The Perils and Adventures of Harry Skipwith by Land and Sea

by William Henry Giles Kingston

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN.

  FROM TORONTO TO THE PACIFIC--JACK TREVOR, AN OLD CHUM, FORFELLOW-TRAVELLER--FROM COLLINGWOOD BY STEAMER--BIRCH-BARK CANOES--LAKESUPERIOR AND THUNDER BAY--FORT WILLIAM TO LAKE WINNIPEG--THEKAMINISTIQUIA--SWIFTFOOT, OUR INDIAN GUIDE, AND HALF-CASTE CREW--APORTAGE--OUR CAMP AND PROGRESS--MISSIONARIES AND SETTLERS--FORT GARRYAND SELKIRK SETTLEMENTS.

  There is nothing that I need relate excepting that after my arrival atToronto I immediately set to work in right earnest about preparationsfor a journey of fifteen hundred miles or so across the continent to thePacific. I had become intensely British during my stay in the States,and resolved that my journey should he, if possible, entirely throughBritish territory, and remote as possible from the United Statesboundary. Some of my friends advised me to go by railway to La Cross,and from thence up the upper waters of the Mississippi to St. Paul, inMinnesota, then, by a stage to Georgetown, on the Red River, down whichstream I could proceed by a steamer to the Selkirk Settlement, in thecentre of which Fort Garry is situated, at the point where theAssiniboine and Red River meet.

  When travelling I seldom fail to find a companion, and my dispositionbeing somewhat of a malleable nature, I generally manage so to work hisand mine together that we are able to rub on socially till called uponto separate. In the present instance I was more fortunate than usual,for, while I was in the midst of my preparations, who should turn up oneday--or rather roll into the office of my cousin, John Brown--but my oldschool-fellow, and strong-fisted, stout-hearted friend, Jack Trevor,brother of Lieutenant Trevor of the _Spitfire_! He was a capital shot,could handle oar and scull right well, throw a fly skilfully, run like adeer, walk thirty miles on a stretch without fatigue, and woe betide theman who felt the strength of his arm! I told Jack what I was about toundertake.

  "Just suit me," he exclaimed. "I was wondering what I should do. I'vea year or so to spare, some cash to throw away, am in good training, andshould amazingly like to have a scamper after buffalo."

  The ice of winter having sufficiently disappeared from the upper lakesto render navigation possible we started by the northern railway,passing Lake Simcoe to Collingwood, on the shores of the Georgian Bay,and then embarked on board a steamer named after the same heroicadmiral. Paddling away north, we were soon out of sight of thegenerally low shore, and then the wind began to blow and the waves toroll furiously, making the big vessel tumble about in a mostuncomfortable manner, till I thought it more than possible that shewould go down then and there to the bottom of the lake. Peter looked atme reproachfully, remarking--

  "I thought when we got into this country we were to have no more tossingabout on the salt ocean?"

  "Nor have we. This is but a pool, Peter; the water is fresh, and theland is on every side of us, only we don't see it," I answered, but Idoubt if he was satisfied.

  We managed, however, to tumble on till we got under the lee of a woodedisland, where we remained as quietly as in a mill-pond till the nextmorning, when we continued our voyage between the Manitoulin islands andthe north shore of Lake Huron till we came to the Bruce mines.

  Along this north shore a road has been surveyed and settlements laidout. Proceeding up the St. Mary River, we reached the villages of thatname--one on the British, the other on the States' side. Between thetwo Lake Superior sends its waters in a fierce rapid into the river ontheir course to the ocean. We avoided them by stealing through a canalon the American side. On our way we took on board two birch-bark canoeswhich my indefatigable cousin, John Brown, had caused to be provided,as, also, a supply of gum to stick over the seams, wattap, which is theroot of the tamarack, used to sew the pieces of birch-bark together,cod-lines, and other indispensables for canoe navigation. Here, also,an Indian guide and a crew joined us--dark-skinned individuals descendedfrom French Canadians and Indians, a class which is employed by theHudson's Bay Company--in their canoes. I will describe them as we goon. We purposed picking up, afterwards, a few Indians to increase ourstrength.

