FOOTNOTES:

A WINTER VIEW IN THE ATHAPUSCOW LAKE By Samuel Hearne, 1771A WINTER VIEW IN THE ATHAPUSCOW LAKEBy Samuel Hearne, 1771

1771. November.

When these jugglers take a dislike to, and threaten a secret revenge on any person, it often proves fatal to that person; as, from a firm belief that the conjurer has power over his life, he permits the very thoughts of it to prey on his spirits, till by degrees it brings on a disorder which puts an end to his existence:[AY]and sometimes a threat of this {222} kind causes the death of a whole family; and that without any blood being shed, or the least apparent molestation being offered to any of the parties.

December. 1st.

1771. December.

Having dried as many fish and fish-roes as we could conveniently take with us, we once more packed up our stores, and, on the first day of December, set out, and continued our course to the South West, leaving Anaw'd Lake on the South West. Several of the Indians being out of order, we made but short days journies.

From the first to the thirteenth, we walked along a course of small lakes, joined to each other by small rivers, or creeks, that have communication with Anaw'd Lake.

In our way we caught daily a few fish by angling, and saw many beaver houses; but these were generally in so difficult a situation, and had so many stones in the composition of them, that the Indians killed but few, and that at a great expence of labour and tools.

13th.

On the thirteenth, one of the Indians killed two deer, which were the first that we had seen since the twentieth {223} of October. So that during a period of near two months, we had lived on the dried meat that we had prepared at Point Lake, and a few fish; of which the latter was not very considerable in quantity, except what was caught at Anaw'd Lake. It is true, we also caught a few rabbits, and at times the wood-partridges were so plentiful, that the Indians killed considerable numbers of them with their bows and arrows; but the number of mouths was so great, that all which was caught from our leaving Point Lake, though if enumerated, they might appear very considerable, would not have afforded us all a bare subsistence; for though I and some others experienced no real want, yet there were many in our company who could scarcely be said to live, and would not have existed at all, had it not been for the dry meat we had with us.

24th.

1771. December.

When we left the above-mentioned lakes we shaped a course more to the Southward, and on the twenty-fourth, arrived at the North side of the great Athapuscow Lake.[96]In our waywe saw many Indian deer,[97]and beaver were very plentiful, many of which the Indians killed; but the days were so short, that the Sun only took a circuit of a few points of the compass above the horizon, and did not, at its greatest altitude, rise half-way up the trees. The brilliancy of theAurora Borealis, however, and of the Stars, even without the assistance of the Moon, made some amends for that deficiency; for it was frequently so light all night, that I could see to read a very small print. {224} The Indians make no difference between night and day when they are hunting of beaver; but thosenocturnallights are always found insufficient for the purpose of hunting deer or moose.

Photo: J. P. Tyrrell, July 30, 1893. HERD OF CARIBOU ON THE BANKS OF DUBAWNT RIVERPhoto: J. P. Tyrrell, July 30, 1893.HERD OF CARIBOU ON THE BANKS OF DUBAWNT RIVER

Photo: J. P. Tyrrell, July 31, 1893. DRYING CARIBOU MEATPhoto: J. P. Tyrrell, July 31, 1893.DRYING CARIBOU MEAT

1771. December.

I do not remember to have met with any travellers into high Northern latitudes, who remarked their having heard the Northern Lights make any noise in the air as they vary their colours or position; which may probably be owing to the want of perfect silence at the time they made their observations on those meteors. I can positively affirm, that in still nights I have frequently heard them make a rustling and crackling noise, like the waving of a large flag in a fresh gale of wind. This is not peculiar to the place of which I am now writing, as I have heard the same noise very plain at Churchill River; and in all probability it is only for want of attention that it has not been heard in every part of the Northern hemisphere where they have been known to shine with any considerable degree of lustre. It is, however, very probable that these lights are sometimes much nearer the Earth than they are at others, according to the state of the atmosphere, and this may have a great effect on the sound: but the truth or falsehood of this conjecture I leave to the determinations of those who are better skilled in natural philosophy than I can pretend to be.

1771. December.

Indian deer (the only species found in those parts, except the moose) are so much larger than those which {225} frequent the barren grounds to the North of Churchill River, that a small doe is equal in size to a Northern buck. The hair of the former is of a sandy red during the Winter; and their horns, though much stronger, are not so long and branchy as are those of the latter kind. Neither is the flesh of those deer so much esteemed by the Northern Indians, as that of the smaller kind, which inhabit the more Eastern and Northern parts of the country. Indeed, it must be allowed to be much coarser, and of a different flavour; inasmuch as the large Lincolnshire mutton differs from grass lamb. I must acknowledge, however, that I always thought it very good. This is that species of deer which are found so plentiful near York Fort and Severn River. They are also at times found in considerable numbers near Churchill River; and I have seen them killed as far North, near the sea-side, as Seal River: But the small Northern Indian deer are seldom known to cross Churchill River, except in some very extraordinary cold seasons, and when the Northern winds have prevailed much in the preceding fall; for those visits are always made in the Winter. But though I own that the flesh of the large Southern deer is very good, I must at the same time confess that the flesh of the small Northern deer, whether buck or doe, in their proper season, is by far more delicious and the finest I have ever eaten, either in this country or any other; and is of that peculiar quality, that it never cloys. I can affirm this from my own experience; {226} for after living on it entirely, as it may be said, for twelve or eighteen months successively, I scarcelyever wished for a change of food; though when fish or fowl came in my way, it was very agreeable.

The beaver[98]being so plentiful, the attention of my companions was chiefly engaged on them, as they not only furnished delicious food, but their skins proved a valuable acquisition, being a principal article of trade, as well as a serviceable one for clothing, &c.

The situation of the beaver-houses is various. Where the beavers are numerous they are found to inhabit lakes, ponds, and rivers, as well as those narrow creeks which connect the numerous lakes with which this country abounds; but the two latter are generally chosen by them when the depth of water and other circumstances are suitable, as they have then the advantage of a current to convey wood and other necessaries to their habitations, and because, in general, they are more difficult to be taken, than those that are built in standing water.

