Narrative of a Second Expedition to the Shores of the Polar Sea, in the Years 1825, 1826, and 1827. Franklin John

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СКАЧАТЬ some one whom he had sent for should come. This proved to be his son, in a very sickly state. Though the day was warm, the lad was shivering with cold, and it was evident he was suffering from fever, which the father had no doubt we could cure. The only remedy we could apply was some warm tea, with a little brandy in it, which we afterwards learned had the desired effect of restoring the invalid. Again we were preparing to set off, when the same old man begged us to stop until the women should come; these were no less pleased with Augustus, and with the presents they received, than the men had been.

      This good-natured tribe is distinguished by the traders as the Lower Loucheux, but the literal meaning of their Indian name is the Sharp Eyes. They are decidedly a well-looking people: in manner, and general appearance, they resemble the Esquimaux near the mouth of the Mackenzie, though not in their eyes, which are prominent and full. Their canoes, too, are shaped like those of the Esquimaux, and made of birch bark, which, by some process, is striped from the gunwale perpendicularly downwards, for the purpose of ornament. Their summer dress, like that of the Upper Loucheux and Esquimaux, is a jacket of leather, prolonged to a point before and behind: the leggings, of the same material, are sewn to the shoes, and tied by a string round the waist. The outer edges of their dress are cut into fringes, coloured with red and yellow earth, and generally decorated with beads. Beads are so much coveted by them, that, for some years, they were the principal article of trade exchanged for their furs; and even now the successful hunter, or the favourite son, may be known by the quantity of strings of different coloured beads which he has about his neck. These Indians are the only natives of America, except the Esquimaux, whom I have seen with the septum of the nose perforated, through which, like the Esquimaux, they thrust pieces of bone, or small strings of shells, which they purchase from that people. Few of them have guns, but each man is armed with a bow and arrows. The bows are constructed of three pieces of wood, the middle one straight, and those at each end crooked, and bound with sinews, of which the string is also made. The dress of the women only differs from that of the men by the hood being made sufficiently wide to admit of their carrying a child on their back.

      At ten a.m. we resumed our journey, followed by the young man who had first spoken to us, and his brother, in their canoes, and in the course of two hours came abreast of a remarkable round-backed hill, on which we were informed Mr. Livingstone and his party had encamped in 1795, the night before they were massacred. This hill marks the commencement of another contraction of the river, which is here pent in between very steep cliffs of blue limestone, which I have denominated the Narrows. The Red River contributes its waters to the Mackenzie at the lower part of the Narrows, in latitude 67° 27' N., longitude 133° 31' W.; and, though of inconsiderable size, is remarkable as being the boundary between the lands claimed by the Loucheux Indians and those of the Esquimaux, and likewise as the spot where the amicable meeting between these tribes had been held in the preceding spring. We did not find the chief of the Loucheux here, as had been expected, and therefore passed on. The banks of the river, now entirely composed of sand and sandstone, became gradually lower, and more bare of trees. At the end of eight miles we arrived at a very spacious opening, in which were numerous well-wooded islands, and various channels. The rocky mountains on the west once more appeared in view, extending from S.W. to N.W. and preserving a N.W.½W. direction; and of this range a very lofty peak, and a table mountain, which I have named after the late Mr. Gifford, form the most conspicuous features. We steered into the eastern channel, as being that through which the current seemed to run swiftest; and as soon as we came to a high bank we landed, for the purpose of taking a survey of the surrounding scene. But even from its summit our view was very limited, and all we could discover was, that we were certainly in that expansion of the river that Mackenzie delineates in his chart, and, therefore, in the fair way to the sea, whatever channel we took. This might have been inferred, from the sudden departure of our two Indian companions, who dropped behind and turned their canoes round, without further ceremony, as soon as they saw our intention of entering the eastern channel. Baptiste, who was asleep at the time, expressed surprise at their having gone back, but consoled himself with the idea of meeting the Indian chief the next morning, at a place he called the Forks. We were amused at conjecturing how great his surprise would be should he next be disturbed by the hallowing of a party of Esquimaux, whom he greatly dreaded. At the end of twenty-three miles descent in the middle channel, having passed one that branched off to the eastward, we put up at an early hour, and caused the guns to be cleaned, and two sentinels appointed to watch, lest the Esquimaux should come upon us unawares. The banks of the river, as well as the islands, are entirely alluvial, and support willows at the lower parts, and the spruce-fir trees at the summits. The beach on which we were encamped was much intersected with the recent tracts of the moose and rein-deer.

