Chapter 3

And now, ye effeminate feather bed loungers, where do you suppose we were to sleep? There was no comfortable hotel to receive us; not even a house where a board informs the benighted traveller that there is "entertainment for man and horse;" not even the skeleton of a wigwam; the snow eight feet deep,--the thermometer nineteen degrees below the freezing point. Every one having disencumbered himself of his load, proceeded with his hatchet to cut down the small fir and birch trees. The thick part of the trees was cut in lengths, and heaped up in two piles; between which a sort of wigwam was formed of the branches: a number of small twigs of trees, to the depth of about three feet, were laid on the snow for a bed; and having lighted the pile of wood on each side, some prepared venison steaks for supper, while others skinned the two wolves, in order, with the dear skin, to form a covering to the wigwam; this some opposed, as being a luxury we should not every day obtain. Supper being ready, we ate heartily, and having melted some snow for water, we made some hot toddy, that is, rum, butter, hot water and sugar; a song was proposed, and acceeded to: and thus, in the midst of a dreary desert, far from the voice of our fellow men, we sat cheerful and contented, looking forward for the morrow, without dread, anxious to renew our toils and resume our labours. Alter about an hour thus spent the watch was appointed, and each wrapped in his blanket. We vied unconvincing each other, with the nasal organ, which was in the soundest sleep; mine was the last watch, about an hour before daybreak. The Aurora Borealis rolled in awful splendour across the deep blue sky, but I will not tire my readers with a description. When the first glimpse of morn showed itself in the light clouds floating in the eastern horison, I awoke my companions; and by the time it was sufficiently light we had breakfasted, and were ready to proceed. Cutting off enough of the deer shot the night before, we proceeded on our journey, leaving the rest to the wolves. Each day and each night was a repetition of the same; the country being in some places tolerably level, in general covered with wood, but occasionally barren tracts, where sometimes for miles not a tree was to be seen.

Mr. ---- instructing the men in which way he wished them to act, informing them that his object was to open a friendly communication with the Indians, rather than act on the principle of intimidating them by revenge; that if they avoided him, he should endeavour to take one or more prisoners and bring them with him, in order that by the civilization of one or two, an intercourse might be established that would end in their permanent civilization. He strictly exhorted them not to use undue violence: every one was strictly enjoined not to _fire_ on any account. About three o'clock in the afternoon the two men who then led the party were about two hundred yards before the rest;--three deer closely followed by a pack of wolves, issued from the wood on the left, and bounded across the lake, passing very near the men, whom they totally disregarded. The men incautiously fired at them. We were then about half a mile from the point of land that almost intersected the lake, and in a few minutes we saw it covered with Indians, who instantly retired.[B] The alarm was given; we soon reached the point; about five Hundred yards on the other side we saw the Indian houses, and the Indians, men, women, and children, rushing from them, across the lake, hereabout a mile broad. Hurrying on we quickly came to the houses; when within a shirt distance from the last house, three men and a woman carrying a child, issued forth. One of the men took the infant from her, and their speed soon convinced us of the futility of pursuit; the woman, however, did not run so fast. Mr. ---- loosened his provision bag from his back and let it fall, threw away his gun and hatchet, and set off at a speed that soon overtook the woman. One man and myself did the same, except our guns. The rest, picking up our things, followed. On overtaking the woman, she instantly fell on her kness, and tearing open the cassock, (a dress composed of deerskin lined with fur,) showing her breasts to prove that she was a woman, and begged for mercy. In a few moments we were by Mr. ----'s side. Several of the Indians, with the three who had quitted the house with the woman, now advanced, while we retreated towards the shore. At length we stopped and they did the same. After a pause, three of them laid down their bows, with which they were armed, and came within two hundred yards. We then presented our guns, intimating that not more than one would be allowed to approach. They retired and fetched their arms, when one, the ill-fated husband of Mary March, our captive, advanced with a branch of fir tree (spruce) in his hand. When about ten yards off he stopped and made a long oration. He spoke at least ten minutes; towards the last his gesture became very animated, and his eye "shot fire." He concluded very mildly, and advancing, shook hands with many of the party--then he attempted to take his wife from us; being opposed in this he drew from beneath his cassock an axe, the whole of which was finely polished, and brandished it over our heads. On two or three pieces being presented, he gave it up to Mr. ----, who then intimated that the woman must go with us, but that he might go also if he pleased, and that in the morning both should have their liberty. At the same time two of the men began to conduct her towards the houses. On this being done, he became infuriated, and rushing towards her strove to drag her from them; one of the men rushed forward and stabbed him in the back with a bayonte: turning round, at a blow he laid the fellow at his feet; the next instant he knocked down another, and rushing on ----, like a child laid him on his back, and seizing his dirk from his belt brandished it over his head; the next instant it would have been buried in him, had I not with both hands seized his arm; he shook me off in an instant, while I measured my length on the ice; Mr. ---- then drew a pistol from his girdle and fired. The poor wretch first staggered, then fell on his face; while writhing in agonies, he seemed for a moment to stop; his muscles stiffened: slowly and gradually he raised himself from the ice, turned round, and with a wild gaze surveyed us all in a circle around him. Never shall I forget the figure he exhibited; his hair hanging on each side of his sallow face; his bushy beard clotted with blood that flowed from his mouth and nose; his eyes flashing fire, yet with the glass of death upon them,--they fixed on the individual that first stabbed him. Slowly he raised the hand that still grasped young ----'s dagger, till he raised it considerably above his head, when uttering a yell that made the woods echo, he rushed at him. The man fired as he advanced, and the noble Indian again fell on his face: a few moments' struggle, and he lay a stiffened corpse on the icy surface of the limpid waters.--The woman for a moment seemed scarcely to notice the corpse; in a few minutes, however, she showed a little emotion; but it was not until obliged to leave the remains of her husband that she gave way to grief, and vented her sorrow in the most heart-breaking lamentations. While the scene which I have described was acting, and which occurred in almost less space than the description can be read, a number of Indians had advanced within a shore distance, but seeing the untimely fate of their chief, halted. Mr. ---- fired over their heads, and they immediately fled. The banks of the lake, on the other side, were at this time covered with men, women, and children, at least several hundreds; but immediately being joined by their companions all disappeared in the woods. We then had time to think. For my own part I could scarcely credit my senses as I beheld the remains of the noble fellow stretched on the ice, crimsoned with his already frozen blood. One of the men then went to the shore for some fir tree boughs to cover the body, which measured as it lay, 6 feet 7½ inches. The fellow who first stabbed him wanted to strip off his cassock, (a garment made of deer skin, lined with beaver and other skins, reaching to the knees,) but met with so stern a rebuke from ----, that he instantly desisted, and slunk abashed away.

