Chapter II: Part 2

Several additional maps have been added. Among these are the portions of Cook's and Pennant's maps of parts of North America showing the first published records of Hearne's courses; a map of the Coppermine River as surveyed by Sir John Franklin in 1821; and a general map of Northern Canada drawn on the same scale and projection as Hearne's large map, and with his routes laid down as correctly as it has been possible for me to determine them. The latter map is much more easily compared with Hearne's original map than one drawn on the polyconic projection in common use at the present time.

I wish to acknowledge my indebtedness to Mr. Edward A. Preble of the Biological Survey, Washington, D.C., U.S.A., author of "A Biological Investigation of the Hudson Bay Region" and "A Biological Investigation of the Athabaska-Mackenzie Region," who has so kindly annotated Chapter X. on the fauna and flora of Hudson Bay, and has also added the notes to which his initials are attached in other parts of the volume.

J. B. TYRRELL.
TORONTO, _February 1, 1910_.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] This is an error, as the fort was neither rebuilt nor refortified.

[2] The results of their observations were published in the _Philosophical Transactions_, vol. lix. (1769), pp. 467 and 480, and vol. lx. (1770), pp. 100 and 137.

[3] "Report on the Dubawnt, Kazan, and Ferguson Rivers," by J. B. Tyrrell. "Geological Survey of Canada," Part F, vol. ix. 1896. Ottawa, 1897.

[4] "Six Years' Residence in Hudson's Bay," by J. Robson, 1752, p. 15. Robson strongly urged an overland expedition to discover the copper, p. 60.

[5] Hudson's Bay Report, 1749, p. 230.

[6] Ibid., p. 271.

[7] Hudson's Bay Report, 1749, p. 226.

[8] Henry Kelsey's account of this journey has given rise to a good deal of dispute and scepticism. It gives me the impression that it is a story written from memory years after the journey was performed, but his general description of the country on the Red Deer River just north of the Province of Manitoba, and of the plains of Saskatchewan to the south-west of it, is too clear to be mistaken. I am indebted to Professor W. H. Holmes, Director of the United States Bureau of Ethnology, for assistance in identifying the "Naywatamee poets" with the Mandan Indians.

[9] As farther evidence that this expedition was undertaken solely for the purpose of obtaining a knowledge of the whereabouts of the copper deposits, Edward Umfreville, who was employed as a writer at York Factory in Hearne's time, makes the following interesting statement: "Some years since, the Company being informed that the Indians frequently brought fine pieces of copper to their Settlements on Churchill River, they took into consideration, and appointed a person (S. Hearne) with proper assistants, to survey and examine the river where the valuable acquisition was supposed to be concealed."--_The Present State of Hudson's Bay_, by Edward Umfreville, p. 45. London, 1790.

[10] Mr. Beckles Willson, in his book "The Great Company," says, on I know not what authority, that it was £200.

[11] "Cook's Third Voyage," vol. i. Introduction, p. lxxxi. London, 1784. For purposes of comparison, the portion of this map which refers to Hearne is republished at the end of the present volume. It is stated by Beckles Willson in "The Great Company" that short accounts of his journey had been published in 1773 and again in 1778-80, but though diligent search has been made for these accounts in the British Museum and elsewhere, no trace of them can be found.

[12] "Le Gouverneur _Hearne_ avait fait, en 1772, un voyage par terre vers le Nord, en partant du fort Churchill dans la Baie de Hudson, '_Samuel Hearne partit du fort du Prince de Galles le 7 Décembre 1770_,' voyage dont on attend les détails avec impatience; le journal manuscrit en fut trouvé par _la Pérouse_ dans les papiers de ce Gouverneur, qui insista pour qu'il lui fût laissé comme sa propriété particulière. Ce voyage ayant été fait néanmoins par ordre de la Compagnie de Hudson, dans la vue d'acquérir des connaissances sur la partie du Nord de l'Amérique, le journal pouvait bien être censé appartenir à cette Compagnie, et par conséquent être dévolu au vainqueur; cependant _la Pérouse_ céda, par bonté, aux instances du Gouverneur _Hearne_, et lui rendit le manuscrit; mais à la condition expresse de la faire imprimer et publier dès qu'il serait de retour en Angleterre. Cette condition ne paraît pas avoir été remplie jusqu'à present.[A] Espérons que la remarque qui en est faite, rendue publique, produira l'effet attendu ou qu'elle engagera le Gouverneur à faire connaître si la Compagnie de Hudson, qui redoute qu'on ne s'immisce dans ses affaires et son commerce, s'est opposée à sa publication."--Discours préliminaire du Voyage de _la Pérouse_ autour du monde, pp. xlvi et xlvii de l'in-4^º.

