A Journey to the Northern Ocean

by Samuel Hearne

  The Indians are fond of taming those birds, and frequently keep them the whole Summer; but as the Winter approaches they generally take flight, and provide for themselves. When at Cumberland House I had one of them, of which my people were remarkably fond; and as it never wanted for food, would in all probability have remained with us all the Winter, had in not been killed by an Indian who did not know it to be tame.

  The beautiful species of WHITE or SNOWY OWL is common in all parts of Hudson’s Bay, as far North as the Copper-mine River. These birds, when flying or sitting, appear very large, but when killed, seldom weigh more than three and a half, or four pounds, and sometimes scarcely half that weight. They generally feed on mice and partridges, and are at times known to kill rabbits. They are, like the hawk, very troublesome to the sportsmen; and, contrary to any other bird that I know, have a great propensity to follow the report of a gun, and frequently follow the hunters (as they are usually called in Hudson’s Bay) the whole day. On those occasions they usually perch on high trees, and watch till a bird is killed, when they skim down and carry it off before the hunter can get near it; but in return, the hunters, when they see them on the watch, frequently decoy them within gun-shot, by throwing up a dead bird, which the Owl seldom refuses to accept; but the sportsman being fully provided for this visit, and on his guard, generally shoots them before they can carry off the partridge. They are, however, so great a hindrance to those employed on the hunting service, that the same premium is given for one of their heads as for that of a hawk.

  In Winter they are frequently very fat, their flesh delicately white, and generally esteemed good eating, both by English and Indians. Those Owls always make their nests on the ground, generally lay from three to four eggs, but seldom hatch more than two; and in the extreme North the young ones do not fly till September. They never migrate, but brave the coldest Winters, even on the barren ground, far remote from any woods; and in those situations perch on high rocks and stones, and watch for their prey.

  The species of GREY or MOTTLED OWL are by no means so numerous as the former, are something inferior in size, and always frequent the woods. They never go in search of their prey in the day-time, but perch on the tops of lofty pines, and are easily approached and shot. Their food is generally known to be mice and small birds, yet their flesh is delicately white, and nearly as good as a barn-door fowl; of course it is much esteemed both by the English and Indians. This species of Owl is called by the Southern Indians Ho-ho, and the former Wap-a-kee-thow.

  COB-A-DEE-COOCH. Besides those two species of Owls, there is another that remains in Hudson’s Bay all the year, and is called by the Indians Cob-a-dee-cooch. It is so far inferior in size to the two former, that it seldom weighs half a pound; is of a mottled brown, the feathers long, and of a most delicate soft and silky quality. In general this species feed on mice, and birds they find dead; and are so impudent at times, that they light on a partridge when killed by the hunter, but not being able to carry it off, are often obliged to relinquish the prize. Like the White Owl, at times, though but seldom, they follow the report of a gun, and by so frequently skimming round the sportsmen, frighten the game nearly as much as the hawk. They seldom go far from the woods, build in trees, and lay from two to four eggs. They are never fat, and their flesh is eaten only by the Indians.

  RAVENS of a most beautiful glossy black, richly tinged with purple and violet colour, are the constant inhabitants of Hudson’s Bay; but are so far inferior in size to the English Raven, that they are usually called Crows. They build their nests in lofty pine-trees, and generally lay four speckled eggs; they bring forth their young so early as the latter end of May, or the beginning of June. In Summer many of them frequent the barren grounds, several hundred miles from any woods; probably invited there by the multitudes of deer and musk-oxen that are killed by the Northern Indians during that season, merely for their skins, and who leave their flesh to rot, or be devoured by beasts or birds of prey. At those times they are very fat, and the flesh of the young ones is delicately white, and good eating. But in Winter they are, through necessity, obliged to feed on a black moss that grows on the pine-trees, also on deer’s dung, and excrements of other animals. It is true, they kill some mice, which they find in the surface of the snow, and catch many wounded partridges and hares; in some parts of the country they are a great nuisance to the hunter, by eating the game that is either caught in snares or traps. With all this assistance, they are in general so poor during the severe cold in Winter, as to excite wonder how they possibly can exist.

