A Journey to the Northern Ocean

by Samuel Hearne

  The lesser stomach, or, as some call it, the many-folds, either of buffalo, moose, or deer, are usually eat raw, and are very good; but that of the moose, unless great care be taken in washing it, is rather bitter, owing to the nature of their food.

  The kidneys of both moose and buffalo are usually eat raw by the Southern Indians; for no sooner is one of those beasts killed, than the hunter rips up its belly, thrusts in his arm, snatches out the kidneys, and eats them warm, before the animal is quite dead. They also at times put their mouths to the wound the ball has made, and suck the blood; which they say quenches thirst, and is very nourishing.

  3 They frequently sell new nets, which have not been wet more than once or twice, because they have not been successful. Those nets, when soaked in water, are easily opened, and then make most excellent heel and toe netting for snow-shoes. In general it is far superior to the netting cut by the Southern Indian women, and is not larger than common net-twine.

  4 In the Summer of 1756, a party of Northern Indians lay in wait at Knapp’s Bay till the sloop had sailed out of the harbour, when they fell on the poor Esquimaux, and killed every soul. Mr. John Bean, then Master of the sloop, and since Master of the Trinity yacht, with all his crew, heard the guns very plain; but did not know the meaning or reason of it till the Summer following, when he found the shocking remains of more than forty Esquimaux, who had been murdered in that cowardly manner; and for no other reason but because two principal Northern Indians had died in the preceding Winter.

  No Esquimaux were seen at Knapp’s Bay for several years after; and those who trade there at present have undoubtedly been drawn from the Northward, since the above unhappy transaction; for the convenience of being nearer the woods, as well as being in the way of trading with the sloop that calls there annually. It is to be hoped that the measures taken by the Governors at Prince of Wales’s Fort of late years, will effectually prevent any such calamities happening in future, and by degrees be the means of bringing about a lasting, friendly, and reciprocal interest between the two nations.

  Notwithstanding the pacific and friendly terms which begin to dawn between those two tribes at Knapp’s Bay, Navel’s Bay, and Whale Cove, farther North hostilities continue, and most barbarous murders are perpetrated: and the only protection the Esquimaux have from the fury of their enemies, is their remote situation in the Winter, and their residing chiefly on islands and peninsulas in Summer, which renders them less liable to be surprised during that season. But even this secluded life does not prevent the Northern Indians from harassing them greatly, and at times they are so closely pursued as to be obliged to leave most of their goods and utensils to be destroyed by their enemy; which must be a great loss, as these cannot be replaced but at the expence of much time and labour; and the want of them in the mean time must create much distress both to themselves and their families, as they can seldom procure any part of their livelihood without the assistance of a considerable apparatus.

  In 1756, the Esquimaux at Knapp’s Bay sent two of their youths to Prince of Wales’s Fort in the sloop, and the Summer following they were carried back to their friends, loaded with presents, and much pleased with the treatment they received while at the Fort. In 1767, they again sent one from Knapp’s Bay and one from Whale Cove; and though during their stay at the Fort they made a considerable progress both in the Southern Indian and the English Languages, yet those intercourses have not been any ways advantageous to the Company, by increasing the trade from that quarter. In fact, the only satisfaction they have found for the great expence they have from time to time incurred, by introducing those strangers, is, that through the good conduct of their upper servants at Churchill River, they have at length so far humanized the hearts of those two tribes, that at present they can meet each other in a friendly manner; whereas, a few years since, whenever they met, each party premeditated the destruction of the other; and what made their war more shocking was, they never gave quarter: so that the strongest party always killed the weakest, without sparing either man, woman, or child.

  It is but a few years ago that the sloop’s crew who annually carried them all their wants, durst not venture on shore among the Esquimaux unarmed, for fear of being murdered; but latterly they are so civilized, that the Company’s servants visit their tents with the greatest freedom and safety, are always welcome, and desired to partake of such provisions as they have: and knowing now our aversion from train-oil, they take every means in their power to convince our people that the victuals prepared for them is entirely free from it. But the smell of their tents, cooking-utensils, and other furniture, is scarcely less offensive than Greenland Dock. However, I have eaten both fish and venison cooked by them in so cleanly a manner, that I have relished them very much, and partaken of them with a good appetite.