There is no one particular part of a lake, pond, river, or creek, of which the beavers make choice for building their houses on, in preference to another; for they sometimes build on points, sometimes in the hollow of a bay, and often on small islands; they always chuse, however, {227} those parts that have such a depth of water as will resist the frost in Winter, and prevent it from freezing to the bottom.

1771. December.

The beaver that build their houses in small rivers or creeks, in which the water is liable to be drained off when the back supplies are dried up by the frost, are wonderfully taught by instinct to provide against that evil, by making a dam quite across the river, at a convenient distance from their houses. This I look upon as the most curious piece of workmanship that is performed by the beaver; not so much for the neatness of the work, as for its strength and real service; and at the same time it discovers such a degree of sagacity and foresight in the animal, of approaching evils, as is little inferior to that of the human species, and is certainly peculiar to those animals.

The beaver-dams differ in shape according to the nature of the place in which they are built. If the water in the river or creek have but little motion, the dam is almost straight; but when the current is more rapid, it is always made with a considerable curve, convex towards the stream. The materials made use of in those dams are drift-wood, green willows, birch, and poplars, if they can be got; also mud and stones, intermixed in such a manner as must evidently contribute to the strength of the dam; but in these dams there is no other order or method observed, {228} except that of the work being carried on with a regular sweep, and all the parts being made of equal strength.

In places which have been long frequented by beaver undisturbed, their dams, by frequent repairing, become a solid bank, capable of resisting a great force both of water and ice; and as the willow, poplar, and birch generally take root and shoot up, they by degrees form a kind of regular-planted hedge, which I have seen in some places so tall, that birds have built their nests among the branches.

Though the beaver which build their houses in lakes and other standing waters, may enjoy a sufficient quantity of their favourite element without the assistance of a dam, the trouble of getting wood and other necessaries to their habitations without the help of a current, must in some measure counterbalance the other advantages which are reaped from such a situation; for it must be observed, that the beaver which build in rivers and creeks, always cut their wood above their houses, so that the current, with little trouble, conveys it to the place required.

1771. December.

The beaver-houses are built of the same materials as their dams, and are always proportioned in size to the number of inhabitants, which seldom exceed four old, and six or eightyoung ones; though, by chance, I have seen above double that number.

{229} These houses, though not altogether unworthy of admiration, fall very short of the general description given of them; for instead of order or regulation being observed in rearing them, they are of a much ruder structure than their dams.

Those who have undertaken to describe the inside of beaver-houses, as having several apartments appropriated to various uses; such as eating, sleeping, store-houses for provisions, and one for their natural occasions, &c. must have been very little acquainted with the subject; or, which is still worse, guilty of attempting to impose on the credulous, by representing the greatest falsehoods as real facts. Many years constant residence among the Indians, during which I had an opportunity of seeing several hundreds of those houses, has enabled me to affirm that every thing of the kind is entirely void of truth; for, notwithstanding the sagacity of those animals, it has never been observed that they aim at any other conveniencies in their houses, than to have a dry place to lie on; and there they usually eat their victuals, which they occasionally take out of the water.

1771. December.

It frequently happens, that some of the large houses are found to have one or more partitions, if they deserve that appellation; but that is no more than a part of the main building, left by the sagacity of the beaver to support the roof. On such occasions it is common for those {230} different apartments, as some are pleased to call them, to have no communication with each other but by water; so that in fact they may be called double or treble houses, rather than different apartments of the same house. I have seen a large beaver-house built in a small island, that had near a dozen apartments under one roof: and, two or three of these only excepted, none of them had any communication with each other but by water. As there were beaver enough to inhabiteach apartment, it is more than probable that each family knew its own, and always entered at their own door, without having any farther connection with their neighbours than a friendly intercourse; and to join their united labours in erecting their separate habitations, and building their dams where required. It is difficult to say whether their interest on other occasions was anyways reciprocal. The Indians of my party killed twelve old beaver, and twenty-five young and half-grown ones out of the house above mentioned; and on examination found that several had escaped their vigilance, and could not be taken but at the expence of more trouble than would be sufficient to take double the number in a less difficult situation.[AZ]

Travellers who assert that the beaver have two doors to their houses, one on the land-side, and the other next the {231} water, seem to be less acquainted with those animals than others who assign them an elegant suite of apartments. Such a proceeding would be quite contrary to their manner of life, and at the same time would render their houses of no use, either to protect them from their enemies, or guard them against the extreme cold in Winter.

The quiquehatches, or wolvereens, are great enemies to the beaver; and if there were a passage into their houses on the land-side, would not leave one of them alive wherever they came.

1771. December.

I cannot refrain from smiling, when I read the accounts of different Authors who have written on the œconomy of those animals, as there seems to be a contest between them, who shall most exceed in fiction. But the Compiler of the Wonders of Nature and Art seems, in my opinion, to have succeeded best in this respect; as he has not only collected all the fictions into which other writers on the subject have run, but has so greatly improved on them, that little remains to be added to his account of the beaver, beside a vocabulary of their language, a code of their laws, and a sketch of their religion, to make it the most complete natural history of that animal which can possibly be offered to the public.

There cannot be a greater imposition, or indeed a grosser insult, on common understanding, than the wish {232} to make us believe the stories of some of the works ascribed to the beaver; and though it is not to be supposed that the compiler of a general work can be intimately acquainted with every subject of which it may be necessary to treat, yet a very moderate share of understanding is surely sufficient to guard him against giving credit to such marvellous tales, however smoothly they may be told, or however boldly they may be asserted, by the romancing traveller.

1771. December.

To deny that the beaver is possessed of a very considerable degree of sagacity, would be as absurd in me, as it is in those Authors who think they cannot allow them too much. I shall willingly grant them their full share; but it is impossible for any one to conceive how, or by what means, a beaver, whose full height when standing erect does not exceed two feet and a half, or three feet at most, and whose fore-paws are not much larger than a half-crown piece, can "drive stakes as thick as a man's leg into the ground three or four feet deep." Their "wattling those stakes with twigs," is equally absurd; and their "plaistering the inside of their houses with a composition of mud and straw," and "swimming with mud and stones on their tails," are still more incredible. The form and size of the animal, notwithstanding all its sagacity, will not admit of its performing such feats; and it would be as impossible for a beaver to use its tail as a trowel, except on the surface of the ground on which it walks, as it {233} would have been for Sir James Thornhill to have painted the dome of St. Paul's cathedral without the assistance of scaffolding. The joints of their tail will not admit of their turning it over theirbacks on any occasion whatever, as it has a natural inclination to bend downwards; and it is not without some considerable exertion that they can keep it from trailing on the ground. This being the case, they cannot sit erect like a squirrel, which is their common posture: particularly when eating, or when they are cleaning themselves, as a cat or squirrel does, without having their tails bent forward between their legs; and which may not improperly be called their trencher.