[A] Le Voyage de Samuel Hearne a été publié à Londres en l'an 3, et celui de _la Pérouse_ à Paris, en l'an 6. (_Note du Traducteur du Voyage de_ Samuel Hearne.)

A
JOURNEY
FROM
Prince of Wales's Fort, in Hudson's Bay,
TO
THE NORTHERN OCEAN.

UNDERTAKEN
_BY ORDER OF THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY._
FOR THE DISCOVERY OF
COPPER MINES, A NORTH WEST PASSAGE, &c.
In the Years 1769, 1770, 1771, & 1772.

By SAMUEL HEARNE.

LONDON:

Printed for A. STRAHAN and T. CADELL:
And Sold by T. CADELL Jun. and W. DAVIES, (Successors to
Mr. CADELL,) in the Strand.

1795

TO
SAMUEL WEGG, ESQ., GOVERNOR,
SIR JAMES WINTER LAKE, DEPUTY GOVERNOR,
AND
THE REST OF THE COMMITTEE
OF THE HONOURABLE
_HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY._

* * * * *

HONOURABLE SIRS,

As the following Journey was undertaken at your Request and Expence, I feel it no less my Duty than my Inclination to address it to you; hoping that my humble Endeavours to relate, in a plain and unadorned Style, the various Circumstances and Remarks which {iv} occurred during that Journey, will meet with your Approbation.

I am, with much Esteem and Gratitude,
HONOURABLE SIRS,
Your most obedient, and
most obliged humble Servant,
SAMUEL HEARNE.

PREFACE.

Mr. Dalrymple, in one of his Pamphlets relating to Hudson's Bay, has been so very particular in his observations on my Journey, as to remark, that I have not explained the construction of the Quadrant which I had the misfortune to break in my second Journey to the North. It was a Hadley's Quadrant, with a bubble attached to it for a horizon, and made by Daniel Scatlif of Wapping. But as no instrument of the same principle could be procured when I was setting out on my last Journey, an old Elton's Quadrant, which had been upwards of thirty years at the Fort, was the only instrument I could then be provided with, in any respect proper for making observations with on the land.

Mr. Dalrymple also observes, that I only inserted in my last Journal to the Company, one observation for the latitude, which may be true; but I had, nevertheless, several others during that Journey, particularly at Snow-bird Lake, Thelwey-aza-yeth, and Clowey, exclusive of that mentioned in the Journal taken at Conge-cathawhachaga. But when I was on that Journey, and for several {vi} years after, I little thought that any remarks made in it would ever have attracted the notice of the Public; if I had, greater pains might and would have been taken to render it more worthy of their attention than it now is. At that time my ideas and ambition extended no farther than to give my employers such an account of my proceedings as might be satisfactory to them, and answer the purpose which they had in view; little thinking it would ever come under the inspection of so ingenious and indefatigable a geographer as Mr. Dalrymple must be allowed to be. But as the case has turned out otherwise, I have at my leisure hours recopied all my Journals into one book, and in some instances added to the remarks I had before made; not so much for the information of those who are critics in geography, as for the amusement of candid and indulgent readers, who may perhaps feel themselves in some measure gratified, by having the face of a country brought to their view, which has hitherto been entirely unknown to every European except myself. Nor will, I flatter myself, a description of the modes of living, manners, and customs of the natives (which, though long known, have never been described), be less acceptable to the curious.

