FOOTNOTES:

1771. July.

The Copper Indians set a great value on their native metal even to this day; and prefer it to iron, for almost every use except that of a hatchet, a knife, and an awl: for these three necessary implements, copper makes but a very poor substitute. When they exchange copper for iron-work with our trading Northern Indians, which is but seldom, the standard is an ice-chissel of copper for an ice-chissel of iron, or an ice-chissel and a few arrow-heads of copper, for a half-worn hatchet; but when they barter furrs with our Indians, the established rule is to give ten times the price for every thing they purchase that is given for them at the Company's Factory. Thus, a hatchet that is bought at the Factory for one beaver-skin, or one cat-skin, or three ordinary martins' skins, is sold to {177} those people at the advanced price of one thousandper cent.; they also pay in proportion, for knives, and every other smaller piece of iron-work. For a small brass kettle of two pounds, or two pounds and a half weight, they pay sixty martins, or twenty beaver in other kinds of furrs.[AS]If the kettles are not bruised, or ill-used in any other respect, the Northern traders have the conscience at times to exact something more. It is at this extravagant price that all the Copper and Dog-ribbed Indians, who traffic with our yearly traders, supply themselves with iron-work, &c.

1771. July.

From those two tribes our Northern Indians used formerly to purchase most of the furrs they brought to the Company's Factory; for their own country produced very few of those articles, and being, at that time, at war with the Southern Indians, they were prevented from penetrating far enough backwards to meet with many animals of the furr kind; so that deer-skins, and {178} such furrs as they could extort from the Copper and Dog-ribbed Indians, composed the whole of their trade; which, on an average of many years, and indeed tillvery lately, seldom or ever exceeded six thousandMade Beaver per annum.

1771. July.

At present happy it is for them, and greatly to the advantage of the Company, that they are in perfect peace, and live in friendship with their Southern neighbours. The good effect of this harmony is already so visible, that within a few years the trade from that quarter has increased many thousands of Made Beaver annually; some years even to the amount of eleven thousand skins.[AT]Besides {179} the advantage arising to the Company from this increase, the poor Northern Indians reap innumerable benefits from a fine and plentiful country, with the produce of which they annually load themselves for trade, without giving the least offence to the proper inhabitants.

1771. July.

Several attempts have been made to induce the Copper and Dog-ribbed Indians to visit the Company's Fort at Churchill River, and for that purpose many presents have been sent, but they never were attended with any success. And though several of the Copper Indians have visited Churchill, in the capacity of servants to the Northern Indians, and were generally sent back loaded with presents for their countrymen, yet the Northern Indians always plundered them of the whole soon after they left the Fort. This kind of treatment, added to the many inconveniences that attend so long a journey, are great obstacles in their way; otherwise it would be as possible for them to bring their own goods to market, as for the Northern Indians to go so far to purchase them on their own account, {180} and have the same distance to bring them as the first proprietors would have had. But it is a political scheme of our Northern traders to prevent such an intercourse, as it would greatly lessen their consequence and emolument. Superstition, indeed, will, in all probability, be a lasting barrier against those people ever having a settled communication with our Factory;as few of them chuse to travel in countries so remote from their own, under a pretence that the change of air and provisions (though exactly the same to which they are accustomed) are highly prejudicial to their health; and that not one out of three of those who have undertaken the journey, have ever lived to return. The first of these reasons is evidently no more than gross superstition; and though the latter is but too true, it has always been owing to the treachery and cruelty of the Northern Indians, who took them under their protection.

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, {181} 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.

1771. July.

There seems to be great propriety in the conduct of the Governor[AU]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 furrs 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 {182} thought 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 {183} whose hands Matonabbee delivered him in good health, with all his goods safe, and in good order.

1771. July.

Soon after we had left the Coppermine, 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.

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.

{184} 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.

1771. July.

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,[83]where we had left the last of them. After resting about an hour, we proceeded on our way, and at six in the morning 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, {185} 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.

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.[84]

1771. July.

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 {186} 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 anybody 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.

1771. July.

As soon as we arrived at the women's tents, the first thing I did, was to wash and clean my feet in {187} 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 cureof my painful, though in reality very simple disorder, (foot-foundering,) which I had before considered to be an affair of the greatest consequence.

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.

August. 1st.

5th.

1771. July.

On the thirty-first of July, we arrived at the place[85]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 {188} 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.