      Saturday, 13th.We embarked at three a.m. on the 13th; and as we were in momentary expectation of meeting the Esquimaux with whom I wished to have an interview, the masts were struck, lest they should discover the boat at a distance, and run off. We soon passed two of their huts, which did not seem to have been recently inhabited. The longitude 134° 20' 30" W., and variation 51° 4' 20" E., were observed at the time we halted to breakfast, and the latitude 68° 15' 50" N., at noon. The Rein-deer mountains on the eastern side, came in view before noon. The range on the west was also occasionally visible: we were descending between the M'Gillivray and Simpson islands, in a channel that did not exceed half a mile in breadth. A fine breeze sprung up after noon, of which we took advantage by setting the sails, not having seen any recent traces of the Esquimaux. At the extremity of Simpson island there is a broad channel, which pours its waters into the one in which we were, at a place where the stream is contracted by a small island, and a strong rapid is the consequence of this junction. Here we found many huts, and other indications of its being a place of resort for fishing; here, too, it is supposed Mr. Livingstone and his crew fell a sacrifice to the first party of Esquimaux whom they met. Several other openings branched off to the eastward; but we continued to follow the largest channel, in which the current was very strong, and kept nearly parallel to, and about ten miles from, the Rein-deer mountains. Their outline, viewed from this distance, appeared very regular, the only remarkable parts being some eminences that were tinged with a deep pink colour. Sailing by one of the huts at a quick rate, every one's attention was arrested at hearing a shrill sound, which was supposed to be a human voice; but on landing to ascertain the fact, we could find no person, nor any footsteps. We, therefore, continued our journey. As we proceeded, the river became more devious in its course, the huts on the Esquimaux were now more frequent; none of them, however, seemed to have been recently inhabited. The islands were of the same alluvial kind as those seen yesterday, and the wood on them equally plentiful and large. We stopped to sup at nine, extinguished the fire as soon as we had finished, and then retired to sleep in the boat, keeping two men on guard.

      Sunday, 14th.We set off aided by a fresh breeze this morning, and at the end of seven miles came to the last of the fir trees, in latitude 68° 40' N., the only wood beyond this being stunted willows, which became still more dwarfish at thirty miles from the mouth of the river. There was plenty of drift-wood on the borders of the islands, and some even on the higher parts, at a distance from the water; from which it would appear that at certain seasons they are inundated. At length the main stream took a turn to the S.S.W., which we followed, though there was a branch northwards, but it seemed to be much impeded by mud-banks.[1] At the end of eight miles the river again inclined to the north of west, round the southern extremity of Halkett island, and there were openings to the north and south, which we did not stop to examine. A fog-bank hung over the northern horizon, which gave us no little uneasiness, from its strong resemblance to a continuous line of ice-blink; and the clouds, from the sun-beams falling on them, had the exact appearance of icebergs. However, the sun became sufficiently powerful in the afternoon to dissipate the cause of this illusion, and relieve us from anxiety on that score. A body of water, nearly equal to that we were descending, poured in between the Colville and Halkett islands with such force as to cause a very strong ripple at the point of junction, which we avoided by keeping close to the shore of Langley island. The channel, after the union of these streams, increased to a breadth of two miles, preserving a N.N.W. course. We stood twelve miles in this direction, and two to the westward, when we were gratified by the delightful prospect of the shore suddenly diverging, and a wide space of open СКАЧАТЬ