  Away we steamed along the northern shore of Lake Superior, occasionallysighting some lofty bluff, said to contain a vast supply of iron,copper, and other mineral wealth, till we neared the fine headland ofThunder Cape and found ourselves amid the magnificent scenery of ThunderBay. Here the steamer anchored; and we, launching our canoes, went onshore at Fort William, an important port standing at the mouth of theriver Kaministiquia. We found that surveyors had already laid out asettlement on the banks of this stream, which is navigable for largevessels for a good many miles from its mouth.

  While preparing for our long inland voyage of something not much underfive hundred miles to the Red River, we were entertained by thesurveyor, who showed us the plans proposed for opening up the countryfor general traffic. Trevor had become very eager on the subject, anddeclared that he should be ready to devote his life to the undertaking.We therefore agreed to follow the same route. Sending our canoes withthe _voyageurs_ up the Kaministiquia River, we were to proceed northalong the shore of Thunder Bay till we reached a harbour abreast of DogLake, where we were to land and push our way for twenty-eight milesacross the country, along the line where a good road was soon to beformed to Dog Lake. Here we were to embark in our canoes, as we shouldhave a clear navigation of thirty-five miles across the lake and up DogRiver till it became shoal; then, landing, we were to ascend to theheight of land forming the boundary between Canada and the North WestTerritory, and make a portage of five miles to the Savanna River. Aportage is literally a carrying. The canoes and cargo are carried onmen's shoulders over the land, either to avoid a rapid, or from one lakeor stream to another; thus, these intervening spaces of land come to becalled also portages. After launching our canoes in the Savanna Riverwe were to obtain a free navigation of sixty-five miles, the Lake desMille Lacs, and the river Seine to the Little Falls. We were, from thisplace, to be prepared for numerous portages, amounting altogether toseven miles, and fifty-nine and a half of navigation. After the last ofthese portages we were to get a run of two hundred and eight miles downthe river Seine into Rainy Lake, and from thence into the Lake of theWoods, which we were to cross at its western extremity either to a smalllake known as Lac Flat, ninety-one and a half miles across an easycountry to Fort Garry, or to descend the Winnipeg River into LakeWinnipeg, and along its northern shore to the mouth of the Red River.

  We decided on the latter route for ourselves, as we wished for ourcanoes to navigate the lakes and rivers to the westward, and, not beingexpected, we should have had no horses sent over by the Selkirk peopleto meet us. It must be remembered that the Selkirk settlement and theRed River settlement are different names for the same district, and thatFort Garry is in the midst of it. Trevor, who had an especial taste forengineering projects, was delighted with the account, and made out thatby means of good steamers, short railroads, or even roads for coaches,and tramways over which loaded boats could be drawn, the distancebetween Fort William and Fort Garry might be accomplished in six days.

  "You see," he observed, "the greater portion of the distance would beperformed by steamers; though, on the sixty miles of broken navigationon the river Seine, large boats to be dragged up inclined planes andalong tramways over the portages would be more suitable. Then the RedRiver people would make the short road necessary between this place andLac Plat, and supply the conveyances, greatly to their profit. Why, thewhole route, if people had energy, might be open by next summer, and aswe all know that the distance between the Red River and the top of theRocky Mountains offers no impediments, if the inhabitants of BritishColumbia would open up a communication on this side, we should, in ayear or two, be sending our letters across the continent from theAtlantic to the Pacific in a couple of weeks or so; and fellows like youor me, Harry, would be able to accomplish it by railway, steam-boat, andon horseback, in about the same time."

  Having sent the canoes on two days before, we supplied ourselves withpacks, blankets, and provisions for a couple of days, and engaged anIndian guide, and landing at the
mouth of Current River, on the northernshore of Thunder Bay, we worked our way along the line of the proposedroad to Dog Lake. We just saved our daylight to the shore of the lake,where we prepared to camp. Our guide first cut off a quantity of theyoung shoots of the spruce-fir, which he strewed on a dry spot to formour beds, while, at his suggestion, we collected a large supply of drywood for a fire. Our kettle for tea was soon boiling, and by the aid ofour frying-pan, the most useful of all cooking utensils, the driedprovisions we had brought with us were converted into a savoury stew,seasoned with garlic, salt, and pepper, and thoroughly enjoyed by us.Trevor pronounced it jolly fun, and declared that he should never growtired of living as we then were doing. Never go across wild countrieswithout a portable frying-pan, you can boil water in it, cool, boil,stew, fry, and even bake, without any other appliance than a frying-panand a little fire and water. Our Indian guide, whose name wasSwiftfoot, was so pleased with the way we treated him that he begged hemight accompany us, and as he bore a good character for honesty and goodtemper and for being an expert and daring hunter and canoe paddler, weaccepted his services. As he understood English fairly, and had alreadybeen a considerable distance up the Saskatchewan, we considered him avaluable acquisition to our party.