FOOTNOTES:[AM]Timain the Esquimaux language is a friendly word similar towhat cheer?[AN]When the fifteen Indians turned back at the Stony Mountains, they took two or three canoes with them; some of our crew that were sent a-head as messengers had not yet returned, which occasioned the number of our canoes to be so small.[71]Probably some form of the wide-rangingSalmo alpinus.—E. A. P.[AO]When the Esquimaux who reside near Churchill River travel in Winter, it is always from lake to lake, or from river to river, where they have formed magazines of provisions, and heaps of moss for firing. As some of those places are at a considerable distance from each other, and some of the lakes of considerable width, they frequently pitch their tents on the ice, and instead of having a fire, which the severity of the climate so much requires, they cut holes in the ice within their tents, and there sit and angle for fish; if they meet with any success, the fish are eaten alive out of the water; and when they are thirsty, water, their usual beverage, is at hand.When I first entered into the employment of the Hudson's Bay Company, it was as Mate of one of their sloops which was employed in trading with the Esquimaux: I had therefore frequent opportunities of observing the miserable manner in which those people live. In the course of our trade with them we frequently purchased several seal-skin bags, which we supposed were full of oil; but on opening them have sometimes found great quantities of venison, seals, and sea-horse paws, as well as salmon: and as these were of no use to us, we always returned them to the Indians, who eagerly devoured them, though some of the articles had been perhaps a whole year in that state; and they seemed to exult greatly in having so over-reached us in the way of trade, as to have sometimes one third of their bargain returned.This method of preserving their food, though it effectually guards it from the external air, and from the flies, does not prevent putrefaction entirely, though it renders its progress very slow. Pure train oil is of such a quality that it never freezes solid in the coldest Winters; a happy circumstance for those people, who are condemned to live in the most rigorous climate without the assistance of fire. While these magazines last, they have nothing more to do when hunger assails them, but to open one of the bags, take out a side of venison, a few seals, sea-horse paws, or some half-rotten salmon, and without any preparation, sit down and make a meal; and the lake or river by which they pitch their tent, affords them water, which is their constant drink. Besides the extraordinary food already mentioned, they have several other dishes equally disgusting to an European palate; I will only mention one, as it was more frequently part of their repast when I visited their tents, than any other, except fish. The dish I allude to, is made of the raw liver of a deer, cut in small pieces of about an inch square, and mixed up with the contents of the stomach of the same animal; and the farther digestion has taken place, the better it is suited to their taste. It is impossible to describe or conceive the pleasure they seem to enjoy when eating such unaccountable food: nay, I have even seen them eat whole handfuls of maggots that were produced in meat by fly-blows; and it is their constant custom, when their noses bleed by any accident, to lick their blood into their mouths, and swallow it. Indeed, if we consider the inhospitable part of the globe they are destined to inhabit, and the great distresses to which they are frequently driven by hunger in consequence of it, we shall no longer be surprized at finding they can relish any thing in common with the meanest of the animal creation, but rather admire the wisdom and kindness of Providence in forming the palates and powers of all creatures in such a manner as is best adapted to the food, climate, and every other circumstance which may be incident to their respective situations.It is no less true, that these people, when I first knew them, would not eat any of our provisions, sugar, raisins, figs, or even bread; for though some of them would put a bit of it into their mouths, they soon spit it out again with evident marks of dislike; so that they had no greater relish for our food than we had for theirs. At present, however, they will eat any part of our provisions, either fresh or salted; and some of them will drink a draft of porter, or a little brandy and water; and they are now so far civilized, and attached to the English, that I am persuaded any of the Company's servants who could habituate themselves to their diet and manner of life, might now live as secure under their protection, as under that of any of the tribes of Indians who border on Hudson's Bay.They live in a state of perfect freedom; no one apparently claiming the superiority over, or acknowledging the least subordination to another, except what is due from children to their parents, or such of their kin as take care of them when they are young and incapable of providing for themselves. There is, however, reason to think that, when grown up to manhood, they pay some attention to the advice of the old men, on account of their experience.[72]Several species inhabit the region; the commonest is the ringed or fetid seal (Phoca hispida).—E. A. P.[73]In the summer of 1821, fifty years after Hearne's visit, Sir John Franklin, accompanied by Sir John Richardson and Sir George Back, descended and surveyed the Coppermine River from Point Lake to the sea. He was at the Bloody Falls from the 15th to the 18th of July, exactly fifty years after Hearne, and found the latitude to be 67° 42' 35" N. He speaks of it as follows:"Several human skulls which bore the marks of violence, and many bones were strewed about the ground near the encampment, and as the spot exactly answers the description, given by Mr. Hearne, of the place where the Chipewyans who accompanied him perpetrated the dreadful massacre on the Esquimaux, we had no doubt of this being the place. This rapid is a sort of shelving cascade, about three hundred yards in length, having a descent of from ten to fifteen feet. It is bounded on each side by high walls of red sandstone, upon which rests a series of lofty green hills. The surrounding scenery was accurately delineated in a sketch taken by Mr. Hood" ("First Journey," pp. 349-350).In 1838 Thomas Simpson determined the latitude of Bloody Falls as 67° 42' 52" ("Narrative of Discoveries," Thomas Simpson, p. 261).Sir John Richardson revisited the lower part of the Coppermine River in 1826, and again in 1848, and he knew it better than any other white man. Speaking of Hearne, he says: "His description of the lower part of the Coppermine River is evidently that of one who has been on the spot.""He appears to have fallen on the Coppermine River first at the Sandstone rapids of Franklin, and to have traced it to Bloody Falls; but as, contrary to his usual practice, he under-rates the distance from thence to the coast, we are led to conclude that he did not actually go down to the sea, but was content to view it from the top of the hill which overhangs the falls; and, indeed, it is not very probable that he could have induced the Indians, over whom he had little influence, to accompany him on his survey, after they had completed the massacre which was the object of their long and laborious journey; nor, had he gone actually to the mouth of the river, would he have mentioned marks of a tide fourteen feet high" (Back, pp. 147-151).Hearne's description of the occurrence of the timber on the banks of the river, is particularly accurate, and I am inclined to give him credit for having been at or near the mouth of the river, even though his statement in regard to the rise and fall of the tide is inaccurate.[74]Wishacumpuckey is one of the species ofLedum; jackasheypuck =Arctostaphylos uvaursiSpreng.; cranberry =Vaccinium vitisidæaLinn.; heathberry probably =Empetrum nigrumLinn.—E. A. P.[AP]See Hist. of Greenland, vol. i. pp. 132-156.[75]Gull =Larus; blackhead =Sterna paradisæaBrünn; loon =Gavia; old-wife =Harelda hyemalisLinn.; ha-ha-wie =Harelda hyemalisLinn.; hawks-eye =Charadrius dominicusMüll.; yellow-legs =Totanus flavipesGmel.—E. A. P.[76]For descriptions of these mammals see Chapter X.[77]Lepus arcticus canusPreble.[78]Lagopus lagopus(Linn.)[79]The Alarm bird is probably the Short-eared Owl,Asio flammeus(Pontoppidan), a common summer inhabitant of the Barren Grounds. The Cobadekoock is the Hawk Owl, which seldom goes north of the woods.—E. A. P.[80]The exact locality here described does not appear to have been visited by any white man since 1771, but Sir John Richardson visited the Copper Mountains in 1821, and the following description by him will give some idea of their character:"The Copper Mountains appear to form a range running S.E. and N.W. The great mass of rock in the mountains seems to consist of felspar in various conditions; sometimes in the form of felspar rock or claystone, sometimes coloured by hornblende, and approaching to greenstone, but most generally in the form of dark reddish-brown amygdaloid. The amygdaloidal masses, contained in the amygdaloid, are either entirely pistacite, or pistacite enclosing calc-spar. Scales of native copper are very generally disseminated through this rock, through a species of trap tuff which nearly resembled it, and also through a reddish sandstone on which it appears to rest. When the felspar assumed the appearance of a slaty claystone, which it did towards the base of the mountains on the banks of the river, we observed no copper in it. The rough and in general rounded and more elevated parts of the mountain, are composed of the amygdaloid; but between the eminences there occur many narrow and deep valleys, which are bounded by perpendicular mural precipices of greenstone. It is in these valleys, amongst the loose soil, that the Indians search for copper. Amongst the specimens we picked up in these valleys, were plates of native copper; masses of pistacite containing native copper; of trap rock with associated native copper, green malachite, copper glance or variegated copper ore and iron-shot copper green; and of greenish-grey prehnite in trap (the trap is felspar, deeply coloured with hornblende), with disseminated native copper; the copper, in some specimens, was crystallized in rhomboidal dodecahedrons. We also found some large tabular fragments, evidently portions of a vein consisting of prehnite, associated with calcareous spar, and native copper. The Indians dig wherever they observe the prehnite lying on the soil, experience having taught them that the largest pieces of copper are found associated with it. We did not observe the vein in its original repository, nor does it appear that the Indians have found it, but judging from the specimens just mentioned, it most probably traverses felspathose trap. We also picked up some fragments of a greenish-grey coloured rock, apparently sandstone, with disseminated variegated copper ore and copper glance; likewise rhomboidal fragments of white calcareous spar, and some rock crystals. The Indians report that they have found copper in every part of this range, which they have examined for thirty or forty