  Their faculty of scent must be very acute; for in the coldest days in Winter, when every kind of effluvia is almost instantaneously destroyed by the frost, I have frequently known buffaloes and other beasts killed where not one of those birds were seen; but in a few hours scores of them would gather about the spot to pick up the dung, blood, and other offal. An unarmed man may approach them very near when feeding, but they are shy of those that have a gun; a great proof that they smell the gunpowder. They are, however, frequently shot by guns set for foxes; and sometimes caught in traps built for martins. Though, on the whole, they may be called a shy bird, yet their necessities in Winter are so great, that, like the White Owl, they frequently follow the report of a gun, keep prudently at a distance from the sportsman, and frequently carry off many wounded birds. Their quills make most excellent pens for drawing, or for ladies to write with.

  The CINEREOUS CROW, or, as it is called by the Southern Indians, WHISK-E-JONISH, by the English WHISKY-JACK, and by the Northern Indians GEE-ZA, but as some pronounce it, and that with more propriety, JEE-ZA, thought classed among the Crows, is in reality so small, as seldom to weight three ounces; the plumage grey, the feathers very long, soft, and silky, and in general entirely unwebbed, and in some parts much resembles hair. This bird is very familiar, and fond of frequenting habitations, either houses or tents; and so much given to pilfering, that no kind of provisions it can come at, either fresh or salt, is safe from its depredation. It is so bold as to come into tents, and sit on the edge of the kettle when hanging over the fire, and steal victuals out of the dishes. It is very troublesome to the hunter, both English and Indian, frequently following them a whole day; it will perch on a tree while the hunter is baiting his martin-traps, and as soon as his back is turned go and eat the baits. It is a kind of mock-bird, and of course has a variety of notes; it is easily tamed, but never lives long in confinement. It is well known to be a provident bird, laying up great quantities of berries in Summer for a Winter stock; but its natural propensity to pilfer at all seasons makes it much detested both by the English and Indians. It builds its nest in trees, exactly like that of the blackbird and thrush; lays four blue eggs, but seldom brings more than three young ones.

  I know of only one sort of WOOD-PECKER that frequents the remote Northern parts of Hudson’s Bay; and this is distinguished by Mr. Pennant by the name of the Golden Winged Bird; but to the South West that beautiful species of Wood-pecker with a scarlet crown is very frequent. The manner of life of this species is nearly alike, always building their nests in holes in trees, and feeding on worms and insects. They generally have from four to six young at a time. They are said to be very destructive to fruit-trees that are raised in gardens in the more Southern parts of America; but the want of those luxuries in Hudson’s Bay renders them very harmless and inoffensive birds. The red feathers of the larger sort, which frequent the interior and Southern parts of the Bay, are much valued by some of the Indians, who ornament their pipe-stems with them, and at times use them as ornaments to their children’s clothing. Neither of the two species here mentioned ever migrate, but are constant inhabitants of the different climates in which they are found.

  There are several species of GROUSE in the different parts of Hudson’s Bay; but two of the largest, and one of them the most beautiful, never reach so far North as the latitude 59°: but as I have seen them in great plenty near Cumberland House, I shall take the liberty to describe them.<
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  The RUFFED GROUSE. This is the most beautiful of all that are classed under that name. They are of a delicate brown, prettily variegated with black and white: tail large and long, like that of a hawk, which is usually of an orange-colour, beautifully barred with black, chocolate, and white; and the tail is frequently expanded like a fan. To add to their beauty, they have a ruff of glossy black feathers, richly tinged with purple round the neck, which they can erect at pleasure: this they frequently do, but more particularly so when they spread their long tail, which gives them a noble appearance. In size they exceed a partridge, but are inferior to a pheasant. In Winter they are usually found perched on the branches of the pine-trees; and in that season are so tame as to be easily approached, and of course readily shot.

  They always make their nests on the ground, generally at the root of a tree, and lay to the number of twelve or fourteen eggs. In some of the Southern parts of America several attempts have been made to tame those beautiful birds, by taking their eggs and hatching them under domestic hens, but it was never crowned with success; for when but a few days old, they always make their escape into the woods, where they probably pick up a subsistence. Their flesh is delicately white and firm, and though they are seldom fat, they are always good eating, and are generally esteemed best when larded and roasted, or nicely boiled with a bit of bacon.

  There is something very remarkable in those birds, and I believe peculiar to themselves, which is that of clapping their wings with such a force, that at half a mile distance it resembles thunder. I have frequently heard them make that noise near Cumberland House in the month of May, but it was always before Sun-rise, and a little after Sun-set. It is said by Mr. Barton and Le Hontan, that they never clap in this manner but in the Spring and Fall, and I must acknowledge that I never heard them in Winter, though I have killed many of them in that season. The Indians informed me they never make that noise but when feeding, which is very probable; for it is notoriously known that all the species of Grouse feed very early in the mornings, and late in the afternoons. This species is called by some of the Indians bordering on Hudson’s Bay, Pus-pus-kee, and by others Pus-pus-cue.

