It is but a few years since, that Captain Keelshies, who is frequently mentioned in this Journal, took twelve of these people under his charge, all heavy laden with the most valuable furrs; and long before they arrived at the Fort, he and the rest of his crew had got all the furrs from them, in payment for provisions for their support, and obliged them to carry the furrs on their account.
On their arrival at Prince of Wales’s Fort, Keelshies laid claim to great merit for having brought those strangers, so richly laden, to the Factory, and assured the Governor that he might, in future, expect a great increase in trade from that quarter, through his interest and assiduity. One of the strangers was dubbed with the name of Captain, and treated accordingly, while at the Fort; that is, he was dressed out in the best manner; and at his departure, both himself and all his countrymen were loaded with presents, in hopes that they would not only repeat the visit themselves, but by displaying so much generosity, many of their countrymen would be induced to accompany them.
There seems to be great propriety in the conduct of the Governor(9) on this occasion; but however well-intended, it had quite the contrary effect, for Keelshies and the rest of his execrable gang, not content with sharing all the furs those poor people had carried to the Fort, determined to get also all the European goods that had been given to them by the Governor. As neither Keelshies nor any of his gang had the courage to kill the Copper Indians, they concerted a deep-laid scheme for their destruction; which was to leave them on an island. With this view, when they got to the proposed spot, the Northern Indians took care to have all the baggage belonging to the Copper Indians ferried across to the main, and having stripped them of such parts of their clothing as they though worthy their notice, went off with all the canoes, leaving them all behind on the island, where they perished for want. When I was on my journey to the Fort in June one thousand seven hundred and seventy-two, I saw the bones of those poor people, and had the foregoing account from my guide Matonabbee; but it was not made known to the Governor for some years afterward, for fear of prejudicing him against Keelshies.
A similar circumstance had nearly happened to a Copper Indian who accompanied me to the Fort in one thousand seven hundred and seventy-two: after we were all ferried across Seal River, and the poor man’s bundle of furrs on the South-side, he was left alone on the opposite shore; and no one except Matonabbee would go over for him. The wind at that time blew so hard, that Matonabbee stripped himself quite naked, to be ready for swimming in case the canoe should overset; but he soon brought the Copper Indian safe over, to the no small mortification of the wretch who had the charge of him, and who would gladly have possessed the bundle of furrs at the expence of the poor man’s life.
When the Northern Indians returned from the Factory that year, the above Copper Indian put himself under the protection of Matonabbee, who accompanied him as far North as the latitude 64°, where they saw some Copper Indians, among whom was the young man’s father, into whose hands Matonabbee delivered him in good health, with all his goods safe, and in good order.
Soon after we had left the Copper–mine, there came on a thick fog with rain, and at intervals heavy showers of snow. This kind of weather continued for some days; and at times it was so thick, that we were obliged to stop for several hours together, as we were unable to see our way, and the road was remarkably rocky and intricate.
July 22d — At three o’clock in the morning of the twenty-second, Matonabbee’s brother and one of the Copper Indians, who had been first dispatched a –head from Congecathawhachaga, overtook us. During their absence they had not discovered any Indians who could have been serviceable to my expedition. They had, however, been at the Copper River, and seeing some marks set up there to direct them to return, they had made the best of their way, and had not slept from the time they left the river till they joined us, though the distance was not less than a hundred miles. When they arrived we were asleep, but we soon awakened, and began to proceed on our journey. That day we walked forty-two miles; and in our way passed Buffalo Lake: at night, we put up about the middle of the Stony Mountains. The weather was excessively hot and sultry.
23d — On the twenty-third, the weather continued much the same as on the preceding day. Early in the morning we set out, and walked forty-five miles the first day, during which the Indians killed several fine fat buck deer.
24th — About one o’clock in the morning of the twenty-fourth, we stopped and took a little refreshment, as we had also done about noon the preceding day; but the Indians had been so long from their wives and families, that they promised not to sleep till they saw them, especially as we were then in sight of the hills of Congecathawhachaga, where we had left the last of them. After resting about an hour, we proceeded on our way, and at six in the morning we arrived at Congecathawhachaga; when, to our great disappointment, we found that all our women had got set across the river before the Copper Indians left that part; so that when we arrived, not an Indian was to be found, except an old man and his family, who had arrived in our absence, and was waiting at the crossing-place with some furrs for Matonabbee, who was so nearly related to the old man as to be his son-in-law, having one of his daughters for a wife. The old man had another with him, who was also offered to the great man, but not accepted.
Our stay at this place may be said to have been of very short duration; for on seeing a large smoke to the Southward, we immediately crossed the river, and walked towards it, when we found that the women had indeed been there some days before, but were gone; and at their departure had set the moss on fire, which was then burning, and occasioned the smoke we had seen. By this time the afternoon was far advanced; we pursued, however, our course in the direction which the women took, for their track we could easily discover in the moss. We had not gone far, before we saw another smoke at a great distance, for which we shaped our course; and, notwithstanding we redoubled our pace, it was eleven o’clock at night before we reached it; when, to our great mortification, we found it to be the place where the women had slept the night before; having in the morning, at their departure, set fire to the moss which was then burning.