miles to the N.W., and that the Esquimaux come hither to search for that metal. We afterwards found some ice-chisels in possession of the latter people twelve or fourteen inches long, and half-an-inch in diameter, formed of pure copper."To the northward of the Copper Mountains, at the distance of ten miles, in a direct line, a similar range of trap hills occurs, having, however, less altitude. The intermediate country is uneven, but not hilly, and consists of a deep sandy soil, which, when cut through by the rivulets, discloses extensive beds of light-brownish red sandstone, which appears to belong to the new red sandstone formation. The same rock having a thin slaty structure, and dipping to the northward, forms perpendicular walls to the river, whose bed lies a hundred and fifty feet below the level of the plain. The eminences in the plain are well clothed with grass, and free from the large loose stones so common on the Barren Grounds, but the ridges of trap are nearly destitute of vegetation."Beyond the last-mentioned trap range, which is about twenty miles from the sea, the country becomes still more level, the same kind of sandstone continuing as a subsoil. The plains nourish only a coarse short grass, and the trees which had latterly dwindled to small clumps, growing only on low points on the edge of the river under shelter of the high bank, entirely disappear. A few ranges of trap hills intersect this plain also, but they have much less elevation than those we passed higher up the stream."The river in its section of the plain, as far as Bloody Fall, presents alternately cliffs of reddish sandstone, and red-coloured slaty indurated clay or marl, and shelving white clay banks. At Bloody Fall, the stream cuts through a thick bed of dark, purplish-red felspar rock, similar to that observed at the Rocky Defile (page 527), and associated, as at that place, with a rock composed principally of light red felspar and quartz, but which is probably a species of red secondary granite. At the Bloody Fall, the felspar rock is covered to the depth of six or seven hundred feet with a bed of greyish white, and rather tenacious clay, which being deeply intersected with ravines, forms steep hills. Nearer the sea, the river is bounded by very steep cliffs of yellowish-white sand; and on the sea-coast, the above-mentioned red granite reappears on the west bank of the river, forming a rugged ridge about two hundred and fifty feet high" ("First Journey," pp. 528-530).Sir John Franklin makes the following reference to the Copper Mountains, which he visited in July 1821:"We rejoined our hunters at the foot of the Copper Mountains, and found they had killed three musk-oxen. This circumstance determined us on encamping to dry the meat, as there was wood at the spot. We availed ourselves of this delay to visit the Copper Mountains in search of specimens of the ore, agreeably to my instructions; and a party of twenty-one persons, consisting of the officers, some of the voyagers, and all the Indians, set off on that excursion. We travelled for nine hours over a considerable space of ground, but found only a few small pieces of native copper. The range we ascended was on the west side of the river, extending W.N.W. and E.S.E. The mountains varied in height from twelve to fifteen hundred feet. The uniformity of the mountains is interrupted by narrow valleys, traversed by small streams. The best specimens of metal we procured were among the stones in these valleys, and it was in such situations that our guides desired us to search most carefully. It would appear, that when the Indians see any sparry substance projecting above the surface, they dig there; but they have no other rule to direct them, and have never found the metal in its original repository. Our guides reported that they had found copper in large pieces in every part of this range, for two days' walk to the north-west, and that the Esquimaux come hither to search for it. The annual visits which the Copper Indians were accustomed to make to these mountains, when most of their weapons and utensils were made of copper, have been discontinued since they have been enabled to obtain a supply of ice-chisels and other instruments of iron by the establishment of trading posts near their hunting grounds. That none of those who accompanied us had visited them for many years was evident, from their ignorance of the spots most abundant in metal."The impracticability of navigating the river upwards from the sea, and the want of wood for forming an establishment, would prove insuperable objections to rendering the collection of copper at this part worthy of mercantile speculation" ("First Journey," p. 340-1).[AQ]This piece of Copper is now in the possession of the Hudson's Bay Company.[AR]There is a strange tradition among those people, that the first person who discovered those mines was a woman, and that she conducted them to the place for several years; but as she was the only woman in company, some of the men took such liberties with her as made her vow revenge on them; and she is said to have been a great conjurer. Accordingly when the men had loaded themselves with copper, and were going to return, she refused to accompany them, and said she would sit on the mine till she sunk into the ground, and that the copper should sink with her. The next year, when the men went for more copper, they found her sunk up to the waist, though still alive, and the quantity of copper much decreased; and on their repeating their visit the year following, she had quite disappeared, and all the principal part of the mine with her; so that after that period nothing remained on the surface but a few small pieces, and those were scattered at a considerable distance from each other. Before that period they say the copper lay on the surface in such large heaps, that the Indians had nothing to do but turn it over, and pick such pieces as would best suit the different uses for which they intended it.[81][81]A slightly different version of this tradition is given by Sir John Franklin, who heard it at Fort Chipewyan in 1820 from an old Chipewyan Indian named "Rabbit's Head," a stepson of Matonabbee. See Franklin's "First Journey," pp. 145-7.[AS]What is meant by Beaver in other kind of furrs, must be understood as follows: For the easier trading with the Indians, as well as for the more correctly keeping their accounts, the Hudson's Bay Company have made a full-grown beaver-skin the standard by which they rate all other furrs, according to their respective values. Thus in several species of furrs, one skin is valued at the rate of four beaver-skins; some at three, and others at two; whereas those of an inferior quality are rated at one; and those of still less value considered so inferior to that of a beaver, that from six to twenty of their skins are only valued as equal to one beaver skin in the way of trade, and do not fetch one-fourth of the price at the London market. In this manner the term "Made Beaver" is to be understood.[AT]Since this Journal was written, the Northern Indians, by annually visiting their Southern friends, the Athapuscow Indians, have contracted the small-pox, which has carried off nine-tenths of them, and particularly those people who composed the trade at Churchill Factory. The few survivors follow the example of their Southern neighbours, and all trade with the Canadians, who are settled in the heart of the Athapuscow country: so that a very few years has proved my short-sightedness, and that it would have been much more to the advantage of the Company, as well as have prevented the depopulation of the Northern Indian country, if they had still remained at war with the Southern tribes, and never attempted to better their situation. At the same time, it is impossible to say what increase of trade might not, in time, have arisen from a constant and regular traffic with the different tribes of Copper and Dog-ribbed Indians. But having been totally neglected for several years, they have now sunk into their original barbarism and extreme indigence; and a war has ensued between the two tribes, for the sake of a few remnants of iron-work which was left among them; and the Dog-ribbed Indians were so numerous, and so successful, as to destroy almost the whole race of the Copper Indians.While I was writing this Note, I was informed by some Northern Indians, that the few which remain of the Copper tribe have found their way to one of the Canadian houses in the Athapuscow Indians' country, where they get supplied with every thing at less, or about half the price they were formerly obliged to give; so that the few surviving Northern Indians, as well as the Hudson's Bay Company, have now lost every shadow of any future trade from that quarter, unless the Company will establish a settlement with the Athapuscow country, and undersell the Canadians.[82][82]In 1778 Peter Pond, a fur trader from Montreal, had built a trading post on the east bank of Athabasca River, about thirty miles up-stream from Athabasca Lake, and in 1786, after the formation of the North-West Company, Laurent Leroux and Cuthbert Grant, two of the employees of this Company, had descended Slave River to Great Slave Lake and had established a trading post on its southern shore. The Copper Indians traded at the latter post, while the Northern or Chipewyan Indians resorted to the more southern and older post on the Athabasca River. Among the members of this latter tribe, who had been accustomed to make long pilgrimages to Churchill in order to procure implements and utensils of various kinds in exchange for furs, but who afterwards found that they could buy such goods as they needed more advantageously from the traders on the Athabasca River, very much nearer home, was a man known to those traders as "English Chief." This Indian accompanied Sir Alexander Mackenzie, one of the partners of the North-West Company, and one of those who would have been spoken of by Hearne asCanadians, on his journey from Lake Athabasca to the Arctic Ocean in 1789.This note also throws an interesting light on the date on which the journal was written, for the first outbreak of small-pox, which swept off the Indians of Western Canada, occurred in 1781, and therefore the journal itself was written before that date, while Hearne was living as Governor at Fort Prince of Wales. The note would appear to have been written about 1787, after the destruction of Fort Prince of Wales, and while Hearne was living at Fort Churchill, five miles south of the old fort, and before he finally returned to England.[AU]Mr. Moses Norton.[83]The party had thus reached Congecathawhachaga on the morning of the seventh day after leaving Bloody Falls or the mouth of the Coppermine River, the distance in a direct line being about one hundred and sixty miles. If they travelled in a direct line they averaged twenty-five miles a day, but the windings of the journey would add something to this distance.[84]Contwoito Lake, described on page 152.[85]The exact position of this place, to which the women and children had moved from the north shore of Cat or Clinton-Colden Lake, is not certain, but it was evidently on some of the lakes or streams marked on his map as lying between Cogead (Contwoito) and Point Lakes.