I cannot help observing, that I feel myself rather hurt at Mr. Dalrymple's rejecting my latitude in so peremptory a manner, and in so great a proportion, as he has done; because, before I arrived at Conge-cathawhachaga, the {vii} Sun did not set during the whole night: a proof that I was then to the Northward of the Arctic Circle. I may be allowed to add, that when I was at the Copper River, on the eighteenth of July, the Sun's declination was but 21°, and yet it was certainly some height above the horizon at midnight; how much, as I did not _then_ remark, I will not _now_ take upon me to say; but it proves that the latitude was considerably more than Mr. Dalrymple will admit of. His assertion, that no grass is to be found on the (rocky) coast of Greenland farther North than the latitude of 65°, is no proof there should not be any in a much higher latitude in the interior parts of North America. For, in the first place, I think it is more than probable, that the Copper River empties itself into a sort of inland Sea, or extensive Bay, somewhat like that of Hudson's: and it is well known that no part of the coast of Hudson's Straits, nor those of Labradore, at least for some degrees South of them, any more than the East coast of Hudson's Bay, till we arrive near Whale River, have any trees on them; while the West coast of the Bay in the same latitudes, is well clothed with timber. Where then is the ground for such an assertion? Had Mr. Dalrymple considered this circumstance only, I flatter myself he would not so hastily have objected to woods and grass being seen in similar situations, though in a much higher latitude. Neither can the reasoning which Mr. Dalrymple derives from the error I committed in estimating the distance to Cumberland House, any way affect the question under {viii} consideration; because that distance being chiefly in longitude, I had no means of correcting it by an observation, which was not the case here.

I do not by any means wish to enter into a dispute with, or incur the displeasure of Mr. Dalrymple; but thinking, as I do, that I have not been treated in so liberal a manner as I ought to have been, he will excuse me for endeavouring to convince the Public that his objections are in a great measure without foundation. And having done so, I shall quit the disagreeable subject with declaring, that if any part of the following sheets should afford amusement to Mr. Dalrymple, or any other of my readers, it will be the highest gratification I can receive, and the only recompence I desire to obtain for the hardships and fatigue which I underwent in procuring the information contained in them.

Being well assured that several learned and curious gentlemen are in possession of manuscript copies of, or extracts from, my Journals, as well as copies of the Charts, I have been induced to make this copy as correct as possible, and to publish it; especially as I observe that scarcely any two of the publications that contain extracts from my Journals, agree in the dates when I arrived at, or departed from, particular places. To rectify those disagreements I applied to the Governor and Committee of the Hudson's Bay Company, for leave to peruse my original Journals. This was granted with the greatest affability {ix} and politeness; as well as a sight of all my Charts relative to this Journey. With this assistance I have been enabled to rectify some inaccuracies that had, by trusting too much to memory, crept into this copy; and I now offer it to the Public under authentic dates and the best authorities, however widely some publications may differ from it.

I have taken the liberty to expunge some passages which were inserted in the original copy, as being no ways interesting to the Public, and several others have undergone great alterations; so that, in fact, the whole may be said to be new-modelled, by being blended with a variety of Remarks and Notes that were not inserted in the original copy, but which my long residence in the country has enabled me to add.

The account of the principal quadrupeds and birds that frequent those Northern regions in Summer, as well as those which never migrate, though not described in a scientific manner, may not be entirely unacceptable to the most scientific zoologists; and to those who are unacquainted with the technical terms used in zoology, it may perhaps be more useful and entertaining, than if I had described them in the most classical manner. But I must not conclude this Preface, without acknowledging, in the most ample manner, the assistance I have received from the perusal of Mr Pennant's Arctic Zoology, which has enabled me to give several of the birds their proper {x} names; for those by which they are known in Hudson's Bay are purely Indian, and of course quite unknown to every European who has not resided in that country.

To conclude, I cannot sufficiently regret the loss of a considerable Vocabulary of the Northern Indian Language, containing sixteen folio pages, which was lent to the late Mr. Hutchins, then Corresponding Secretary to the Company, to copy for Captain Duncan, when he went on discoveries to Hudson's Bay in the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety. But Mr. Hutchins dying soon after, the Vocabulary was taken away with the rest of his effects, and cannot now be recovered; and memory, at this time, will by no means serve to replace it.

CONTENTS.

PAGE
INTRODUCTION 41

CHAP. I.