  5 Their ideas in this respect are founded on a principle one would not imagine. Experience has shewn them, that when a hairy deer-skin is briskly stroked with the hand in a dark night, it will emit many sparks of electrical fire, as the back of a cat will. The idea which the Southern Indians have of this meteor is equally romantic, though more pleasing, as they believe it to be the spirits of their departed friends dancing in the clouds; and when the Aurora Borealis is remarkably bright, at which time they vary most in colour, form, and situation, they say, their deceased friends are very merry.

  6 Afterwards Governor.

  7 Master of the Churchill sloop.

  8 I must her observe, that when we went to war with the Esquimaux at the Copper River in July 1771, it was by no means his proposal: on the contrary, he was forced into it by his countrymen, For I have heard him say, that when he first visited that river, in company with I-dot-le-aza, they met with several Esquimaux; and so far from killing them, were very friendly to them, and made them small presents of such articles as they could best spare, and that would be of most use to them. It is more than probable that the two bits of iron found among the plunder while I was there, were part of those presents. There were also a few long beads found among those people, but quite different from any that the Hudson’s Bay Company had ever sent to the Bay: so that the only probable way they could have come by them, must have been by an intercourse with some of their tribe, who had dealings with the Danes in Davis’s Straits. It is very probable, however, they might have passed through many hands before they reached this remote place. Had they had an immediate intercourse with the Esquimaux in Davis’s Straits, it is natural to suppose that iron would not have been so scarce among them as it seemed to be; indeed the distance is too great to admit of it.

  9 I have seen two Northern Indians who measured six feet three inches; and one, six feet four inches.

  10 The same person was at Prince of Wales’s Fort when the French arrived on the 8th of August 1782, and saw them demolish the Fort.

  CHAPTER 10

  1 It is rather singular that the Polar Bears are seldom found on the land during the Winter, on which account it is supposed they go out on the ice, and keep near the edge of the water during that season, while the females that are pregnant seek shelter at the skirts of the woods, and dig themselves dens in the deepest drifts of snow they can find, where they remain in a state of inactivity, and without food, from the latter end of December or January, till the latter end of March; at which time they leave their dens, and bend their course towards the sea with their cubs; which, in general, are two in number. Notwithstanding the great magnitude of those animals when full grown, yet their young are not larger than rabbits, and when they leave their dens, in March, I have frequently seen them not larger than a white fox, and their steps on the snow not bigger than a crown-piece, when those of their dam measured near fifteen inches long, and nine inches broad. They propagate when young, or at least before they are half-grown; for I have killed young females not larger than a London calf, with milk in their teats; whereas some of the full grown ones are heavier than the largest of our common oxen. Indeed I was once at the killing of one, when one of its hind fee
t being cut off at the ankle, weighed fifty-four pounds. The males have a bone in their penis, as a dog has, and of course unite in copulation; but the time of their courtship is, I believe, not exactly known: probably it may be in July or August, for at those times I have often been at the killing them, when the males were so attached to their mistresses, that after the female was killed, the male would put his two fore-paws over, and suffer himself to be shot before he would quit her. I have frequently seen and killed those animals near twelve leagues from the land; but as the Fall of the year advances, they are taught by instinct to seek the shore. Though such a tremendous animal, they are very shy of coming near a man; but when closely pursued in the water, they frequently attack the boat, seize the oars, and wrest them from the hands of the strongest man, seeming desirous to get on board; but the people on those occasions are always provided with fire-arms and hatchets, to prevent such an unwelcome visit. The flesh of this animal, when killed in Winter, (if not too old,) is far from being unpleasant eating; and the young cubs, in the Spring, are rather delicate than otherwise. The tits of the females are only two in number, and are placed between the fore-legs. The best Drawing of this Animal I have seen, is that done by Mr. Webber, among the Plates of Cook’s last Voyage.