[AM]Timain the Esquimaux language is a friendly word similar towhat cheer?

[AN]When the fifteen Indians turned back at the Stony Mountains, they took two or three canoes with them; some of our crew that were sent a-head as messengers had not yet returned, which occasioned the number of our canoes to be so small.

[71]Probably some form of the wide-rangingSalmo alpinus.—E. A. P.

[AO]When the Esquimaux who reside near Churchill River travel in Winter, it is always from lake to lake, or from river to river, where they have formed magazines of provisions, and heaps of moss for firing. As some of those places are at a considerable distance from each other, and some of the lakes of considerable width, they frequently pitch their tents on the ice, and instead of having a fire, which the severity of the climate so much requires, they cut holes in the ice within their tents, and there sit and angle for fish; if they meet with any success, the fish are eaten alive out of the water; and when they are thirsty, water, their usual beverage, is at hand.When I first entered into the employment of the Hudson's Bay Company, it was as Mate of one of their sloops which was employed in trading with the Esquimaux: I had therefore frequent opportunities of observing the miserable manner in which those people live. In the course of our trade with them we frequently purchased several seal-skin bags, which we supposed were full of oil; but on opening them have sometimes found great quantities of venison, seals, and sea-horse paws, as well as salmon: and as these were of no use to us, we always returned them to the Indians, who eagerly devoured them, though some of the articles had been perhaps a whole year in that state; and they seemed to exult greatly in having so over-reached us in the way of trade, as to have sometimes one third of their bargain returned.This method of preserving their food, though it effectually guards it from the external air, and from the flies, does not prevent putrefaction entirely, though it renders its progress very slow. Pure train oil is of such a quality that it never freezes solid in the coldest Winters; a happy circumstance for those people, who are condemned to live in the most rigorous climate without the assistance of fire. While these magazines last, they have nothing more to do when hunger assails them, but to open one of the bags, take out a side of venison, a few seals, sea-horse paws, or some half-rotten salmon, and without any preparation, sit down and make a meal; and the lake or river by which they pitch their tent, affords them water, which is their constant drink. Besides the extraordinary food already mentioned, they have several other dishes equally disgusting to an European palate; I will only mention one, as it was more frequently part of their repast when I visited their tents, than any other, except fish. The dish I allude to, is made of the raw liver of a deer, cut in small pieces of about an inch square, and mixed up with the contents of the stomach of the same animal; and the farther digestion has taken place, the better it is suited to their taste. It is impossible to describe or conceive the pleasure they seem to enjoy when eating such unaccountable food: nay, I have even seen them eat whole handfuls of maggots that were produced in meat by fly-blows; and it is their constant custom, when their noses bleed by any accident, to lick their blood into their mouths, and swallow it. Indeed, if we consider the inhospitable part of the globe they are destined to inhabit, and the great distresses to which they are frequently driven by hunger in consequence of it, we shall no longer be surprized at finding they can relish any thing in common with the meanest of the animal creation, but rather admire the wisdom and kindness of Providence in forming the palates and powers of all creatures in such a manner as is best adapted to the food, climate, and every other circumstance which may be incident to their respective situations.It is no less true, that these people, when I first knew them, would not eat any of our provisions, sugar, raisins, figs, or even bread; for though some of them would put a bit of it into their mouths, they soon spit it out again with evident marks of dislike; so that they had no greater relish for our food than we had for theirs. At present, however, they will eat any part of our provisions, either fresh or salted; and some of them will drink a draft of porter, or a little brandy and water; and they are now so far civilized, and attached to the English, that I am persuaded any of the Company's servants who could habituate themselves to their diet and manner of life, might now live as secure under their protection, as under that of any of the tribes of Indians who border on Hudson's Bay.They live in a state of perfect freedom; no one apparently claiming the superiority over, or acknowledging the least subordination to another, except what is due from children to their parents, or such of their kin as take care of them when they are young and incapable of providing for themselves. There is, however, reason to think that, when grown up to manhood, they pay some attention to the advice of the old men, on account of their experience.