After covering the body with boughs, we proceeded towards the Indian houses--the woman often requiring force to take her along. On examining them, we found no living creature, save a bitch and her whelps about two months old. The houses of these Indians are very different from those of the other tribes in North America; they are built of straight pieces of fir about twelve feet high, flattened at the sides, and driven in the earth close to each other; the corners being much stronger than the other parts.--The crevices are filled up with moss, and the inside entirely lined with the same material; the roof is raised so as to slant from all parts and meet in a point at the centre, where a hole is left for the smoke to escape; the remainder of the roof is covered with a treble coat of birch bark, and between the first and second layer of bark is about six inches of moss; about the chimney clay is substituted for it. On entering one of the houses I was astonished at the neatness which reigned within. The sides of the tenement were covered with arms,--bows, arrows, clubs, axes of iron, (stolen from the settlers) stone hatchets, arrow heads, in fact, implements of war and for the chase, but all arranged in the neatest order, and apparently every man's property carefully put together. At one end was a small image, or rather a head, carved rudely out of a block of wood; round the neck was hung the case of a watch, and on a board close by, the works of the watch, which had been carefully taken to pieces, and hung on small pegs on the board; the whole were surrounded with the main spring. In the other houses the remainder of the articles stolen were found. Beams were placed across where the roof began; over which smaller ones were laid: on these were piled a considerable quantity of dried venison and salmon, together with a little codfish. On ---- taking down the watch and works, and bringing the image over the fire, the woman surveyed him with anger, and in a few minutes made free with her tongue, her manner showing us that she was not unused to scolding. When Mr. ---- saw it displeased her, he, rather irreverently, threw the log on one side: on this she rose in a rage, and would, had not her hands been fastened, have inflicted summary vengeance for the insult offered to the hideous idol. Wishing to pacify her, he rose, and taking his _reverence_ carefully up, placed him where he had taken him from. This pacified her. I must here do the poor creature the justice to say, that I never afterwards saw her out of temper. A watch was set outside; and having partaken of the Indian's fare, we began to talk over the events of the day. Both ---- and myself bitterly reproached the man who first stabbed the unfortunate native; for though he acted violently, still there was no necessity for the brutal act--besides, the untaught Indian was only doing that which every _man_ ought to do,--he came to rescue his wife from the hands of her captors, and nobly lost his life in his attempt to save her. ---- here declared that he would rather have defeated the object of his Journey a hundred times than have sacrificed the life of one Indian. The fellow merely replied, "it was only an Indian, and he wished he had shot a hundred instead of one." The poor woman was now tied securely, we having, on consideration, deemed it for the best to take her with us, so that by kind treatment and civilization she might, in the course of time, be returned to her tribe, and be the means of effecting a lasting reconciliation between them and the settlers.