  2 The insects here spoken of are of two kinds; the one is nearly black, its skin hard like a beetle, and not very unlike a grasshopper, and darts through the water with great ease, and with some degree of velocity. The other sort is brown, has wings, and is as soft as the common cleg-fly. The latter are the most numerous; and in some of the lakes such quantities of them are forced into the bays in gales of wind, and there pressed together in such multitudes, that they are killed, and remain there a great nuisance; for I have several times, in my inland voyages from York Fort, found it scarcely possible to land in some of those bays for the intolerable stench of those insects, which in some places were lying in putrid masses to the depth of two or three feet. It is more than probable, that the Bears occasionally feed on these dead insects.

  3 It is common for the Southern Indians to tame and domesticate the young cubs; and they are frequently taken so young that they cannot eat. On those occasions the Indians oblige their wives who have milk in their breasts to suckle them. And one of the Company’s servants, whose name is Isaac Batt, willing to be as great a brute as his Indian companions, absolutely forced one of his wives, who had recently lost her infant, to suckle a young Bear.

  4 Mr. Graham says they take their lodgings in the clefts of rocks, or in hollow trees. The former I acknowledge, but I believe that neither Mr. Graham nor any of the Company’s servants ever saw an instance of the latter. In fact, during all my travels in the interior parts of Hudson’s Bay, I never saw a hollow tree that was capable of affording shelter to any larger animal than martins, jackashes, or wejacks; much less the quiquehatch or bear, as some have asserted.

  5 The Otter is very fond of play; and one of their favourite pastimes is, to get on a high ridge of snow, bend their fore-feet backward, and slide down the side of it, sometimes to the distance of twenty yards.

  6 Mr. Graham asserts that this animal frequents the banks of creeks, and feeds on fish; but these are by no means their usual haunts. I have, however, no doubt, but when they find fish on the land, that they may eat it, like other carnivorous animals; but they are as shy of taking the water as a domestic cat. They climb trees, and catch partridges, mice, and rabbits, with as much ease as a martin. They are easily tamed and domesticated, are very fond of tea-leaves, have a pleasant musky smell, and are very playful.

  7 This information was given to Mr. Pennant from the authority of Mr. Graham; but the before-mentioned account of seeing them killed in all stages of pregnancy, when no symptoms of that kind appeared, will, I hope, be sufficient to clear up that mistake.

  8 In the Fall of the year 1768, a fine rock cod was drove on shore in a high gale of wind, and was eaten at the Governor’s table; Messrs. William Wales and Joseph Dymond, who went out to observe the transit of Venus which happened on the 3rd. of June 1769, partook of it; but I never heard of one being caught with a hook, nor ever saw an entire fish of that description in those parts: their jaw-bones are, however, frequently found on the shores.

  9 I have heard that no Whale caught by our Greenland ships is called a Pay-fish; that is, that no emolument arises to the harpooner that strikes it; unless the longest blade of the bone, usually called Whale-bone, measures six feet: whereas those killed in Hudson’s Bay seldom measured more than four feet and an half.

  10 This I assert from my own experience when at Cumberland House.

  11 Mr. Dragge observes, in his North West Passage, that when the partridges begin to change colour, the first brown feathers appear in the rump; but this is so far from being a general rule, that an experienced Hudsonian must smile at the idea. That Mr. Dragge never saw an instance of this kind I will not say, but when Nature deviates so far from its usual course, it is undoubtedly owing to some accident; and nothing is more likely than that the feathers of the bird Mr. Dragge had examined, had been struck off by a hawk; and as the usual season for changing their plumage was near, the Summer feathers supplied their place; for out of the many hundreds of thousands that I have seen killed, I never saw or heard of a similar instance.

  12 Besides the birds already mentioned, which form a constant dish at our tables in Hudson’s Bay, during their respective seasons, Mr. Jerome asserts, that during the time he was Governor at York Fort, the bustard was common. But since that Fort was delivered up to the English at the peace of Utrecht in 1713, none of the Company’s servants have ever seen one of those birds: nor does it appear by all the Journals now in the possession of the Hudson’s Bay Company, that any such bird was ever seen in the most Southern parts of the Bay, much less at York Fort, which is in the latitude 57° North; so that a capital error, or a wilful design to mislead, must have taken place. Indeed, his account of the country immediately where he resided, and the productions of it, are so erroneously stated as to deserve no notice. His colleague, De le Potries, asserts the existence of the bustard in those parts, and with an equal regard to truth.