When I first entered into the employment of the Hudson's Bay Company, it was as Mate of one of their sloops which was employed in trading with the Esquimaux: I had therefore frequent opportunities of observing the miserable manner in which those people live. In the course of our trade with them we frequently purchased several seal-skin bags, which we supposed were full of oil; but on opening them have sometimes found great quantities of venison, seals, and sea-horse paws, as well as salmon: and as these were of no use to us, we always returned them to the Indians, who eagerly devoured them, though some of the articles had been perhaps a whole year in that state; and they seemed to exult greatly in having so over-reached us in the way of trade, as to have sometimes one third of their bargain returned.

This method of preserving their food, though it effectually guards it from the external air, and from the flies, does not prevent putrefaction entirely, though it renders its progress very slow. Pure train oil is of such a quality that it never freezes solid in the coldest Winters; a happy circumstance for those people, who are condemned to live in the most rigorous climate without the assistance of fire. While these magazines last, they have nothing more to do when hunger assails them, but to open one of the bags, take out a side of venison, a few seals, sea-horse paws, or some half-rotten salmon, and without any preparation, sit down and make a meal; and the lake or river by which they pitch their tent, affords them water, which is their constant drink. Besides the extraordinary food already mentioned, they have several other dishes equally disgusting to an European palate; I will only mention one, as it was more frequently part of their repast when I visited their tents, than any other, except fish. The dish I allude to, is made of the raw liver of a deer, cut in small pieces of about an inch square, and mixed up with the contents of the stomach of the same animal; and the farther digestion has taken place, the better it is suited to their taste. It is impossible to describe or conceive the pleasure they seem to enjoy when eating such unaccountable food: nay, I have even seen them eat whole handfuls of maggots that were produced in meat by fly-blows; and it is their constant custom, when their noses bleed by any accident, to lick their blood into their mouths, and swallow it. Indeed, if we consider the inhospitable part of the globe they are destined to inhabit, and the great distresses to which they are frequently driven by hunger in consequence of it, we shall no longer be surprized at finding they can relish any thing in common with the meanest of the animal creation, but rather admire the wisdom and kindness of Providence in forming the palates and powers of all creatures in such a manner as is best adapted to the food, climate, and every other circumstance which may be incident to their respective situations.

It is no less true, that these people, when I first knew them, would not eat any of our provisions, sugar, raisins, figs, or even bread; for though some of them would put a bit of it into their mouths, they soon spit it out again with evident marks of dislike; so that they had no greater relish for our food than we had for theirs. At present, however, they will eat any part of our provisions, either fresh or salted; and some of them will drink a draft of porter, or a little brandy and water; and they are now so far civilized, and attached to the English, that I am persuaded any of the Company's servants who could habituate themselves to their diet and manner of life, might now live as secure under their protection, as under that of any of the tribes of Indians who border on Hudson's Bay.

They live in a state of perfect freedom; no one apparently claiming the superiority over, or acknowledging the least subordination to another, except what is due from children to their parents, or such of their kin as take care of them when they are young and incapable of providing for themselves. There is, however, reason to think that, when grown up to manhood, they pay some attention to the advice of the old men, on account of their experience.

[72]Several species inhabit the region; the commonest is the ringed or fetid seal (Phoca hispida).—E. A. P.

[73]In the summer of 1821, fifty years after Hearne's visit, Sir John Franklin, accompanied by Sir John Richardson and Sir George Back, descended and surveyed the Coppermine River from Point Lake to the sea. He was at the Bloody Falls from the 15th to the 18th of July, exactly fifty years after Hearne, and found the latitude to be 67° 42' 35" N. He speaks of it as follows:"Several human skulls which bore the marks of violence, and many bones were strewed about the ground near the encampment, and as the spot exactly answers the description, given by Mr. Hearne, of the place where the Chipewyans who accompanied him perpetrated the dreadful massacre on the Esquimaux, we had no doubt of this being the place. This rapid is a sort of shelving cascade, about three hundred yards in length, having a descent of from ten to fifteen feet. It is bounded on each side by high walls of red sandstone, upon which rests a series of lofty green hills. The surrounding scenery was accurately delineated in a sketch taken by Mr. Hood" ("First Journey," pp. 349-350).In 1838 Thomas Simpson determined the latitude of Bloody Falls as 67° 42' 52" ("Narrative of Discoveries," Thomas Simpson, p. 261).Sir John Richardson revisited the lower part of the Coppermine River in 1826, and again in 1848, and he knew it better than any other white man. Speaking of Hearne, he says: "His description of the lower part of the Coppermine River is evidently that of one who has been on the spot.""He appears to have fallen on the Coppermine River first at the Sandstone rapids of Franklin, and to have traced it to Bloody Falls; but as, contrary to his usual practice, he under-rates the distance from thence to the coast, we are led to conclude that he did not actually go down to the sea, but was content to view it from the top of the hill which overhangs the falls; and, indeed, it is not very probable that he could have induced the Indians, over whom he had little influence, to accompany him on his survey, after they had completed the massacre which was the object of their long and laborious journey; nor, had he gone actually to the mouth of the river, would he have mentioned marks of a tide fourteen feet high" (Back, pp. 147-151).Hearne's description of the occurrence of the timber on the banks of the river, is particularly accurate, and I am inclined to give him credit for having been at or near the mouth of the river, even though his statement in regard to the rise and fall of the tide is inaccurate.

"Several human skulls which bore the marks of violence, and many bones were strewed about the ground near the encampment, and as the spot exactly answers the description, given by Mr. Hearne, of the place where the Chipewyans who accompanied him perpetrated the dreadful massacre on the Esquimaux, we had no doubt of this being the place. This rapid is a sort of shelving cascade, about three hundred yards in length, having a descent of from ten to fifteen feet. It is bounded on each side by high walls of red sandstone, upon which rests a series of lofty green hills. The surrounding scenery was accurately delineated in a sketch taken by Mr. Hood" ("First Journey," pp. 349-350).

In 1838 Thomas Simpson determined the latitude of Bloody Falls as 67° 42' 52" ("Narrative of Discoveries," Thomas Simpson, p. 261).

Sir John Richardson revisited the lower part of the Coppermine River in 1826, and again in 1848, and he knew it better than any other white man. Speaking of Hearne, he says: "His description of the lower part of the Coppermine River is evidently that of one who has been on the spot."