1771. December.

So far are the beaver from driving stakes into the ground when building their houses, that they lay most of the wood crosswise, and nearly horizontal, and without any other order than that of leaving a hollow or cavity in the middle; when any unnecessary branches project inward, they cut them off with their teeth, and throw them in among the rest, to prevent the mud from falling through the roof. It is a mistaken notion, that the wood-work is first completed and then plaistered; for the whole of their houses, as well as their dams, are from the foundation one mass of wood and mud, mixed with stones, if they can be procured. The mud is always taken from the edge of the bank, or the bottom of the creek or pond, near the door of the house; and though their fore-paws are so small, yet it is held close up between them, under their throat, {234} that they carry both mud and stones; while they always drag the wood with their teeth.

All their work is executed in the night; and they are so expeditious in completing it, that in the course of one night I have known them to have collected as much mud at their houses as to have amounted to some thousands of their little handfuls; and when any mixture of grass or straw has appeared in it, it has been, most assuredly, mere chance, owing to the nature of the ground from which they had taken it. As to their designedly making a composition for that purpose, it is entirely void of truth.

1771. December.

It is a great piece of policy in those animals, to cover, or plaister, as it is usually called, the outside of their housesevery fall with fresh mud, and as late as possible in the Autumn, even when the frost becomes pretty severe; as by this means it soon freezes as hard as a stone, and prevents their common enemy, the quiquehatch, from disturbing them during the Winter. And as they are frequently seen to walk over their work, and sometimes to give a flap with their tail, particularly when plunging into the water, this has, without doubt, given rise to the vulgar opinion that they use their tails as a trowel, with which they plaister their houses; whereas that flapping of the tail is no more than a custom, which they always preserve, even when they become tame and domestic, and more particularly so when they are startled.

{235} Their food chiefly consists of a large root, something resembling a cabbage-stalk, which grows at the bottom of the lakes and rivers. They eat also the bark of trees, particularly that of the poplar, birch, and willow; but the ice preventing them from getting to the land in Winter, they have not any barks to feed upon during that season, except that of such sticks as they cut down in Summer, and throw into the water opposite the doors of their houses; and as they generally eat a great deal, the roots above mentioned constitute a chief part of their food during the Winter. In Summer they vary their diet, by eating various kinds of herbage, and such berries as grow near their haunts during that season.

When the ice breaks up in the Spring, the beaver always leave their houses, and rove about the whole Summer, probably in search of a more commodious situation; but in case of not succeeding in their endeavours, they return again to their old habitations a little before the fall of the leaf, and lay in their Winter stock of woods. They seldom begin to repair the houses till the frost commences, and never finish the outer-coat till the cold is pretty severe, as hath been already mentioned.

1771. December.

When they shift their habitations, or when the increase of their number renders it necessary to make some addition to their houses, or to erect new ones, they begin felling{236} the wood for these purposes early in the Summer, but seldom begin to build till the middle or latter end of August, and never complete their houses till the cold weather be set in.

Notwithstanding what has been so repeatedly reported of those animals assembling in great bodies, and jointly erecting large towns, cities, and commonwealths, as they have sometimes been called, I am confident, from many circumstances, that even where the greatest numbers of beaver are situated in the neighbourhood of each other, their labours are not carried on jointly in the erection of their different habitations, nor have they any reciprocal interest, except it be such as live immediately under the same roof; and then it extends no farther than to build or keep a dam which is common to several houses. In such cases it is natural to think that every one who receives benefit from such dams, should assist in erecting it, being sensible of its utility to all.

Persons who attempt to take beaver in Winter should be thoroughly acquainted with their manner of life, otherwise they will have endless trouble to effect their purpose, and probably without success in the end; because they have always a number of holes in the banks, which serve them as places of retreat when any injury is offered to their houses; and in general it is in those holes that they are taken.

1771. December.

{237} When the beaver which are situated in a small river or creek are to be taken, the Indians sometimes find it necessary to stake the river across, to prevent them from passing; after which, they endeavour to find out all their holes or places of retreat in the banks. This requires much practice and experience to accomplish, and is performed in the following manner: Every man being furnished with an ice-chisel, lashes it to the end of a small staff about four or five feet long; he then walks along the edge of the banks, and keeps knocking his chisels against the ice. Those who are well acquainted with that kind of work well know by the sound of the ice when they are opposite to any of the beavers' holes or vaults.

As soon as they suspect any, they cut a hole through the ice big enough to admit an old beaver; and in this manner proceed till they have found out all their places of retreat, or at least as many of them as possible. While the principal men are thus employed, some of the understrappers, and the women, are busy in breaking open the house, which at times is no easy task; for I have frequently known these houses to be five and six feet thick; and one in particular, was more than eight feet thick on the crown. When the beaver find that their habitations are invaded, they fly to their holes in the banks for shelter; and on being perceived by the Indians, which is easily done, by attending to the motion of the water, they block up the entrance with stakes of wood, and then haul the beaver out of its hole, either by hand, if they can reach it, or with a large hook {238} made for that purpose, which is fastened to the end of a long stick.

In this kind of hunting, every man has the sole right to all the beaver caught by him in the holes or vaults; and as this is a constant rule, each person takes care to mark such as he discovers, by sticking up the branch of a tree, or some other distinguishing post, by which he may know them. All that are caught in the house also are the property of the person who finds it.

The same regulations are observed, and the same process used in taking beaver that are found in lakes and other standing waters, except it be that of staking the lake across, which would be both unnecessary and impossible. Taking beaver-houses in these situations is generally attended with less trouble and more success than in the former.