After the men had laid themselves down around the fire, and the watch was set outside, the door, Mr. ---- and myself remained up; and, in a low voice, talked over the events of the day. We then decided on remaining to rest three or four days; and, in the meantime, to endeavour to find the Indians. I would I could now describe how insensibly we glided from one subject to another;--religion--politics--country--'home, _sweet, sweet_, home'--alternately occupied our attention; and thus, in the midst of a dreary waste, far away from the haunts of civilized man, we sat contentedly smoking our pipes; and, Englishmen like, settled the affairs of _nations_ over a glass of rum and water--ever and anon drinking a health to each _friend_ and _fair_, who rose uppermost in our thoughts. From this the subject turned to "specific gravity." Here an argument commenced. When illustrating a position I had advanced, by the ascension of the smoke from my pipe, we both turned up our eyes to witness its progress upwards: on looking towards the aperture in the roof what was our astonishment at beholding the faces of _two Indians_, calmly surveying us in the quiet occupation of _their_ abode. In an instant we shouted--"The Indians!" and in a moment every one was on the alert, and each taking his arms rushed to the door--not a creature was to be seen; in vain we looked around;--no trace, save the marks of footsteps on the snow, was to be discovered, but these seemed almost innumerable. We fired about a dozen shots into the woods, and then retired to our dwelling. ---- and I then resolved to take alternate watch, and every half hour, at least to walk round the house. During the night, however, we were not again disturbed, save by the howling of wolves and barking of foxes. E.S.

After the capture of Mary March, the next attempt, in order of time, to discover the Red Indians was made by JAMES CORMACK, Esq., in 1822, and for that purpose he crossed the whole interior of the Island--starting from Random Bar on the Eastward on the 6th September, and finding his way out at St. George's Bay, on the 2nd November following. During this excursion he suffered great privation,--which few men could have endured, and which few men indeed, would have undertaken with only one companion. Mr. Cormack did not succeed in the main object he had in view, yet was his trouble anything but profitless. We now possess through his means a general knowledge of the interior of our Island--together with a specific account of its soil--its geological and mineralogical aspect--its varied natural productions--of trees, shrubs, plants, flowers, &c., all named and methodically described--the kind of animals met with, and a variety of other useful information.

In the following year, 1823, and early in the spring of that year, three females, a mother and two daughters, in Badger Bay, near Exploits Bay, being in a starving condition, allowed themselves in despair, to be quietly captured by some English furriers who accidentally came upon them. Fortunately their miserable appearance, when within gunshot, led to the unusual circumstance of their not being fired at. The husband of the elder woman in attempting to avoid the observation of the white men, tried to cross the creek upon the ice, fell through and was drowned. About a month before this event, and a few miles distant from the spot where this accident occurred, the brother of this man and his daughter, belonging to the same party, were shot by two English furriers. The man was first shot, and the woman in despair remained calmly to be fired at, and incredible as it may appear, this poor woman, far from her tribe--helpless--with her back to her murderers,--excited in them no feeling of compassion--they deliberately shot her,--the slugs passed through her body, and she fell dead by the side of her father. The mind is slow to believe that so brutal an act as this could have been committed, and is willing to doubt the correctness of the report, but the proof of its accuracy is the statement of one of the ruffians who perpetrated the foul act.