  The next morning the canoes appeared. Having camped at no greatdistance from where we were, and having taken a hurried breakfast, weembarked.

  "Take care," cried Swiftfoot, as we stepped on board; and not withoutreason, for though accustomed to University eight-oars, we as nearly aspossible pitched head foremost out on the other side of our frail barks,to the great risk of capsizing them and spoiling our goods.

  Trevor and Swiftfoot went in one canoe, I with Peter and Ready in theother; and the crews, with stores and provisions, were evenly dividedbetween us. Away we paddled across the lake, our Indians striking up asong of the character of "Row, brothers! row!" but not so melodious.All day we paddled, and camped at night. When we came to a portage wejumped out. Two men carried each canoe; the rest loaded themselves withher cargo and bore it on their shoulders half a mile, or perhaps two orthree, or more, till smooth water was again reached.

  On those occasions we sighed for tramways over which we could runswiftly with cargo and canoes. Every portage has its name, and so,indeed, has every point, stream, and isle, for ages the fur traders'canoes have been traversing this country, and to these people every mileis known. We indulged in small tents for sleeping; but our beds werethe hard rocks sprinkled with spruce-fir-tops and covered with rugs.

  I have not described our canoes. They were formed of the bark of thewhite birch-tree, peeled off in large sheets and bent over a slenderframe of cedar ribs confined by gunwales, which are kept apart byslender bars of the same wood. A thread called called wattap, made outof the flexible roots of the young larch-tree, is used to sew the sheetsof bark together and to secure them to the gunwales, which have thus theappearance of an Indian basket. The joinings are made water-tight by acoating of tamarack gum put on hot, or by the pitch of the yellow pine.The seats are suspended from the gunwales so as not to press against thesides. The stem and stern are alike, the sheets of bark being cut intoa graceful curve, and are frequently ornamented with beads or colouredmoose hair. Ours carried six men each, and our baggage and provisions,and were so light that a couple of men lifted them out of the water andran along with them over the roughest ground with the greatest ease.They are urged on by light paddles with broad blades, and are steered byanother of the same shape. For several days we paddled on--making nogreat speed, however, for across lakes in calm weather we seldom didmore than four miles an hour--when Trevor used to sing out, "Oh, for aneight-oar; oh, for an eight-oar! how we would make her spin along."However, I persuaded him that we were better as we were--because, incase of being snagged, not having a boat-builder at hand, we should havebeen puzzled to repair her.

  For several days we paddled on without meeting with any actualadventure, although objects of interest were not wanting during everyhour of the day. We passed through the Lake of the Thousand Lakes andcamped on its shores before beginning our descent of the river Seine.The night passed calmly. I awoke early: the stars were slightly paling,a cold yellow light had begun to show itself in the east, on the lakerested a screen of dense fog, through which a host of Indians bent onour destruction might have been approaching without my being able todiscover them; landward was a forest equally impenetrable. Walking astep or two from the camp I heard a sudden rush. I started, and cockedmy smooth-bore, but nothing appeared, and I guessed that it was a fox,minx, or marten, prowling close by, attracted by the remains of lastnight's supper. From the expiring camp-fires a thin volume of smokerose up above the trees and then spread lakewards, to join the dampmisty veil which hid the quiet waters from view. Round the fires werethe silent forms of the Indians lying motionless on their backs, wrappedin their blankets, like shrouded corpses stretched at full length. Twoor three were under the canoes, and Swiftfoot had taken post in front ofTrevor's tent. As dawn advanced an Indian awoke, uncovered his face,and sitting upon his haunches, looked round from beneath the folds ofhis blanket, which he had drawn over his head. After a few minutes alow "waugh" from his throat made some of the others unroll themselvesand begin blowing at the fire and adding fresh fuel. A few minutes werespent by the French _voyageurs_ in prayer, and then the rest of theparty being roused, the tents were struck, and our early meal,consisting of fried dampers and fish, biscuits, with hot coffee and tea,sweetened, but without milk, enjoyed. The canoes were then launched.