1771. December.

The beaver is an animal which cannot keep under water long at a time; so that when their houses are broke open, and all their places of retreat discovered, they have but one choice left, as it may be called, either to be taken in their houses or their vaults: in general they prefer the latter; for where there is one beaver caught in the house, many thousands are takenin their vaults in the banks. Sometimes they are caught in nets, and in the Summer very frequently in traps. In Winter they are very fat and {239} delicious; but the trouble of rearing their young, the thinness of their hair, and their constantly roving from place to place, with the trouble they have in providing against the approach of Winter, generally keep them very poor during the Summer season, at which time their flesh is but indifferent eating, and their skins of so little value, that the Indians generally singe them, even to the amount of many thousands in one Summer. They have from two to five young, at a time. Mr. Dobbs, in his Account of Hudson's Bay, enumerates no less than eight different kinds of beaver[99]; but it must be understood that they are all of one kind and species; his distinctions arise wholly from the different seasons of the year in which they are killed, and the different uses to which their skins are applied, which is the sole reason that they vary so much in value.

1771. December.

Joseph Lefranc, or Mr. Dobbs for him, says, that a good hunter can kill six hundred beaver in one season, and can only carry one hundred to market. If that was really the case in Lefranc's time, the canoes must have been much smaller than they are at present; for it is well known that the generality of the canoes which have visited the Company's Factories for the last forty or fifty years, are capable of carrying three hundred beaver-skins with great ease, exclusive of the Indians luggage, provisions, &c.[100]

1771. December.

{240} If ever a particular Indian killed six hundred beaver in one Winter, (which is rather to be doubted), it is more than probable that many in his company did not kill twenty, and perhaps some none at all, so that by distributing them among those who had bad success, and others who had no abilities for that kind of hunting, there would be no necessity of leaving them to rot, or for singing them in the fire, as related by that Author. During my residence among the Indians I have known some individuals kill more beaver, and other heavy furrs, in the course of a Winter, than their wives could manage; but the overplus was never wantonly destroyed, but always given to their relations, or to those who had been less successful; so that the whole of the great hunters' labours were always brought to the Factory. It is indeed too frequently a custom among the Southern Indians to singe many otters, as well as beaver; but this is seldom done, except in Summer, when their skins are of so little value as to be scarcely worth the duty; on which account it has been always thought impolitic to encourage the natives to kill such valuable animals at a time when their skins are not in season.

The white beaver, mentioned by Lefranc, are so rare, that instead of being "blown upon by the Company's Factors," as he asserts, I rather doubt whether one-tenth of them ever saw one during the time of their residence in this country. In the course of twenty years experience in the countries {241} about Hudson's Bay, though I travelled six hundred miles to the West of the sea-coast, I never saw but one white beaver-skin, and it had many reddish and brown hairs along the ridge of the back, and the sides and belly were of a glossy silvery white. It was deemed by the Indians a great curiosity; and I offered three times the usual price for a few of them, if they could be got; but in the course of ten years that I remained there afterward, I could not procure another; which is a convincing proof there is no such thing as a breed of that kind, and that a variation from the usual colour is very rare.

Black beaver, and that of a beautiful gloss, are not uncommon: perhaps they are more plentiful at Churchill than at any other Factory in the Bay; but it is rare to get more than twelve or fifteen of their skins in the course of one year's trade.

Lefranc, as an Indian, must have known better than to have informed Mr. Dobbs that the beaver have from ten to fifteen young at a time; or if he did, he must have deceived him wilfully; for the Indians, by killing them in all stages of gestation, have abundant opportunities of ascertaining the usual number of their offspring. I have seen some hundreds of them killed at the seasons favourable for those observations, and never could discover more than six young in one female, and that only in two {242} instances; for the usual number, as I have before observed, is from two to five.

1771. December.

Besides this unerring method of ascertaining the real number of young which any animal has at a time, there is another rule to go by, with respect to the beaver, which experience has proved to the Indians never to vary or deceive them, that is by dissection; for on examining the womb of a beaver, even at a time when not with young, there is always found a hardish round knob for every young she had at the last litter. This is a circumstance I have been particularly careful to examine, and can affirm it to be true, from real experience.

Most of the accounts, nay I may say all the accounts now extant, respecting the beaver, are taken from the authority of the French who have resided in Canada; but those accounts differ so much from the real state and œconomy of all the beaver to the North of that place, as to leave great room to suspect the truth of them altogether. In the first place, the assertion that they have two doors to their houses, one on the land-side, and the other next the water, is, as I have before observed, quite contrary to fact and common sense, as it would render their houses of no use to them, either as places of shelter from the inclemency of the extreme cold in Winter, or as a retreat from their common enemy the quiquehatch. The only thing {243} that could have made M. Du Pratz, and other French writers, conjecture that such a thing did exist, must have been from having seen some old beaver houses which had been taken by the Indians; for they are always obliged to make a hole in one side of the house before they can drive them out; and it is more than probable that in so mild a climate as Canada, the Indians do generally make those holes on the land-side,[BA]which without doubt gave rise to the suggestion.

1771. December.

In respect to the beaver dunging in their houses, as some persons assert, it is quite wrong, as they always plunge into the water to do it. I am the better enabled to make this assertion, from having kept several of them till they became so domesticated as to answer to their name, and follow those to whom they were accustomed, in the same manner as a dog would do; and they were as much pleased at being fondled, as any animal I ever saw. I had a house built for them, and a small piece of water before the door, into which they always plunged when they wanted to ease nature; and their dung being of a light substance, immediately rises and floats on the surface, {244} then separates and subsides to the bottom. When the Winter sets in so as to freeze the water solid, they still continue their custom of coming out of their house, and dunging and making water on the ice; and when the weather was so cold that I was obliged to take them into my house, they always went into a large tub of water which I set for that purpose; so that they made not the least dirt, though they were kept in my own sitting-room, where they were the constant companions of the Indian women and children, and were so fond of their company, that when the Indians were absent for any considerable time, the beaver discovered great signs of uneasiness, and on their return shewed equal marks of pleasure, by fondling on them, crawling into their laps, laying on their backs, sitting erect like a squirrel, and behaving to them like children who see their parents but seldom. In general, during the Winter they lived on the same food as the women did, and were remarkably fond of rice and plum-pudding: they would eat partridges and fresh venison very freely, but I never tried them with fish, though I have heard they will at times prey on them. In fact, there are few of the granivorous animals that may not be brought to be carnivorous. It is well known that our domestic poultry will eat animal food: thousands of geese that come to London market are fattened on tallow-craps; and our horses inHudson's Bay would not only eat all kinds of animal food, but also drink freely of the wash, or pot-liquor, intended for the {245} hogs. And we are assured by the most authentic Authors, that in Iceland, not only black cattle, but also the sheep, are almost entirely fed on fish and fish-bones during the Winter season. Even in the Isles of Orkney, and that in Summer, the sheep attend the ebbing of the tide as regular as the Esquimaux curlew, and go down to the shore which the tide has left, to feed on the sea-weed. This, however, is through necessity, for even the famous Island of Pomona[BB]will not afford them an existence above high-water-mark.