  13 They exactly correspond with the bird described by Mr. Pennant, except that they are much longer.

  14 In the Fall of 1774, when I first settled at Cumberland House, the Indians imposed on me and my people very much, by selling us Pelican fat for the fat of the black bear. Our knowledge of the delicacy of the latter induced us to reserve this fat for particular purposes; but when we came to open the bladders, it was little superior to train oil, and was only eatable by a few of my crew, which at that time consisted only of eight Englishmen and two of the home Indians from York Fort.

  Cumberland House was the first inland settlement the Company made from Hudson’s Fort; and though begun on so small a scale, yet upon it and Hudson’s House, which is situated beyond it, upwards of seventy men were now employed.

  15 Mr. Pennant, in treating of the Whistling Swan, takes notice of the formation of the Windpipe; but on examination, the windpipes of both the species which frequent Hudson’s Bay are found to be exactly alike, though their note is quite different. The breast-bone of this bird is different from any other I have seen; for instead of being sharp and solid, like that of a goose, it is broad and hollow. Into this cavity the windpipe passes from the valve, and reaching quite down to the abdomen, returns into the chest, and joins the lungs. Neither of the species of Swan that frequent Hudson’s Bay are mute; but the note of the larger is much louder and harsher than that of the smaller.

  16 Mr. Moses Norton

  17 It is, however, no less true, that the late Mr. Humphry Martin, many years Governor of Albany Fort, sent home several hundred specimens of animals and plants to complete that collection; but by some mistake, nothing of the kind was placed to the credit of his account. Even my respected friend Mr. Pennant, who with a candour that does him honour, has so generously acknowledged his obligations to all to whom he thought he was indebted for inform
ation when he was writing his Arctic Zoology, (see the Advertisement,) has not mentioned his name; but I am fully persuaded that it entirely proceeded from a want of knowing the person; and as Mr. Hutchins succeeded him at Albany in the year 1774, every thing that has been sent over from that part has been placed to his account.

  18 The Indians call the Juniper-berry Caw-caw-cue-minick, or the Crowberry.

  19 The Oteagh-minick of the Indians, is so called, because it in some measure resembles a heart.

  INDEX

  Alarm Bird, 121

  Albany, Fort, 12, 279, 287, 294, 297

  Albany, Frigate, 2, 3

  Alder, 297

  American Traveller, The, 1, 2, 10, 12, 197

  Anaw’d Whoie or Indian Lake, 146

  Arctic Circle, xxviii, 98, 121

  Arctic Zoology, The, by Thos. Pennant, xxix, 238, 242, 248, 250, 287, 288

  Athapuscow country, 9, 11, 133, 197, 215, 230, 231, 268, 297

  Athapuscow Indians, 84, 144, 167, 174, 175, 177, 178, 179, 230, 231

  Athapuscow Lake, 75, 146, 152, 167, 168, 169, 174, 179, 180, 184

  Athapuscow River, 167, 178, 179, 180

  Atkinson, Mr., 278

  Aurora Borealis, 51, 152, 204, 227

  Back, George, xx, xxii

  Baker’s Lake, 9, 182

  Barble, 37, 59, 146, 168, 183, 216

  Barlow, Capt. George, 2, 3, 4, 5, 12

  Barton, Mr. (Bartram), 267

  Basquiau, 239, 287, 288

  Beaminster, xi

  Bean, Master John, 1, 4

  Bear, 100, 121, 193, 237, 247

  Bear, Black, 58, 237, 243-4

  Bear, Brown, 237, 245

  Bear, Grizzled, 237, 245

  Bear, Polar or White, 237, 241-3, 297

  Beaver, xi, xviii, xxiii, 17, 21-23, 31, 38, 66, 77, 144, 152, 154, 155-66, 168, 169, 170, 176, 178, 180, 184, 209, 211, 212, 217, 237, 243, 246, 249, 250, 254, 261