  SHARP-TAILED GROUSE, or, as they are called in Hudson’s Bay, PHEASANT. Those birds are always found in the Southern parts of the Bay, are very plentiful in the interior parts of the country, and in some Winters a few of them are shot at York Fort, but never reach so far North as Churchill. In colour they are not very unlike that of the English hen pheasant; but the tail is short and pointed, like that of the common duck; and there is no perceivable difference in plumage between the male and female. When full-grown, and in good condition, they frequently weigh two pounds, and though the flesh is dark, yet it is juicy, and always esteemed good eating, particularly when larded and roasted. In Summer they feed on berries, and in Winter on the tops of the dwarf birch and the buds of the poplar. In the Fall they are tolerably tame, but in the severe cold more shy; frequently perch on the tops of the highest poplars, out of moderate gun-shot, and will not suffer a near approach. They sometimes, when disturbed in this situation, dive into the snow; but the sportsman is equally baulked in his expectations, as they force their way so fast under it as to raise flight many yards distant from the place they entered, and very frequently in a different direction to that from which the sportsman expects.(10) They, like the other species of grouse, make their nests on the ground, and lay from ten to thirteen eggs. Like the Ruffed Grouse, they are not to be tamed, as many trials have been made at York Fort, but without success; for though they never made their escape, yet they always died, probably for the want of proper food; for the hens that hatched them were equally fond of them, as they could possibly have been had they been the produce of their own eggs. This species of Grouse is called by the Southern Indians Aw-kis-cow.

  The WOOD PARTRIDGES have acquired that name in Hudson’s Bay from their always frequenting the forests of pines and fir; and in Winter feeding on the brush of those trees, though they are fondest of the latter. This species of Grouse is inferior in size and beauty to the Ruffed, yet may be called a handsome bird; the plumage being of a handsome brown, elegantly spotted with white and black. The tail is long, and tipped with orange; and the legs are warmly covered with short feathers, but the feet are naked. They are generally in the extreme with respect to shyness; sometimes not suffering a man to come within two gun-shots, and at others so tame that the sportsman may kill five or six out of one tree without shifting his station. They are seen in some years in considerable numbers near York Fort. They are very scarce at Churchill, though numerous in the interior parts, particularly on the borders of the Athapuscow Indians country, where I have seen my Indian companions kill many of them with blunt-headed arrows. In Winter their flesh is black, hard, and bitter, probably owing to the resinous quality of their food during that season; but this is not observed in the rabbits, though they feed exactly in the same manner in Winter: on the contrary, their flesh is esteemed more delicate than that of the English rabbit. The Southern Indians call this species of Partridge, Mistick-a-pethow; and the Northern Indians call it, Day.