With respect to the inferior, or slave-beaver, of which some Authors speak, it is, in my opinion, very difficult for those who are best acquainted with the œconomy of this animal to determine whether there are any that deserve that appellation or not. It sometimes happens, that a beaver is caught, which has but a very indifferent coat, and which has broad patches on the back, and shoulders almost wholly without hair. This is the only foundation for asserting that there is an inferior, or slave-beaver, among them. And when one of the above description is taken, it is perhaps too hastily inferred that the hair is worn off from those parts by carrying heavy loads: whereas it is most probable that it is caused by a disorder that attacks them somewhat similar to the mange; for {246} were that falling off of the hair occasioned by performing extra labour, it is natural to think that instances of it would be more frequent than there are; as it is rare to see one of them in the course of seven or ten years. I have seen a whole house of those animals that had nothing on the surface of their bodies but the fine soft down; all the long hairs having molted off. This and every other deviation from the general run is undoubtedly owing to some particular disorder.

FOOTNOTES:[86]Sir John Richardson says of Thaye-chuck-gyed Lake that it lies a short way to the northward of Point Lake.[87]These are larvæ of a fly (Hypoderma liniata?), the eggs of which are laid in the skins of the deer in the early part of the summer. Here they develop to the size of buckshot or larger, and those portions of the skin covering them become very thin, so that when the hide is taken off and tanned it is so full of holes, a quarter of an inch or more in diameter, as to be almost entirely useless.[88]Sir John Franklin crossed Point Lake in 1821, and the "small scrubby woods" on its banks were noted by him, when he descended and surveyed the Coppermine River from it to the sea. Hearne places the south side of this lake on his map in North latitude 65° 45', only about thirty-five miles north of its true position. Caspar Whitney crossed Point Lake in the spring of 1895, and calls it Ecka tua (Fat-Water Lake). ("On Snowshoes to the Barren Grounds." By Caspar Whitney, p. 209.) Russell, in speaking of the Coppermine River which he crossed in April 1894, says, "It takes its rise in a large lake, called Ek-a Tooh, which is two days' journey in length." ("Explorations in the Far North." By Frank Russell, p. 112.)[89]There is no evidence that any observations for latitude had been taken since he left Congecathawhachaga. Possibly the quadrant had been left behind with the women at that place, to be picked up again when he returned. But now, with the destruction of the quadrant, all uncertainty as to the character of the remainder of his survey is set at rest. His distances were estimated, and the general directions were doubtless taken with a magnetic compass, while observations for latitude were impossible.[AV]The piece of iron above mentioned was the coulter of a new-fashioned plough, invented by Captain John Fowler, late Governor of Churchill River, with which he had a large piece of ground ploughed, and afterwards sowed with oats: but the part being nothing but a hot burning sand, like the Spanish lines at Gibraltar, the success may easily be guessed; which was, that it did not produce a single grain.[90]This lake is identified by Sir John Richardson as the Providence Lake of Franklin and of the present maps, but it is more likely to be Mackay Lake, which is much more nearly the size of lake here described, and the description of the woods on the south shore agrees closely with the description of Lake Mackay given by Mr. Warburton Pike, who visited that region in 1890. This determination agrees also with the statement of Hearne, that No Name Lake lies but a short distance north of the edge of the "main woods," for the northern edge of the forest crosses the country from east to west, a few miles south of this lake. On Caspar Whitney's map of his trip through the barren grounds this lake is called King or Grizzly Bear Lake. Mr. C. Harding, the officer in charge of Fort Resolution, the Hudson Bay Company's post on Great Slave Lake, has sent me the following Chipewyan Indian names of lakes, &c., in this region:—English.Chipewyan.Meaning.Mackay Lake.Clayki thua.White Sand Lake.Le Gras Lake.A ka thua.Fat Lake.(doubtless the same as Point Lake).Aylmer Lake.Chlueata thua.Caribou swimming among the ice Lake.Artillery Lake.Atacho thua.Caribou crossing in the middle of the lake Lake.Coppermine River.Sanka taza.Copper River.Musk Ox Mountain.Edegadaniyatha.[91]Mr. Harding informs me this is a lake lying a short distance south of Mackay Lake, and now known as "Lake of the Enemy." Anaw'd is doubtless the same word as Enna, which is the Chipewyan name for a Cree Indian.Away to the west of this another large lake is indicated on the map, doubtless from the reports of the Indians, but no name is attached to it. On the Cook map this western lake is called Edlande Lake.[92]L'abbé Petitot states (op. cit., p. 143) that there are five rivers flowing into the north side of McLeod Bay of Great Slave Lake, and the little stream which flows from Methy Lake is doubtless one of these, and possibly Hoarfrost River. In that case Methy Lake is almost certainly Cook Lake, which agrees with Hearne's description inasmuch as it lies just within the edge of the woods.[93]Great Slave Lake.[AW]The course of this river is nearly South West.[94]Lepus americanus(Erxl.).—E. A. P.[95]Canachites canadensis(Linn.).—E. A. P.[AX]His name was Cos-abyagh, the Northern Indian name for the Rock Partridge.