  "No frying-pans, hatchets, or other valuables left behind?" sang outTrevor, who acted as commander-in-chief.

  Each man examined the property committed to his charge, and all beingfound right, we paddled down the stream as usual.

  Here let me advise those engaged in similar expeditions to be carefulabout such trifles, for a party may be brought to a standstill, andlives endangered, by the loss of articles which may appear, at themoment, of little value.

  Now and then we came to rapids which it was deemed tolerably safe toshoot. We had performed this feat twice when we came to another. Wehad got through the greater part when, as we were dashing on amid thefoam, the stern swiftly turning round, we grazed a rock.

  "A narrow shave!" I exclaimed, thinking we were safe, but Peter's cryof--

  "Oh, sir! oh, sir! the water is a running in, and we shall all bedrowned!"

  "Stick your thumb into it," cried Trevor, from the other canoe, whichwas just ahead, and had escaped all danger. This the lad did literally,but the water spouted up all round his arm.

  "Never mind," exclaimed "Longshot," the chief of my canoe, "we shall goon till the next portage."

  But the water kept rising and rising till we had three inches of itinside the canoe. This was more than I bargained for, and as the cargowould be injured even if we did not sink, I insisted on landing. Thechief trouble was unlading the canoe; for a piece of bark sewed on withwattap, and covered over with gum melted with a burning stick, soonrepaired the damage.

  Thus we made good three hundred and eighty-one miles, counting thesinuosities of the course, and found ourselves encamped on thenorth-west corner of the beautiful Lake of the Woods. I say beautiful,for no part of North America presents more lovely and picturesque lakescenery--here bare precipitous rocks, there abrupt timbered hills ofevery form, and gentle wooded slopes and open grassy areas, whileislands of every variety of form and size dot the blue expanse.

  There was the usual fog resting on the surface of the lake as I turnedout in the morning before the rest of the party, whom I was about torouse up, when my ear caught the sound of paddles approaching the camp.That they were Indians there could be no doubt, and I thought that theywere probably on a journey and would pass by without observing us.Swiftfoot had not given the Wood Indians of this district the best ofcharacters, yet, as they had always shown a friendly disposition towardsthe English, we heard, we had no cause to apprehend danger from them.Still, I knew
that it was necessary when travelling in those regions tobe on our guard, and I therefore stood still, expecting to hear thesound of the paddles gradually decrease as they passed by. Suddenly,however, a light puff of wind lifted the veil of mist, and exposed toview nearly a dozen large canoes filled with painted andfeather-bedecked Indians, evidently a war-party, and coming directly forour camp.

  "Indians! Quick, to your feet!" I shouted out, having no fancy to bemurdered through too much ceremony, or by putting over-confidence in aband of savages.

  In an instant Trevor stood with his revolver in one hand and hisfowling-piece in the other, ready to do battle. Peter, with his fistsdoubled, and the rest with their different weapons prepared for use,while Ready showed his teeth and barked furiously to make amends for hisprevious carelessness.

  On seeing our preparations a young chief stood up in the bow of theleading canoe, and waving his hand, stated that he was coming on apeaceable errand.

  "My father, the chief, will be here anon--he sent me on to announce hiscoming."

  Finding that resistance would be almost hopeless if they meant evil,putting the best face we could on matters, we begged the young chief toland and sit down and smoke the calumet of peace, or, as Trevorexpressed it, "take his pipe and make himself at home." He was atalkative youngster, and seemed very proud of having killed two or threemen in a war expedition against the Sioux, from which he had justreturned, exhibiting to our unpleased eyes the fresh scalps he hadtaken. We found that he had brought them all down at long shots.Indeed, Red-men, notwithstanding all that has been said in their praiseby novel writers, have a very unheroic notion of fighting. Trevorcalled it an "unsportsmanlike way of bagging their game."

