessively cold; and in the afternoon of the latter, we arrived at Prince of Wales's Fort, after having been absent eight months and twenty-two days, on a fruitless, or at least an unsuccessful journey.[44]
FOOTNOTES:
[X] This only consisted of three walking-sticks stuck into the ground, and a blanket thrown over them.
[Y] Skipertogan is a small bag that contains a flint and steel, also a pipe and tobacco, as well as touchwood, &c. for making a fire. Some of these bags may be called truly elegant; being richly ornamented with beads, porcupine-quills, moose-hair, &c. a work always performed by the women; and they are, with much propriety, greatly esteemed by most Europeans for the neatness of their workmanship.
[44] The text gives very little information from which to follow Hearne's course from the point where he broke his quadrant on August 12th, till he arrived at Churchill on November 25th, so that we must follow him as well as possible from the route laid down on his map.
His route is marked crossing the Dubawnt River in latitude 63° north, near where it flows into an arm or bay of Dubawnt Lake. The river actually flows into the lake from the south-west in latitude 62° 55', and it is probable that he crossed it three miles above this in latitude 62° 53' 30", where, in 1893, we found the most northerly grove of stunted spruce growing on the bank of the river, and where very old remains of Indian camps were plainly to be seen.
From here he turned south-eastward, and travelling around the south end of Dubawnt Lake reached Kazan River just above Angikuni Lake (called on Alexander Mackenzie's map Titmeg Lake), probably just at its western end, where the caribou cross the river in large numbers in their migration southward. This point is in latitude 62° 20' north, while Hearne places his crossing-place in latitude 62° 12'. Thence, keeping south of Angikuni Lake, he turned more to the east, and passing several lakes which cannot be definitely identified, but two of which are probably Magnus and Thaolintoa Lakes, he reached Thlewiaza River east of Island Lake, where he was joined by Matonabbee and a band of Indians, who had left their wives at Island Lake, and were on their way to Fort Prince of Wales to trade.
At the Thlewiaza River he turned eastward down the stream to a grove of timber to obtain wood for snow-shoes. After making snow-shoes he turned southward and rejoined Matonabbee and his band of Indians for a short time, and then pushed on across Egg and Seal Rivers and around the south end of Button's Bay to Fort Prince of Wales.
{60} CHAP. IV.
Transactions during our Stay at Prince of Wales's Fort, and the former part of our third Expedition, till our Arrival at Clowey, where we built Canoes, in May 1771.
_Preparations for our departure--Refuse to take any of the home-guard Indians with me--By so doing, I offend the Governor--Leave the Fort a third time--My instructions on this expedition--Provisions of all kinds very scarce--Arrive at the woods, where we kill some deer--Arrive at Island Lake--Matonabbee taken ill--Some remarks thereon--Join the remainder of the Indians' families--Leave Island Lake--Description thereof--Deer plentiful--Meet a strange Indian--Alter our course from West North West to West by South--Cross Cathawhachaga River, Cossed Lake, Snow-Bird Lake, and Pike Lake--Arrive at a tent of strangers, who are employed in snaring deer in a pound--Description of the pound--Method of proceeding--Remarks thereon--Proceed on our journey--Meet with several parties of Indians; by one of whom I sent a letter to the Governor at Prince of Wales's Fort--Arrive at Thleweyazayeth--Employment there--Proceed to the North North West and North--Arrive at Clowey--One of the Indians' wives taken in labour--Remarks thereon--Customs observed by the Northern Indians on those occasions._
[Sidenote: 1770. November. 28th.]
On my arrival at the Fort, I informed the Governor, of Matonabbee's being so near. On the twenty-eighth of November he arrived. Notwithstanding the many difficulties and hardships which I had undergone during my two unsuccessful attempts, I was so far from being {61} solicited on this occasion to undertake a third excursion, that I willingly offered my service; which was readily accepted, as my abilities and approved courage, in persevering under difficulties, were thought noways inferior to the task.
[Sidenote: 1770. December.]
I then determined to engage Matonabbee to be my guide; to which he readily consented, and with a freedom of speech and correctness of language not commonly met with among Indians, not only pointed out the reasons which had occasioned all our misfortunes in my two former attempts, but described the plan he intended to pursue; which at the same time that it was highly satisfactory to me, did honour to his penetration and judgment; as it proved him to be a man of extensive observation with respect to times, seasons, and places; and well qualified to explain everything that could contribute either to facilitate or retard the ease or progress of travelling in those dreary parts of the world.
[Sidenote: 7th.]
[Sidenote: 1770. December.]