[AY]As a proof of this, Matonabbee, (who always thought me possessed of this art,) on his arrival at Prince of Wales's Fort in the Winter of 1778, informed me, that a man whom I had never seen but once, had treated him in such a manner that he was afraid of his life; in consequence of which he pressed me very much to kill him, though I was then several hundreds of miles distant: On which, to please this great man to whom I owed so much, and not expecting that any harm could possibly arise from it, I drew a rough sketch of two human figures on a piece of paper, in the attitude of wrestling: in the hand of one of them, I drew the figure of a bayonet pointing to the breast of the other. This is me, said I to Matonabbee, pointing to the figure which was holding the bayonet; and the other, is your enemy. Opposite to those figures I drew a pine-tree, over which I placed a large human eye, and out of the tree projected a human hand. This paper I gave to Matonabbee, with instructions to make it as publicly known as possible. Sure enough, the following year, when he came in to trade, he informed me that the man was dead, though at that time he was not less than three hundred miles from Prince of Wales's Fort. He assured me that the man was in perfect health when he heard of my design against him; but almost immediately afterwards became quite gloomy, and refusing all kind of sustenance, in a very few days died. After this I was frequently applied to on the same account, both by Matonabbee and other leading Indians, but never thought proper to comply with their requests; by which means I not only preserved the credit I gained on the first attempt, but always kept them in awe, and in some degree of respect and obedience to me. In fact, strange as it may appear, it is almost absolutely necessary that the chiefs at this place should profess something a little supernatural, to be able to deal with those people. The circumstance here recorded is a fact well known to Mr. William Jefferson, who succeeded me at Churchill Factory, as well as to all the officers and many of the common men who were at Prince of Wales's Fort at the time.[96]The lake which he has now reached and which he calls Athapuscow Lake, Arathapescow Lake of the Cook and Pennant maps, is Great Slave Lake of the present maps, or the Slave Lake of Alexander Mackenzie, and not the lake now known as Athabasca Lake; and the point at which he reached it was somewhere east of the entrance to the North Arm. According to l'Abbé Petitot, the name Athabasca is a Cree word, referring to a reedy, grassy mouth of a river, and means "The Herbaceous Network." It does not appear to have been the original name of any particular place or lake, but was doubtless applied to this lake by Hearne on account of the great marsh which covers much of the delta of Slave River, and later it was applied to the lake now known as Athabasca Lake on account of the character of the delta at the mouth of Athabasca River, near which Peter Pond, a trader from Montreal, established in 1778 the first trading-post on the Mackenzie waters. His map of 1785 designates the lake Arabasca Lake. Petitot states (Royal Geographical Society, vol. v. N.S. 1883, p. 728) that Great Slave Lake is called "'Thu-tué,' or 'Lake of the Breasts,' by the Chipewyans, because its eastern part is terminated by two extensive bays, in outline fancifully resembling the female bosom."[97]Indian Deer = Wood Caribou (Rangifer caribou(Gmel.)).—E. A. P.[98]Castor canadensisKuhl.[AZ]The difficulty here alluded to, was the numberless vaults the beaver had in the sides of the pond, and the immense thickness of the house in some parts.[99]The eight different kinds of beavers referred to by Mr. Dobbs are rather eight different grades of beaver-skins classified on a strictly commercial basis. His statement is:"There are eight kinds of Beavers received at the Farmer's Office."The first is the fat Winter Beaver, kill'd in Winter, which is worth 5s. 6d. per Pound."The Second is the fat Summer Beaver, killed in Summer, and is worth 2s. 9d."The third the dry Winter Beaver, and fourth the Bordeau, is much the same, and are worth 3s. 6d."The fifth the dry Summer Beaver is worth very little, about 1s. 9d. per Pound."The sixth is the Coat Beaver, which is worn till it is half greased, and is worth 4s. 6d. per Pound."The 7th the Muscovite dry Beaver, of a fine Skin, covered over with a silky Hair; they wear it in Russia, and comb away all the short Down, which they make into Stuffs and other Works, leaving nothing but the silky Hair; this is worth 4s. 6d. per Pound."The eighth is the Mittain Beaver, cut out for that Purpose to make Mittains, to preserve them from the Cold, and are greased by being used, and are worth 1s. 9d. per Pound." ("An Account of the Countries adjoining to Hudson's Bay." By Arthur Dobbs, London, 1744, pp. 25-26.)On a later page, quoting Joseph Lefranc: "The Beavers, he says, are of three Colours; the brown reddish Colour, the black, and the white; the first is the cheapest; the black is most valued by the Company, and in England; the white, tho' most valued in Canada, giving 18 Shillings, when others gave 5 or 6 Shillings, is blown upon by the Company's Factors at the Bay, they not allowing so much for these as for the others; and therefore the Indians use them at home, or burn off the Hair, when they roast the Beavers like Pigs, at an Entertainment when they feast together; he says these Skins are extremely white, and have a fine Lustre, no Snow being whiter, and have a fine long Fur or Hair; he has seen 15 taken of that Colour out of one Lodge or Pond." (Ibid., pp. 39-40.)White Beavers are not often caught. One skin which I obtained from the vicinity of the Winnipeg River, in Eastern Manitoba, had a decidedly pinkish tint.[100]As dried Beaver skins weigh on an average from one and a half to two pounds, 300 skins would weigh on an average from 450 to 600 lbs., which is a heavier load than most of the birch-bark canoes made by the Chipewyans will carry in addition to the Indians and their necessary baggage and provisions. Dobbs's statement that 100 Beaver skins is a load for an Indian canoe is more nearly correct.[BA]The Northern Indians think that the sagacity of the beaver directs them to make that part of their house which fronts the North much thicker than any other part, with a view of defending themselves from the cold winds which generally blow from that quarter during the Winter; and for this reason the Northern Indians generally break open that side of the beaver-houses which exactly front the South.[BB]This being the largest of the Orkney Islands, is called by the inhabitants the Main Land.

[86]Sir John Richardson says of Thaye-chuck-gyed Lake that it lies a short way to the northward of Point Lake.

[87]These are larvæ of a fly (Hypoderma liniata?), the eggs of which are laid in the skins of the deer in the early part of the summer. Here they develop to the size of buckshot or larger, and those portions of the skin covering them become very thin, so that when the hide is taken off and tanned it is so full of holes, a quarter of an inch or more in diameter, as to be almost entirely useless.