  Our blood-thirsty young acquaintance smoked several pipes, drank a quartof tea, and talked of affairs in general, but left us as much in thedark as ever as to the reason of his coming, though he informed us thatour fire had been seen in the evening; but that, unwilling to disturbus, he had postponed his visit till daylight. His followers had,meantime, landed and squatted round us in the most amicable manner--mydog Ready being the only one of the party who exhibited any hostilefeeling, and he was in no way satisfied with the appearance of theill-looking war-begrimed strangers. Our principal annoyance arose frombeing unable to proceed, which we could not venture to do till theappearance of the chief. At length his fleet of nearly twenty canoeshove in sight, and he soon landed, and with all the pomp and dignity hecould assume, demanded the reason of our passing through his country.We replied, through Swiftfoot, that we were on a journey of pleasure,desiring to pass on to the big sea in the far-west, to hunt the buffalo,and shoot a grizzly if we could; in fact, to inspect the country andkill time.

  After listening attentively, he gave a significant "ugh!" observing thatwe might or might not be speaking the truth, but that certainly we weremore likely to meet pain than pleasure, that too many buffalo werehunted already, but that was no business of his, and that as togrizzlies, he knew nothing of them in his part of the country, nor of abig lake in the far-west, and that we could kill time far better athome; but there was one thing he did know, that the white people haddeceived the Red-men so often, and had occupied their lands, so thatwith his will no one should pass through his country, which lay betweenthe Lake of the Woods and the Red River. We took a few minutes todeliberate what to say, and then instructed Swiftfoot to inform thechief that he was a very wise man, but that he was labouring under oneslight error, the fact being that the whole country belonged to theQueen of England, that he and his people were her subjects, and that sowere we; that she desired all her subjects to be friendly to each other;that she was very angry with those who were not, and made presents tothose who were; that we should set a good example by not passing throughthe country he claimed, though we were afraid she might be very muchvexed at hearing of his want of courtesy, still to show him of ourfriendly disposition we proposed presenting him with some tobacco,hatchets, and blankets, although we had not come provided with presents.He looked completely taken aback on hearing this, and ended by sendingtwo of his young men as guides down the Winnipeg River, the course wehad intended to pursue.

  We visited an island in the lake, a large portion of which wascultivated, and produced Indian corn, potatoes, squashes, and pumpkins;pigeons and a variety of birds flew over our heads, and fish swarmed inthe lakes and streams we passed through. We stopped on our way at twoor three Hudson's Bay Company's trading-posts. They are generallysituated on commanding positions, surrounded by stockades which wouldserve to keep out a predatory party of Indians. We also visited amissionary station, that of Islington, established by an English lady,Mrs Sandon, of Bath. The missionary, Mr Macdonald, has long labouredamong the Red-men, instructing them in the truths of the Gospel,teaching them agriculture, and educating their children in his schoolswith more success generally than the adults.

  It took us nearly three weeks to voyage from Fort William to the mouthof the Red River, which we reached by a traverse across Lake Winnipeg.We ascended that river to a settlement of Christian Indians, presidedover by an English clergyman, where we left our canoes and boatmen tillwe should again require them, and proceeded up, on horseback, to themain settlements, some rapids impeding this part of the navigation ofthe Red River.

  In contrast to the wild scenery through which we had so long beentravelling, the Selkirk settlements presented an aspect of civilisationand advancement which we had not expected. There were good roads,houses, churches, schools, mills, stores, large farms and small farms,and a cathedral and nunnery belonging to the Roman Catholics. There isno town in the settlement, but there is a large, tolerably strong fort,that of Fort Garry, on the point of land where the Assiniboine Riverfalls into the Red River, and for twenty miles or so, on the banks ofthe two streams, the buildings I have described have been raised ingroups or knots, forming separate hamlets, with, in most instances, achurch and school-house for each. I might give a long and interestingaccount of the settlement, but such is not my aim. I will merely remarkthat the farms were well-stocked, and showed a variety and an abundanceof produce; that horses and cattle lived out and grew fat on the nativegrasses throughout the winter, that so too did pigs in the woods onacorns and roots; and that all the inhabitants required to becomewealthy and prosperous, was a regular market for their produce.