"He appears to have fallen on the Coppermine River first at the Sandstone rapids of Franklin, and to have traced it to Bloody Falls; but as, contrary to his usual practice, he under-rates the distance from thence to the coast, we are led to conclude that he did not actually go down to the sea, but was content to view it from the top of the hill which overhangs the falls; and, indeed, it is not very probable that he could have induced the Indians, over whom he had little influence, to accompany him on his survey, after they had completed the massacre which was the object of their long and laborious journey; nor, had he gone actually to the mouth of the river, would he have mentioned marks of a tide fourteen feet high" (Back, pp. 147-151).

Hearne's description of the occurrence of the timber on the banks of the river, is particularly accurate, and I am inclined to give him credit for having been at or near the mouth of the river, even though his statement in regard to the rise and fall of the tide is inaccurate.

[74]Wishacumpuckey is one of the species ofLedum; jackasheypuck =Arctostaphylos uvaursiSpreng.; cranberry =Vaccinium vitisidæaLinn.; heathberry probably =Empetrum nigrumLinn.—E. A. P.

[AP]See Hist. of Greenland, vol. i. pp. 132-156.

[75]Gull =Larus; blackhead =Sterna paradisæaBrünn; loon =Gavia; old-wife =Harelda hyemalisLinn.; ha-ha-wie =Harelda hyemalisLinn.; hawks-eye =Charadrius dominicusMüll.; yellow-legs =Totanus flavipesGmel.—E. A. P.

[76]For descriptions of these mammals see Chapter X.

[77]Lepus arcticus canusPreble.

[78]Lagopus lagopus(Linn.)

[79]The Alarm bird is probably the Short-eared Owl,Asio flammeus(Pontoppidan), a common summer inhabitant of the Barren Grounds. The Cobadekoock is the Hawk Owl, which seldom goes north of the woods.—E. A. P.

[80]The exact locality here described does not appear to have been visited by any white man since 1771, but Sir John Richardson visited the Copper Mountains in 1821, and the following description by him will give some idea of their character:"The Copper Mountains appear to form a range running S.E. and N.W. The great mass of rock in the mountains seems to consist of felspar in various conditions; sometimes in the form of felspar rock or claystone, sometimes coloured by hornblende, and approaching to greenstone, but most generally in the form of dark reddish-brown amygdaloid. The amygdaloidal masses, contained in the amygdaloid, are either entirely pistacite, or pistacite enclosing calc-spar. Scales of native copper are very generally disseminated through this rock, through a species of trap tuff which nearly resembled it, and also through a reddish sandstone on which it appears to rest. When the felspar assumed the appearance of a slaty claystone, which it did towards the base of the mountains on the banks of the river, we observed no copper in it. The rough and in general rounded and more elevated parts of the mountain, are composed of the amygdaloid; but between the eminences there occur many narrow and deep valleys, which are bounded by perpendicular mural precipices of greenstone. It is in these valleys, amongst the loose soil, that the Indians search for copper. Amongst the specimens we picked up in these valleys, were plates of native copper; masses of pistacite containing native copper; of trap rock with associated native copper, green malachite, copper glance or variegated copper ore and iron-shot copper green; and of greenish-grey prehnite in trap (the trap is felspar, deeply coloured with hornblende), with disseminated native copper; the copper, in some specimens, was crystallized in rhomboidal dodecahedrons. We also found some large tabular fragments, evidently portions of a vein consisting of prehnite, associated with calcareous spar, and native copper. The Indians dig wherever they observe the prehnite lying on the soil, experience having taught them that the largest pieces of copper are found associated with it. We did not observe the vein in its original repository, nor does it appear that the Indians have found it, but judging from the specimens just mentioned, it most probably traverses felspathose trap. We also picked up some fragments of a greenish-grey coloured rock, apparently sandstone, with disseminated variegated copper ore and copper glance; likewise rhomboidal fragments of white calcareous spar, and some rock crystals. The Indians report that they have found copper in every part of this range, which they have examined for thirty or forty miles to the N.W., and that the Esquimaux come hither to search for that metal. We afterwards found some ice-chisels in possession of the latter people twelve or fourteen inches long, and half-an-inch in diameter, formed of pure copper."To the northward of the Copper Mountains, at the distance of ten miles, in a direct line, a similar range of trap hills occurs, having, however, less altitude. The intermediate country is uneven, but not hilly, and consists of a deep sandy soil, which, when cut through by the rivulets, discloses extensive beds of light-brownish red sandstone, which appears to belong to the new red sandstone formation. The same rock having a thin slaty structure, and dipping to the northward, forms perpendicular walls to the river, whose bed lies a hundred and fifty feet below the level of the plain. The eminences in the plain are well clothed with grass, and free from the large loose stones so common on the Barren Grounds, but the ridges of trap are nearly destitute of vegetation."Beyond the last-mentioned trap range, which is about twenty miles from the sea, the country becomes still more level, the same kind of sandstone continuing as a subsoil. The plains nourish only a coarse short grass, and the trees which had latterly dwindled to small clumps, growing only on low points on the edge of the river under shelter of the high bank, entirely disappear. A few ranges of trap hills intersect this plain also, but they have much less elevation than those we passed higher up the stream."The river in its section of the plain, as far as Bloody Fall, presents alternately cliffs of reddish sandstone, and red-coloured slaty indurated clay or marl, and shelving white clay banks. At Bloody Fall, the stream cuts through a thick bed of dark, purplish-red felspar rock, similar to that observed at the Rocky Defile (page 527), and associated, as at that place, with a rock composed principally of light red felspar and quartz, but which is probably a species of red secondary granite. At the Bloody Fall, the felspar rock is covered to the depth of six or seven hundred feet with a bed of greyish white, and rather tenacious clay, which being deeply intersected with ravines, forms steep hills. Nearer the sea, the river is bounded by very steep cliffs of yellowish-white sand; and on the sea-coast, the above-mentioned red granite reappears on the west bank of the river, forming a rugged ridge about two hundred and fifty feet high" ("First Journey," pp. 528-530).Sir John Franklin makes the following reference to the Copper Mountains, which he visited in July 1821:"We rejoined our hunters at the foot of the Copper Mountains, and found they had killed three musk-oxen. This circumstance determined us on encamping to dry the meat, as there was wood at the spot. We availed ourselves of this delay to visit the Copper Mountains in search of specimens of the ore, agreeably to my instructions; and a party of twenty-one persons, consisting of the officers, some of the voyagers, and all the Indians, set off on that excursion. We travelled for nine hours over a considerable space of ground, but found only a few small pieces of native copper. The range we ascended was on the west side of the river, extending W.N.W. and E.S.E. The mountains varied in height from twelve to fifteen hundred feet. The uniformity of the mountains is interrupted by narrow valleys, traversed by small streams. The best specimens of metal we procured were among the stones in these valleys, and it was in such situations that our guides desired us to search most carefully. It would appear, that when the Indians see any sparry substance projecting above the surface, they dig there; but they have no other rule to direct them, and have never found the metal in its original repository. Our guides reported that they had found copper in large pieces in every part of this range, for two days' walk to the north-west, and that the Esquimaux come hither to search for it. The annual visits which the Copper Indians were accustomed to make to these mountains, when most of their weapons and utensils were made of copper, have been discontinued since they have been enabled to obtain a supply of ice-chisels and other instruments of iron by the establishment of trading posts near their hunting grounds. That none of those who accompanied us had visited them for many years was evident, from their ignorance of the spots most abundant in metal."The impracticability of navigating the river upwards from the sea, and the want of wood for forming an establishment, would prove insuperable objections to rendering the collection of copper at this part worthy of mercantile speculation" ("First Journey," p. 340-1).