[88]Sir John Franklin crossed Point Lake in 1821, and the "small scrubby woods" on its banks were noted by him, when he descended and surveyed the Coppermine River from it to the sea. Hearne places the south side of this lake on his map in North latitude 65° 45', only about thirty-five miles north of its true position. Caspar Whitney crossed Point Lake in the spring of 1895, and calls it Ecka tua (Fat-Water Lake). ("On Snowshoes to the Barren Grounds." By Caspar Whitney, p. 209.) Russell, in speaking of the Coppermine River which he crossed in April 1894, says, "It takes its rise in a large lake, called Ek-a Tooh, which is two days' journey in length." ("Explorations in the Far North." By Frank Russell, p. 112.)

[89]There is no evidence that any observations for latitude had been taken since he left Congecathawhachaga. Possibly the quadrant had been left behind with the women at that place, to be picked up again when he returned. But now, with the destruction of the quadrant, all uncertainty as to the character of the remainder of his survey is set at rest. His distances were estimated, and the general directions were doubtless taken with a magnetic compass, while observations for latitude were impossible.

[AV]The piece of iron above mentioned was the coulter of a new-fashioned plough, invented by Captain John Fowler, late Governor of Churchill River, with which he had a large piece of ground ploughed, and afterwards sowed with oats: but the part being nothing but a hot burning sand, like the Spanish lines at Gibraltar, the success may easily be guessed; which was, that it did not produce a single grain.

[90]This lake is identified by Sir John Richardson as the Providence Lake of Franklin and of the present maps, but it is more likely to be Mackay Lake, which is much more nearly the size of lake here described, and the description of the woods on the south shore agrees closely with the description of Lake Mackay given by Mr. Warburton Pike, who visited that region in 1890. This determination agrees also with the statement of Hearne, that No Name Lake lies but a short distance north of the edge of the "main woods," for the northern edge of the forest crosses the country from east to west, a few miles south of this lake. On Caspar Whitney's map of his trip through the barren grounds this lake is called King or Grizzly Bear Lake. Mr. C. Harding, the officer in charge of Fort Resolution, the Hudson Bay Company's post on Great Slave Lake, has sent me the following Chipewyan Indian names of lakes, &c., in this region:—English.Chipewyan.Meaning.Mackay Lake.Clayki thua.White Sand Lake.Le Gras Lake.A ka thua.Fat Lake.(doubtless the same as Point Lake).Aylmer Lake.Chlueata thua.Caribou swimming among the ice Lake.Artillery Lake.Atacho thua.Caribou crossing in the middle of the lake Lake.Coppermine River.Sanka taza.Copper River.Musk Ox Mountain.Edegadaniyatha.

English.Chipewyan.Meaning.Mackay Lake.Clayki thua.White Sand Lake.Le Gras Lake.A ka thua.Fat Lake.(doubtless the same as Point Lake).Aylmer Lake.Chlueata thua.Caribou swimming among the ice Lake.Artillery Lake.Atacho thua.Caribou crossing in the middle of the lake Lake.Coppermine River.Sanka taza.Copper River.Musk Ox Mountain.Edegadaniyatha.

[91]Mr. Harding informs me this is a lake lying a short distance south of Mackay Lake, and now known as "Lake of the Enemy." Anaw'd is doubtless the same word as Enna, which is the Chipewyan name for a Cree Indian.Away to the west of this another large lake is indicated on the map, doubtless from the reports of the Indians, but no name is attached to it. On the Cook map this western lake is called Edlande Lake.

Away to the west of this another large lake is indicated on the map, doubtless from the reports of the Indians, but no name is attached to it. On the Cook map this western lake is called Edlande Lake.

[92]L'abbé Petitot states (op. cit., p. 143) that there are five rivers flowing into the north side of McLeod Bay of Great Slave Lake, and the little stream which flows from Methy Lake is doubtless one of these, and possibly Hoarfrost River. In that case Methy Lake is almost certainly Cook Lake, which agrees with Hearne's description inasmuch as it lies just within the edge of the woods.

[93]Great Slave Lake.

[AW]The course of this river is nearly South West.

[94]Lepus americanus(Erxl.).—E. A. P.

[95]Canachites canadensis(Linn.).—E. A. P.

[AX]His name was Cos-abyagh, the Northern Indian name for the Rock Partridge.

[AY]As a proof of this, Matonabbee, (who always thought me possessed of this art,) on his arrival at Prince of Wales's Fort in the Winter of 1778, informed me, that a man whom I had never seen but once, had treated him in such a manner that he was afraid of his life; in consequence of which he pressed me very much to kill him, though I was then several hundreds of miles distant: On which, to please this great man to whom I owed so much, and not expecting that any harm could possibly arise from it, I drew a rough sketch of two human figures on a piece of paper, in the attitude of wrestling: in the hand of one of them, I drew the figure of a bayonet pointing to the breast of the other. This is me, said I to Matonabbee, pointing to the figure which was holding the bayonet; and the other, is your enemy. Opposite to those figures I drew a pine-tree, over which I placed a large human eye, and out of the tree projected a human hand. This paper I gave to Matonabbee, with instructions to make it as publicly known as possible. Sure enough, the following year, when he came in to trade, he informed me that the man was dead, though at that time he was not less than three hundred miles from Prince of Wales's Fort. He assured me that the man was in perfect health when he heard of my design against him; but almost immediately afterwards became quite gloomy, and refusing all kind of sustenance, in a very few days died. After this I was frequently applied to on the same account, both by Matonabbee and other leading Indians, but never thought proper to comply with their requests; by which means I not only preserved the credit I gained on the first attempt, but always kept them in awe, and in some degree of respect and obedience to me. In fact, strange as it may appear, it is almost absolutely necessary that the chiefs at this place should profess something a little supernatural, to be able to deal with those people. The circumstance here recorded is a fact well known to Mr. William Jefferson, who succeeded me at Churchill Factory, as well as to all the officers and many of the common men who were at Prince of Wales's Fort at the time.