  The WILLOW PARTRIDGES have a strong black bill, with scarlet eye-brows, very large and beautiful in the male, but less conspicuous in the female. In Summer they are brown, elegantly barred and mottled with orange, white, and black; and at that season the males are very proud and handsome, but the females are less beautiful, being of one universal brown. As the Fall advances they change to a delicate white, except fourteen black feathers in the tail, which are also tipped with white; and their legs and feet, quite down to the nails, are warmly covered with feathers. In the latter end of September and beginning of October they gather in flocks of some hundreds, and proceed from the open plains and barren grounds, (where they usually breed,) to the woods and brush-willows, where they hord together in a state of society, till dispersed by their common enemies, the hawks, or hunters. They are by far the most numerous of any of the Grouse species that are found in Hudson’s Bay; and in some places, when permitted to remain undisturbed for a considerable time, their number is frequently so great, as almost to exceed credibility. I shall by no means exceed truth, if I assert that I have seen upward of four hundred in one flock near Churchill River; but the greatest number I ever saw was on the North side of Port Nelson River, when returning with a packet in March one thousand seven hundred and sixty-eight: at that time I saw thousands flying to the North, and the whole surface of the snow seemed to be in motion by those that were feeding on the tops of the short willows. Sir Thomas Button mentions, that when he wintered in Port Nelson River in one thousand six hundred and twelve, his crew killed eighteen hundred dozen of those birds, which I have no reason to doubt; and Mr. Jeremie, formerly Governor at York Fort, when that place was in the possession of the French, and then called Fort Bourbon, asserts, that he and seventy-nine others eat not less than ninety thousand partridges and twenty-five thousand hares in the course of one Winter; which, considering the quantity of venison, geese, ducks, etc. enumerated in his account, that were killed that year, makes the number so great, that it is scarcely possible to conceive what eighty men could do with them; for on calculation, ninety thousand partridges and twenty-five thousand hares divided by eighty, amounts to no less than one thousand one hundred and twenty-five partridges, and three hundred and twelve hares per man. This is by far too great a quantity, particularly when it is considered that neither partridges nor hares are in season, or can be procured in any numbers, more than seven months in the year. Forty thousand partridges and five thousand hares, would, I think, be much nearer the truth, and will be found, on calculation, to be ample provision for eighty men for seven months, exclusive of any change. The common weight of those birds is from eighteen to twenty-two ounces when first killed; there are some few that are nearly that weight when fit for the spit, but they are so scarce as by no means to serve as a standard; and as they always hord with the common size, there is no room to suspect them of another species. A
s all those over-grown partridges are notoriously known to be males, it is more than probably that they are imperfect, and grow large and fat like capons; and every one that has had an opportunity of tasting those large partridges, will readily allow that they excel the common sort as much in flavour as they do in size. It is remarked in those birds, as well as the Rock Partridge, that they are provided with additional clothing, as it may be called; for every feather, from the largest to the smallest, except the quills and tail, are all double. The under-feather is soft and downy, shooting from the shaft of the larger; and is wonderfully adapted to their situation, as they not only brave the coldest Winters, but the species now under consideration always burrow under the snow at nights, and at day-light come forth to feed. In Winter they are always found to frequent the banks of rivers and creeks, the sides of lakes and ponds, and the plains which abound with dwarf willows; for it is on the buds and tops of that tree they always feed during the Winter. In Summer they eat berries and small herbage. Their food in Winter being so dry and harsh, makes it necessary for them to swallow a considerable quantity of gravel to promote digestion; but the great depth of snow renders it very scarce during that season. The Indians having considered this point, invented the method now in use among the English, of catching them in nets by means of that simple allurement, a heap of gravel. The nets for this purpose are from eight to twelve feet square, and are stretched in a frame of wood, and usually set on the ice of rivers, creeks ponds, and lakes, about one hundred yards from the willows, but in some situations not half that distance. Under the center of the net a heap of snow is thrown up to the size of one or two bushels, and when well packed is covered with gravel. To set the nets, when thus prepared, requires no other trouble than lifting up one side of the frame, and supporting it with two small props, about four feet long: a line is fastened to those props, and the other end being conveyed to the neighbouring willows, is always so contrived that a man can get to it without being seen by the birds under the net. When everything is thus prepared, the hunters have nothing to do but go into the adjacent willows and woods, and when they start game, endeavour to drive them into the net, which at times is no hard task, as they frequently run before them like chickens; and sometimes require no driving, for as soon as they see the black heap of gravel on the white snow they fly streight towards it. The hunter then goes to the end of the line to watch their motions, and when he sees there are as many about the gravel as the net can cover, or as many as are likely to go under at that time, with a sudden pull he hawls down the stakes, and the net falls horizontally on the snow, and encloses the greatest part of the birds that are under it. The hunter then runs to the net as soon as possible, and kills all the birds by biting them at the back of the head. He then sets up the net, takes away all the dead game, and repeats the operation as often as he pleases, or as long as the birds are in good humour. By this simple contrivance I have known upwards of three hundred partridges caught in one morning by three persons; and a much greater number might have been procured had it been thought necessary. Early in the morning, just at break of day, and early in the afternoon, is the best time for this sport. It is common to get from thirty to seventy at one hawl; and in the Winter of one thousand seven hundred and eighty-six, Mr. Prince, then Master of a sloop at Churchill River, actually caught two hundred and four at two hawls. They are by no means equally plentiful every year; for in some Winters I have known them so scarce, that it was impossible to catch any in nets, and all that could be procured with the gun would hardly afford one day’s allowance per week to the men during the season; but in the Winter one thousand seven hundred and eighty-five, they were so plentiful near Churchill, and such numbers were brought to the Factory, that I gave upward of two thousand to the hogs. In the latter end of March, or the beginning of April, those birds begin to change from white to their beautiful Summer plumage, and the first brown feathers make their appearance on the neck,(11) and by degrees spread over the whole body; but their Summer dress is seldom complete till July. The feathers of those birds make excellent beds, and as they are the perquisite of the hunters, are usually sold to the Captains and Mates of the Company ships, at the easy rate of three pence per pound.