July 25th — The Indians, finding that their wives were so near as to be within one of their ordinary day’s walk, which seldom exceeded ten or twelve miles, determined not to rest till they had joined them. Accordingly we pursued our course, and about two o’clock in the morning of the twenty-fifth, came up with some of the women, who had then pitched their tents by the side of Cogead Lake.
From our leaving the Copper-mine River to this time we had travelled so hard, and taken so little rest by the way, that my feet and legs had swelled considerably, and I had become quite stiff at the ankles. In this situation I had so little power to direct my feet when walking, that I frequently knocked them against the stones with such force, as not only to jar and disorder them, but my legs also; and the nails of my toes were bruised to such a degree, that several of them festered and dropped off. To add to this mishap, the skin was entirely chafed off from the tops of both my feet, and between every toe; so that the sand and gravel, which I could by no means exclude, irritated the raw parts so much, that for a whole day before we arrived at the women’s tents, I left the print of my feet in blood almost at every step I took. Several of the Indians began to complain that their feet also were sore; but, on examination, not one of them was the twentieth part in so bad a state as mine.
This being the first time I had been in such a situation, or seen any body foot-foundered, I was much alarmed, and under great apprehensions for the consequences. Though I was but little fatigued in body, yet the excruciating pain I suffered when walking, had such an effect on my spirits, that if the Indians had continued to travel two or three days longer at that unmerciful rate, I must unavoidably have been left behind; for my feet were in many places quite honey-combed, by the dirt and gravel eating into the raw flesh.
As soon as we arrived at the women’s tents, the first thing I did, was to wash and clean my fe
et in warm water; then I bathed the swelled parts with spirits of wine, and dressed those that were raw with Turner’s cerate; soon after which I betook myself to rest. As we did not move on the following day, I perceived that the swelling abated, and the raw parts of my feet were not quite so much inflamed. This change for the better gave me the strongest assurance that rest was the principal thing wanted to effect a speedy and complete cure of my painful, though in reality very simple disorder, (foot-foundering,) which I had before considered to be an affair of greatest consequence.
July 27th — Rest, however, though essential to my speedy recovery, could not at this time be procured; for as the Indians were desirous of joining the remainder of their wives and families as soon as possible, they would not stop even a single day; so that on the twenty-seventh we again began to move; and though they moved at the rate of eight or nine miles a day, it was with the utmost difficulty that I could follow them. Indeed the weather proved remarkably fine and pleasant, and the ground was in general pretty dry, and free from stones; which contributed greatly to my ease in walking, and enabled me to keep up with the natives.
31st — On the thirty-first of July, we arrived at the place where the wives and families of my companions had been ordered to wait our return from the Copper-mine River. Here we found several tents of Indians; but those belonging to Matonabbee, and some others of my crew, had not arrived. We saw, however, a large smoke to the Eastward, which we supposed had been made by them, as no other Indians were expected from that quarter. Accordingly, the next morning, Matonabbee sent some of his young men in quest of them, and on the fifth, they all joined us; when, contrary to expectation, a great number of other Indians were with them; in all, to the amount of more than forty tents. Among those Indians, was the man who Matonabbee stabbed when we were at Clowey. With the greatest submission, he led his wife to Matonabbee’s tent, set her down by his side, and retired, without saying a word. Matonabbee took no notice of her, though she was bathed in tears; and by degrees, after reclining herself on her elbow for some time, she lay down, and sobbing, said, see’d dinne, see’d dinne! Which is, My husband, my husband! On which Matonabbee told her, that if she had respected him as such, she would not have run away from him; and that she was at liberty to go where she pleased. On which she got up, with seeming reluctance, though most assuredly with a light heart, and returned to her former husband’s tent.
CHAPTER 7
August 1771 to December 24th, 1771
Remarks from the Time the Women joined us till our Arrival at the Athapuscow Lake.
Several of the Indians sick.–Method used by the conjurers to relieve one man, who recovers.–Matonabbee and his crew proceed to the South West.–Most of the other Indians separate, and go their respective ways.–Pass by White Stone Lake.–Many deer killed merely for their skins.–Remarks thereon, and on the deer, respecting seasons and places.–Arrive at Point Lake.–One of the Indian’s wives being sick, is left behind, to perish above-ground.–Weather very bad, but deer plenty.–Stay some time at Point Lake to dry meat, etc.–Winter set in.–Superstitious customs observed by my companions, after they had killed the Esquimaux at Copper River.–A violent gale of wind oversets my tent and breaks my quadrant.–Some Copper and Dog-ribbed Indians join us.–Indians propose to go to the Athapuscow Country to kill moose.–Leave Point Lake, and arrive at the wood’s edge.–Arrive at Anawd Lake.–Transactions there.–Remarkable instance of a man cured of the palsy by the conjurers.–Leave Anawd Lake.–Arrive at the great Athapuscow Lake.