[96]The lake which he has now reached and which he calls Athapuscow Lake, Arathapescow Lake of the Cook and Pennant maps, is Great Slave Lake of the present maps, or the Slave Lake of Alexander Mackenzie, and not the lake now known as Athabasca Lake; and the point at which he reached it was somewhere east of the entrance to the North Arm. According to l'Abbé Petitot, the name Athabasca is a Cree word, referring to a reedy, grassy mouth of a river, and means "The Herbaceous Network." It does not appear to have been the original name of any particular place or lake, but was doubtless applied to this lake by Hearne on account of the great marsh which covers much of the delta of Slave River, and later it was applied to the lake now known as Athabasca Lake on account of the character of the delta at the mouth of Athabasca River, near which Peter Pond, a trader from Montreal, established in 1778 the first trading-post on the Mackenzie waters. His map of 1785 designates the lake Arabasca Lake. Petitot states (Royal Geographical Society, vol. v. N.S. 1883, p. 728) that Great Slave Lake is called "'Thu-tué,' or 'Lake of the Breasts,' by the Chipewyans, because its eastern part is terminated by two extensive bays, in outline fancifully resembling the female bosom."

[97]Indian Deer = Wood Caribou (Rangifer caribou(Gmel.)).—E. A. P.

[98]Castor canadensisKuhl.

[AZ]The difficulty here alluded to, was the numberless vaults the beaver had in the sides of the pond, and the immense thickness of the house in some parts.

[99]The eight different kinds of beavers referred to by Mr. Dobbs are rather eight different grades of beaver-skins classified on a strictly commercial basis. His statement is:"There are eight kinds of Beavers received at the Farmer's Office."The first is the fat Winter Beaver, kill'd in Winter, which is worth 5s. 6d. per Pound."The Second is the fat Summer Beaver, killed in Summer, and is worth 2s. 9d."The third the dry Winter Beaver, and fourth the Bordeau, is much the same, and are worth 3s. 6d."The fifth the dry Summer Beaver is worth very little, about 1s. 9d. per Pound."The sixth is the Coat Beaver, which is worn till it is half greased, and is worth 4s. 6d. per Pound."The 7th the Muscovite dry Beaver, of a fine Skin, covered over with a silky Hair; they wear it in Russia, and comb away all the short Down, which they make into Stuffs and other Works, leaving nothing but the silky Hair; this is worth 4s. 6d. per Pound."The eighth is the Mittain Beaver, cut out for that Purpose to make Mittains, to preserve them from the Cold, and are greased by being used, and are worth 1s. 9d. per Pound." ("An Account of the Countries adjoining to Hudson's Bay." By Arthur Dobbs, London, 1744, pp. 25-26.)On a later page, quoting Joseph Lefranc: "The Beavers, he says, are of three Colours; the brown reddish Colour, the black, and the white; the first is the cheapest; the black is most valued by the Company, and in England; the white, tho' most valued in Canada, giving 18 Shillings, when others gave 5 or 6 Shillings, is blown upon by the Company's Factors at the Bay, they not allowing so much for these as for the others; and therefore the Indians use them at home, or burn off the Hair, when they roast the Beavers like Pigs, at an Entertainment when they feast together; he says these Skins are extremely white, and have a fine Lustre, no Snow being whiter, and have a fine long Fur or Hair; he has seen 15 taken of that Colour out of one Lodge or Pond." (Ibid., pp. 39-40.)White Beavers are not often caught. One skin which I obtained from the vicinity of the Winnipeg River, in Eastern Manitoba, had a decidedly pinkish tint.

[99]The eight different kinds of beavers referred to by Mr. Dobbs are rather eight different grades of beaver-skins classified on a strictly commercial basis. His statement is:

"There are eight kinds of Beavers received at the Farmer's Office.

"The first is the fat Winter Beaver, kill'd in Winter, which is worth 5s. 6d. per Pound.

"The Second is the fat Summer Beaver, killed in Summer, and is worth 2s. 9d.

"The third the dry Winter Beaver, and fourth the Bordeau, is much the same, and are worth 3s. 6d.

"The fifth the dry Summer Beaver is worth very little, about 1s. 9d. per Pound.

"The sixth is the Coat Beaver, which is worn till it is half greased, and is worth 4s. 6d. per Pound.

"The 7th the Muscovite dry Beaver, of a fine Skin, covered over with a silky Hair; they wear it in Russia, and comb away all the short Down, which they make into Stuffs and other Works, leaving nothing but the silky Hair; this is worth 4s. 6d. per Pound.

"The eighth is the Mittain Beaver, cut out for that Purpose to make Mittains, to preserve them from the Cold, and are greased by being used, and are worth 1s. 9d. per Pound." ("An Account of the Countries adjoining to Hudson's Bay." By Arthur Dobbs, London, 1744, pp. 25-26.)

On a later page, quoting Joseph Lefranc: "The Beavers, he says, are of three Colours; the brown reddish Colour, the black, and the white; the first is the cheapest; the black is most valued by the Company, and in England; the white, tho' most valued in Canada, giving 18 Shillings, when others gave 5 or 6 Shillings, is blown upon by the Company's Factors at the Bay, they not allowing so much for these as for the others; and therefore the Indians use them at home, or burn off the Hair, when they roast the Beavers like Pigs, at an Entertainment when they feast together; he says these Skins are extremely white, and have a fine Lustre, no Snow being whiter, and have a fine long Fur or Hair; he has seen 15 taken of that Colour out of one Lodge or Pond." (Ibid., pp. 39-40.)

White Beavers are not often caught. One skin which I obtained from the vicinity of the Winnipeg River, in Eastern Manitoba, had a decidedly pinkish tint.

[100]As dried Beaver skins weigh on an average from one and a half to two pounds, 300 skins would weigh on an average from 450 to 600 lbs., which is a heavier load than most of the birch-bark canoes made by the Chipewyans will carry in addition to the Indians and their necessary baggage and provisions. Dobbs's statement that 100 Beaver skins is a load for an Indian canoe is more nearly correct.

[BA]The Northern Indians think that the sagacity of the beaver directs them to make that part of their house which fronts the North much thicker than any other part, with a view of defending themselves from the cold winds which generally blow from that quarter during the Winter; and for this reason the Northern Indians generally break open that side of the beaver-houses which exactly front the South.

[BB]This being the largest of the Orkney Islands, is called by the inhabitants the Main Land.

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