The three females were brought to St. John's, where they remained four or five weeks, and were then sent back to the Exploits with many presents, in the hope that they may meet and share such presents with their people. They were conveyed up the river Exploits to some distance, by a party of Europeans, and left on its banks with some provisions and clothing, to find their friends as they best might. Their provisions however were soon consumed, and not finding any of the tribe, they wandered down the right bank of the river, and in a few days again reached the Exploits habitations. The mother and one daughter died there shortly afterwards, and within a few days of each other. The Survivor known as "Nancy" here, but among her tribe as "Shaw-na-dith-it," was received and taken care of by Mr. Peyton, jun. and family, with whom she remained several years. She was then brought to St. John's, and as a Society called the "Boeothick Institution" had then been established, Shaw-na-dith-it became the object of its peculiar care and solicitude, and it is to this interesting woman we are indebted for much of the information we possess regarding her race. She remained under the care of the Boeothick Institution for about nine months, during the greater part pf which period she was in bad health. Much attention was shewn her, and attempts were perseveringly made to communicate to her a knowledge of the English language, and this she so far acquired as to be able to communicate with tolerable ease. In person Shaw-na-dith-it was 5 feet 5 inches high--her natural abilities were good. She was grateful for any kindness shown her, and evinced a strong affection for her parents and friends. As she evinced some taste for drawing, she was kept supplied with pencils of various colors, and by the use of these made herself better understood than she otherwise could have done. In her own person she had received two gun-shot wounds at two different times from volleys fired at the band she was with by the English people at the Exploits--one wound was that of a slug through the leg. Poor Shaw-na-dith-it! she died destitute of any of this world's goods, yet, desirous of showing her gratitude to one from whom she had received great kindness, she presented a keepsake to Mr. Cormack, and there is something very affecting under the circumstances in which she was placed, as associated with the simple articles of which her present consisted--they were a rounded piece of granite--a piece of quartz--both derived from the soil of which her tribe were once the sole owners and lords, but which were all of that soil she could then call her own; and added to these, was a lock of her hair. This present has now a place in the Museum of the Mechanics' Institution, and will, it may not be doubted, be an object of interest to many. Shaw-na-dith-it lived in Mr. Cormack's house until he left the colony in 1829, when she was taken to the house of the then Attorney-General. She died in June following, and was interred in the burial ground on the South-side. A Newfoundland paper, of the 12th of June, 1829, notices her death thus:--"Died, on Saturday night, the 6th inst., at the Hospital, Shaw-na-dith-it, the female Indian, one of the aborigines of this Island. She died of consumption,--a disease which seems to have been remarkably prevalent among her tribe, and which has unfortunately been fatal to all who have fallen into the hands of the settlers. Since the departure of Mr. Cormack from the Island, this poor woman has had an asylum afforded her in the house of James Simms, Esq., Attorney General, where every attention has been paid to her wants and comforts, and under the able and professional advice of Dr. Carson, who has most liberally and kindly attended her for many months, it was hoped her health might have been re-established. Latterly, however, her disease became daily more formidable, and her strength rapidly declined, and a short time since it was deemed advisable to send her to the hospital, where her sudden decease has but too soon fulfilled the fears that were entertained for her."

Shaw-na-dith-it as before observed, gave much information as to the state of her tribe, and the following is the substance of the statement she made with reference to Captain Buchan's expedition to the Great Lake in the winter of 1811:--

The tribe, she said, at that time had been much reduced in numbers, in consequence of the hostile encroachments and meetings of the Europeans at the sea-coast. But they still had, up to that time, enjoyed, unmolested, the possession of their favorite interior parts of the Island, especially the territory around and adjacent to the Great Lake and Exploits River. There number then it would appear barely amounted to one hundred and seventy two--and these were encamped in their winter quarters, in three divisions, on different parts of the margin of the Great Lake. The principal encampment was at the East end of the Lake, on the South-side. There were here three mamaseeks or wigwams, containing forty-two persons. A smaller encampment lay six or eight miles to the Westward on the North-side of the Lake, containing two mamaseeks with thirteen people, and another lay near the West end of the Lake on the South-side, and consisted of two mamaseeks with seventeen people. It was the principal encampment which Captain Buchan fell in with. He took it by surprise, and made the whole party prisoners. This occurred in the morning; after a guarded and pantomimic interchange for several hours, it was agreed that two hostages should be given on each side, for Captain Buchan wished to return down the river for an additional supply of presents, in order thereby the better to secure the friendship of the Indians.

Captain Buchan had no sooner departed with his men and hostages, than the Indians suspected he had gone down the river for an additional force, with, which to return--make them all prisoners, and carry them off to the coast. Their suspicions induced them to break up their encampment immediately and retire farther into the interior, where the rest of the tribe were, and where they would be less liable to be again surprised.