"The Copper Mountains appear to form a range running S.E. and N.W. The great mass of rock in the mountains seems to consist of felspar in various conditions; sometimes in the form of felspar rock or claystone, sometimes coloured by hornblende, and approaching to greenstone, but most generally in the form of dark reddish-brown amygdaloid. The amygdaloidal masses, contained in the amygdaloid, are either entirely pistacite, or pistacite enclosing calc-spar. Scales of native copper are very generally disseminated through this rock, through a species of trap tuff which nearly resembled it, and also through a reddish sandstone on which it appears to rest. When the felspar assumed the appearance of a slaty claystone, which it did towards the base of the mountains on the banks of the river, we observed no copper in it. The rough and in general rounded and more elevated parts of the mountain, are composed of the amygdaloid; but between the eminences there occur many narrow and deep valleys, which are bounded by perpendicular mural precipices of greenstone. It is in these valleys, amongst the loose soil, that the Indians search for copper. Amongst the specimens we picked up in these valleys, were plates of native copper; masses of pistacite containing native copper; of trap rock with associated native copper, green malachite, copper glance or variegated copper ore and iron-shot copper green; and of greenish-grey prehnite in trap (the trap is felspar, deeply coloured with hornblende), with disseminated native copper; the copper, in some specimens, was crystallized in rhomboidal dodecahedrons. We also found some large tabular fragments, evidently portions of a vein consisting of prehnite, associated with calcareous spar, and native copper. The Indians dig wherever they observe the prehnite lying on the soil, experience having taught them that the largest pieces of copper are found associated with it. We did not observe the vein in its original repository, nor does it appear that the Indians have found it, but judging from the specimens just mentioned, it most probably traverses felspathose trap. We also picked up some fragments of a greenish-grey coloured rock, apparently sandstone, with disseminated variegated copper ore and copper glance; likewise rhomboidal fragments of white calcareous spar, and some rock crystals. The Indians report that they have found copper in every part of this range, which they have examined for thirty or forty miles to the N.W., and that the Esquimaux come hither to search for that metal. We afterwards found some ice-chisels in possession of the latter people twelve or fourteen inches long, and half-an-inch in diameter, formed of pure copper.

"To the northward of the Copper Mountains, at the distance of ten miles, in a direct line, a similar range of trap hills occurs, having, however, less altitude. The intermediate country is uneven, but not hilly, and consists of a deep sandy soil, which, when cut through by the rivulets, discloses extensive beds of light-brownish red sandstone, which appears to belong to the new red sandstone formation. The same rock having a thin slaty structure, and dipping to the northward, forms perpendicular walls to the river, whose bed lies a hundred and fifty feet below the level of the plain. The eminences in the plain are well clothed with grass, and free from the large loose stones so common on the Barren Grounds, but the ridges of trap are nearly destitute of vegetation.

"Beyond the last-mentioned trap range, which is about twenty miles from the sea, the country becomes still more level, the same kind of sandstone continuing as a subsoil. The plains nourish only a coarse short grass, and the trees which had latterly dwindled to small clumps, growing only on low points on the edge of the river under shelter of the high bank, entirely disappear. A few ranges of trap hills intersect this plain also, but they have much less elevation than those we passed higher up the stream.

"The river in its section of the plain, as far as Bloody Fall, presents alternately cliffs of reddish sandstone, and red-coloured slaty indurated clay or marl, and shelving white clay banks. At Bloody Fall, the stream cuts through a thick bed of dark, purplish-red felspar rock, similar to that observed at the Rocky Defile (page 527), and associated, as at that place, with a rock composed principally of light red felspar and quartz, but which is probably a species of red secondary granite. At the Bloody Fall, the felspar rock is covered to the depth of six or seven hundred feet with a bed of greyish white, and rather tenacious clay, which being deeply intersected with ravines, forms steep hills. Nearer the sea, the river is bounded by very steep cliffs of yellowish-white sand; and on the sea-coast, the above-mentioned red granite reappears on the west bank of the river, forming a rugged ridge about two hundred and fifty feet high" ("First Journey," pp. 528-530).

Sir John Franklin makes the following reference to the Copper Mountains, which he visited in July 1821:

"We rejoined our hunters at the foot of the Copper Mountains, and found they had killed three musk-oxen. This circumstance determined us on encamping to dry the meat, as there was wood at the spot. We availed ourselves of this delay to visit the Copper Mountains in search of specimens of the ore, agreeably to my instructions; and a party of twenty-one persons, consisting of the officers, some of the voyagers, and all the Indians, set off on that excursion. We travelled for nine hours over a considerable space of ground, but found only a few small pieces of native copper. The range we ascended was on the west side of the river, extending W.N.W. and E.S.E. The mountains varied in height from twelve to fifteen hundred feet. The uniformity of the mountains is interrupted by narrow valleys, traversed by small streams. The best specimens of metal we procured were among the stones in these valleys, and it was in such situations that our guides desired us to search most carefully. It would appear, that when the Indians see any sparry substance projecting above the surface, they dig there; but they have no other rule to direct them, and have never found the metal in its original repository. Our guides reported that they had found copper in large pieces in every part of this range, for two days' walk to the north-west, and that the Esquimaux come hither to search for it. The annual visits which the Copper Indians were accustomed to make to these mountains, when most of their weapons and utensils were made of copper, have been discontinued since they have been enabled to obtain a supply of ice-chisels and other instruments of iron by the establishment of trading posts near their hunting grounds. That none of those who accompanied us had visited them for many years was evident, from their ignorance of the spots most abundant in metal.