1771 August — Several of the Indians being very ill, the conjurers, who are always the doctors, and pretend to perform great cures, began to try their skill to effect their recovery. Here it is necessary to remark, that they use no medicine either for internal or external complaints, but perform all their cures by charms. In ordinary cases, sucking the part affected, blowing, and singing to it; haughing, spitting, and at the same time uttering a heap of unintelligible jargon, compose the whole process of the cure. For some inward complaints; such as, griping in the intestines, difficulty of making water, etc. it is very common to see those jugglers blowing into the anus, or into the parts adjacent, till their eyes are almost starting out of their heads: and this operation is performed indifferently on all, without regard either to age or sex. The accumulation of so large a quantity of wind is at times apt to occasion some extraordinary emotions, which are not easily suppressed by a sick person; and as there is no vent for it by the channel through which it was conveyed thither, it sometimes occasions an odd scene between the doctor and his patient; which I once wantonly called an engagement, but for which I was afterward exceedingly sorry, as it highly offended several of the Indians; particularly the juggler and sick person, both of whom were men I much esteemed, and, except in that moment of levity, it had ever been no less my inclination than my interest to shew them every respect that my situation would admit.
I have often admired the great pains these jugglers take to deceive their credulous countrymen, while at the same time they are indefatigably industrious and persevering in their efforts to relieve them. Being naturally not very delicate, they frequently continue their windy process so long, that I have more than once seen the doctor quit his patient with his face and breast in a very disagreeable condition. However laughable this may appear to an European, custom makes it very indecent, in their opinion, to turn any thing of the kind to ridicule.
When a friend for whom they have a particular regard is, as they suppose, dangerously ill, beside the above methods, they have recourse to another very extraordinary piece of superstition; which is no less than that of pretending to swallow hatchets, ice-chissels, broad bayonets, knives, and the like; out of a superstitious notion that undertaking such desperate feats will have some influence in appeasing death, and procure a respite for their patient.
On such extraordinary occasions a conjuring-house is erected, by driving the ends of four long small sticks, or poles, into the ground at right angles, so as to form a square of four, five, six, or seven feet, as may be required. The tops of the poles are tied together, and all is close covered with a tent-cloth or other skin, exactly in the shape of a small square tent, except that there is no vacancy left at the top to admit the light. In the middle of this house, or tent, the patient is laid, and is soon followed by the conjurer, or conjurers. Sometimes five or six of them give their joint-assistance; but before they enter, they strip themselves quite naked, and as soon as they get into the house, the door being well closed, they kneel round the sick person or persons, and begin to suck and blow at the parts affected, and then in a very short space of time sing and talk as if conversing with familiar spirits, which they say appear to them in the shape of different beasts and birds of prey. When they have had sufficient conference with those necessary agents, or shadows, as they term them, they ask for the hatchet, bayonet, or the like, which is always prepared by another person, with a long string fastened to it by the haft, for the convenience of hauling it up again after they have swallowed it; for they very wisely admit this to be a very necessary precaution, as hard and compact bodies, such as iron and steel, would be very difficult to digest, even by the men who are enabled to swallow them. Besides, as those tools are in themselves very useful, and not always to be procured, it would be very ungenerous in the conjurers to digest them, when it is known that barely swallowing them and hauling them up again is fully sufficient to answer every purpose that is expected from them.
August 6th — At the time when the forty and odd tents of Indians joined us, one man was so dangerously ill, that it was thought necessary the conjurers should use some of those wonderful experiments for his recovery; one of them therefore immediately consented to swallow a broad bayonet. Accordingly, a conjuring-house was erected in the manner above described, into which the patient was conveyed, and he was soon followed by the conjurer, who, after a long preparatory discourse, and the necessary conference with his familiar spirits, or shadows, as they call them
, advanced to the door and asked for the bayonet, which was then ready prepared, by having a string fastened to it, and a short piece of wood tied to the other end of the string, to prevent him from swallowing it. I could not help observing that the length of the bit of wood was not more than the breadth of the bayonet: however, as it answered the intended purpose, it did equally well as if it had been as long as a handspike.
Though I am not so credulous as to believe that the conjurer absolutely swallowed the bayonet, yet I must acknowledge that in the twinkling of any eye he conveyed it to—God knows where; and the small piece of wood, or one exactly like it, was confined close to his teeth. He then paraded backward and forward before the conjuring-house for a short time, when he feigned to be greatly disordered in his stomach and bowels; and, after making many wry faces, and groaning most hideously, he put his body into several distorted attitudes, very suitable to the occasion. He then returned to the door of the conjuring-house, and after making many strong efforts to vomit, by the help of the string he at length, and after tugging at it some time, produced the bayonet, which apparently he hauled out of his mouth, to the no small surprise of all present. He then looked round with an air of exultation, and strutted into the conjuring-house, where he renewed his incantations, and continued them without intermission twenty-four hours. Though I was not close to his elbow when he performed the above feat, yet I thought myself near enough (and I can assure my readers I was all attention) to have detected him. Indeed I must confess that it appeared to me to be a very nice piece of deception, especially as it was performed by a man quite naked.
A Journey to the Northern Ocean Page 17