Having engaged Matonabbee, therefore, as my guide, I began to make preparations for our departure; but Mr. Norton, the Governor, having been very fully occupied in trading with a large body of Indians, it was the seventh of December before I could obtain from him my dispatches. It may not be improper to observe, that he again wanted to force some of the home-guard Indians (who were {62} his own relations[Z]) into our company, merely with a view that they might engross all the credit of taking care of{63} me during the journey; but I had round them of so little use in my two former attempts, that I absolutely refused them; and by so doing, offended Mr. Norton to such a degree, that neither time nor absence could ever afterwards eradicate his dislike of me; so that at my return he used every means in his power to treat me ill, and to render my life unhappy. However, to deal with candour on this occasion, it must be acknowledged to his honour, that whatever our private animosities might have been, he did not suffer them to interfere with public business; and I was fitted out with ammunition, and every other article which Matonabbee thought could be wanted. I was also furnished, as before, with a small assortment of light trading goods, as presents to the far distant Indians.
[Sidenote: 1770. December.]
At last I succeeded in obtaining my instructions which were as follows:
{64} "ORDERS _and_ INSTRUCTIONS _for_ Mr. SAMUEL HEARNE, _going on his third Expedition to the North of Churchill River, in quest of a North West Passage, Copper Mines, or any other thing that may be serviceable to the British Nation in general, or the Hudson's Bay Company in particular; in the year 1770._
"Mr. SAMUEL HEARNE.
"SIR,
"As you have offered your service a third time to go in search of the Copper Mine River, &c., and as Matonabbee, a leading Indian, who has been at those parts, is willing to be your guide, we have accordingly engaged him for that service; but having no other instrument on the same construction with the quadrant you had the misfortune to break, we have furnished you with an Elton's quadrant, being the most proper instrument we can now procure for making observations on the land.
"The above Leader, Matonabbee, and a few of his best men, which he has selected for that purpose, are to provide for you, assist you in all things, and conduct you to the Copper Mine River; where you must {65} be careful to observe the latitude and longitude, also the course of the river, the depth of the water, the situation of the Copper Mines, &c., but your first instructions, of November sixth, one thousand seven hundred and sixty-nine, being sufficiently full, we refer you to every part thereof for the better regulation of your conduct during this journey.
[Sidenote: 1770. December.]
"As you and your Indian companions are fitted out with everything that we think is necessary, (or at least as many useful articles as the nature of travelling in those parts will admit of), you are hereby desired to proceed on your journey as soon as possible; and your present guide has promised to take great care of you, and conduct you out and home with all convenient speed.
"I conclude with my best wishes for your health and happiness, together with a successful journey, and a quick return in safety. Amen.
"(Signed) MOSES NORTON, Governor.
"Dated at Prince of Wales's Fort, 7th December 1770."
[Sidenote: 7th.]
On the seventh of December I set out on my third journey; and the weather, considering the season of the year, was for some days pretty mild. One of Matonabbee's wives being ill, occasioned us to walk so slow, that {66} it was the thirteenth before we arrived at Seal River; at which time two men and their wives left us, whose loads, when added to those of the remainder of my crew, made a very material difference, especially as Matonabbee's wife was so ill as to be obliged to be hauled on a sledge.
[Sidenote: 16th.]
[Sidenote: 1770. December.]
Finding deer and all other game very scarce, and not knowing how long it might be before we could reach any place where they were in greater plenty, the Indians walked as far each day as their loads and other circumstances would conveniently permit. On the sixteenth, we arrived at Egg River, where Matonabbee and the rest of my crew had laid up some provisions and other necessaries, when on their journey to the Fort. On going to the place where they thought the provisions had been carefully secured from all kinds of wild beasts, they had the mortification to find that some of their countrymen, with whom the Governor had first traded and dispatched from the Fort, had robbed the store of every article, as well as of some of their most useful implements. This loss was more severely felt, as there was a total want of every kind of game; and the Indians, not expecting to meet with so great a disappointment, had not used that economy in the expenditure of the oatmeal and other provisions which they had received at the Fort, as they probably would have done, had they not relied firmly on finding a supply at this place. This disappointment and loss was borne by the Indians with the greatest fortitude; and I did not hear {67} one of them breathe the least hint of revenge in case they should ever discover the offenders; the only effect it had on them was, that of making them put the best foot foremost. This was thought so necessary, that for some time we walked every day from morning till night. The days, however, being short, our sledges heavy, and some of the road very bad, our progress seldom exceeded sixteen or eighteen miles a day, and some days we did not travel so much.
[Sidenote: 18th.]
On the eighteenth, as we were continuing our course to the North West, up a small creek that empties itself into Egg River, we saw the tracks of many deer which had crossed that part a few days before; at that time there was not a fresh track to be seen: some of the Indians, however, who had lately passed that way, had killed more than they had occasion for, so that several joints of good meat were found in their old tent-places; which, though only sufficient for one good meal, were very acceptable, as we had been in exceeding straitened circumstances for many days.
[Sidenote: 19th.]
[Sidenote: 27th.]
[Sidenote: 1770. December.]