"The impracticability of navigating the river upwards from the sea, and the want of wood for forming an establishment, would prove insuperable objections to rendering the collection of copper at this part worthy of mercantile speculation" ("First Journey," p. 340-1).

[AQ]This piece of Copper is now in the possession of the Hudson's Bay Company.

[AR]There is a strange tradition among those people, that the first person who discovered those mines was a woman, and that she conducted them to the place for several years; but as she was the only woman in company, some of the men took such liberties with her as made her vow revenge on them; and she is said to have been a great conjurer. Accordingly when the men had loaded themselves with copper, and were going to return, she refused to accompany them, and said she would sit on the mine till she sunk into the ground, and that the copper should sink with her. The next year, when the men went for more copper, they found her sunk up to the waist, though still alive, and the quantity of copper much decreased; and on their repeating their visit the year following, she had quite disappeared, and all the principal part of the mine with her; so that after that period nothing remained on the surface but a few small pieces, and those were scattered at a considerable distance from each other. Before that period they say the copper lay on the surface in such large heaps, that the Indians had nothing to do but turn it over, and pick such pieces as would best suit the different uses for which they intended it.[81]

[81]A slightly different version of this tradition is given by Sir John Franklin, who heard it at Fort Chipewyan in 1820 from an old Chipewyan Indian named "Rabbit's Head," a stepson of Matonabbee. See Franklin's "First Journey," pp. 145-7.

[AS]What is meant by Beaver in other kind of furrs, must be understood as follows: For the easier trading with the Indians, as well as for the more correctly keeping their accounts, the Hudson's Bay Company have made a full-grown beaver-skin the standard by which they rate all other furrs, according to their respective values. Thus in several species of furrs, one skin is valued at the rate of four beaver-skins; some at three, and others at two; whereas those of an inferior quality are rated at one; and those of still less value considered so inferior to that of a beaver, that from six to twenty of their skins are only valued as equal to one beaver skin in the way of trade, and do not fetch one-fourth of the price at the London market. In this manner the term "Made Beaver" is to be understood.

[AT]Since this Journal was written, the Northern Indians, by annually visiting their Southern friends, the Athapuscow Indians, have contracted the small-pox, which has carried off nine-tenths of them, and particularly those people who composed the trade at Churchill Factory. The few survivors follow the example of their Southern neighbours, and all trade with the Canadians, who are settled in the heart of the Athapuscow country: so that a very few years has proved my short-sightedness, and that it would have been much more to the advantage of the Company, as well as have prevented the depopulation of the Northern Indian country, if they had still remained at war with the Southern tribes, and never attempted to better their situation. At the same time, it is impossible to say what increase of trade might not, in time, have arisen from a constant and regular traffic with the different tribes of Copper and Dog-ribbed Indians. But having been totally neglected for several years, they have now sunk into their original barbarism and extreme indigence; and a war has ensued between the two tribes, for the sake of a few remnants of iron-work which was left among them; and the Dog-ribbed Indians were so numerous, and so successful, as to destroy almost the whole race of the Copper Indians.While I was writing this Note, I was informed by some Northern Indians, that the few which remain of the Copper tribe have found their way to one of the Canadian houses in the Athapuscow Indians' country, where they get supplied with every thing at less, or about half the price they were formerly obliged to give; so that the few surviving Northern Indians, as well as the Hudson's Bay Company, have now lost every shadow of any future trade from that quarter, unless the Company will establish a settlement with the Athapuscow country, and undersell the Canadians.[82]

While I was writing this Note, I was informed by some Northern Indians, that the few which remain of the Copper tribe have found their way to one of the Canadian houses in the Athapuscow Indians' country, where they get supplied with every thing at less, or about half the price they were formerly obliged to give; so that the few surviving Northern Indians, as well as the Hudson's Bay Company, have now lost every shadow of any future trade from that quarter, unless the Company will establish a settlement with the Athapuscow country, and undersell the Canadians.[82]

[82]In 1778 Peter Pond, a fur trader from Montreal, had built a trading post on the east bank of Athabasca River, about thirty miles up-stream from Athabasca Lake, and in 1786, after the formation of the North-West Company, Laurent Leroux and Cuthbert Grant, two of the employees of this Company, had descended Slave River to Great Slave Lake and had established a trading post on its southern shore. The Copper Indians traded at the latter post, while the Northern or Chipewyan Indians resorted to the more southern and older post on the Athabasca River. Among the members of this latter tribe, who had been accustomed to make long pilgrimages to Churchill in order to procure implements and utensils of various kinds in exchange for furs, but who afterwards found that they could buy such goods as they needed more advantageously from the traders on the Athabasca River, very much nearer home, was a man known to those traders as "English Chief." This Indian accompanied Sir Alexander Mackenzie, one of the partners of the North-West Company, and one of those who would have been spoken of by Hearne asCanadians, on his journey from Lake Athabasca to the Arctic Ocean in 1789.This note also throws an interesting light on the date on which the journal was written, for the first outbreak of small-pox, which swept off the Indians of Western Canada, occurred in 1781, and therefore the journal itself was written before that date, while Hearne was living as Governor at Fort Prince of Wales. The note would appear to have been written about 1787, after the destruction of Fort Prince of Wales, and while Hearne was living at Fort Churchill, five miles south of the old fort, and before he finally returned to England.

This note also throws an interesting light on the date on which the journal was written, for the first outbreak of small-pox, which swept off the Indians of Western Canada, occurred in 1781, and therefore the journal itself was written before that date, while Hearne was living as Governor at Fort Prince of Wales. The note would appear to have been written about 1787, after the destruction of Fort Prince of Wales, and while Hearne was living at Fort Churchill, five miles south of the old fort, and before he finally returned to England.

[AU]Mr. Moses Norton.

[83]The party had thus reached Congecathawhachaga on the morning of the seventh day after leaving Bloody Falls or the mouth of the Coppermine River, the distance in a direct line being about one hundred and sixty miles. If they travelled in a direct line they averaged twenty-five miles a day, but the windings of the journey would add something to this distance.

[84]Contwoito Lake, described on page 152.

[85]The exact position of this place, to which the women and children had moved from the north shore of Cat or Clinton-Colden Lake, is not certain, but it was evidently on some of the lakes or streams marked on his map as lying between Cogead (Contwoito) and Point Lakes.

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, &c.—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 being cured of the palsey 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; {190} 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, &c., it is very common to see those jugglersblowing into theanus, 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 but 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 the 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 {191} 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.

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