Transactions from my leaving Prince of Wales's Fort on my first
Expedition, till our Arrival there again.

Set off from the Fort; arrive at Po-co-ree-kis-co River--One of
the Northern Indians deserts--Cross Seal River, and walk on the
barren grounds--Receive wrong information concerning the
distance of the woods--Weather begins to be very cold,
provisions all expended, and nothing to be got--Strike to the
Westward, arrive at the woods, and kill three deer--Set forward
in the North West quarter, see the tracks of musk-oxen and deer,
but killed none--Very short of provisions--Chawchinahaw wants us
to return--Neither he nor his crew contribute to our
maintenance--He influences several of the Indians to
desert--Chawchinahaw and all his crew leave us--Begin our return
to the Factory; kill a few partridges, the first meal we had had
for several days--Villany of one of the home Indians and his
wife, who was a Northern Indian woman--Arrive at the Seal River,
kill two deer; partridges plenty--Meet a strange Northern
Indian, accompany him to his tent, usage received there; my
Indians assist in killing some beaver--Proceed toward home, and
arrive at the Fort 61

CHAP. II.

Transactions from our Arrival at the Factory, to my leaving it
again, and during the First Part of my Second Journey, till I
had the misfortune to break the Quadrant.

Transactions at the Factory--Proceed on my second
journey--Arrive at Seal River--Deer plentiful for some
time--Method of angling fish under the ice--Set our
fishing-nets--Method of setting nets under the ice--My guide
[xii] proposes to stay till the geese should begin to fly; his
reasons accepted--Pitch our tent in the best manner--Method of
pitching a tent in Winter--Fish plentiful for some time; grow
very scarce; in great want of provisions--Manner of employing my
time--My guide killed two deer--Move to the place they were
lying at; there kill several more deer, and three beavers--Soon
in want of provisions again--Many Indians join us from the
Westward--We begin to move towards the barren ground--Arrive at
She-than-nee, there suffer great distress for want of
provisions--Indians kill two swans and three geese--Geese and
other birds of passage plentiful--Leave She-than-nee, and arrive
at Beralzone--One of my companions guns bursts, and shatters his
left hand--Leave Beralzone, and get on the barren ground, clear
of all woods--Throw away our sledges and snow shoes--Each person
takes a load on his back; my part of the luggage--Exposed to
many hardships--Several days without victuals--Indians kill
three musk-oxen, but for want of fire are obliged to eat the
meat raw--Fine weather returns; make a fire; effects of long
fasting; stay a day or two to dry some meat in the Sun--Proceed
to the Northward, and arrive at Cathawhachaga; there find some
tents of Indians--A Northern Leader called Keelshies meets us;
send a letter by him to the Governor--Transactions at
Cathawhachaga; leave it and proceed to the Northward--Meet
several Indians--My guide not willing to proceed; his reasons
for it--Many more Indians join us--Arrive at Doobaunt Whoie
River--Manner of ferrying over rivers in the Northern Indian
canoes--No rivers in those parts in a useful direction for the
natives--Had nearly lost the quadrant and all the powder--Some
reflections on our situation, and conduct of the Indians--Find
the quadrant and part of the powder--Observe for the
latitude--Quadrant broke--Resolve to return again to the Factory
69

CHAP. III.

Transactions from the time the Quadrant was broken, till I
arrived at the Factory.

Several strange Indians join us from the Northward--They plunder
me of all I had; but did not plunder the Southern Indians--My
guide plundered--We begin our return to the Factory--Meet with
other Indians, who join our company--Collect deer-skins for
clothing, but could not get them {xiii} dressed--Suffer much
hardship from the want of tents and warm clothing--Most of the
Indians leave us--Meet with Matonabbee--Some account of him, and
his behaviour to me and the Southern Indians--We remain in his
company some time--His observations on my two unsuccessful
attempts--We leave him, and proceed to a place to which he
directed us, in order to make snow-shoes and sledges--Join
Matonabbee again, and proceed towards the Factory in his
company--Ammunition runs short--Myself and four Indians set off
post for the Factory--Much bewildered in a snow storm; my dog is
frozen to death; we lie in a bush of willows--Proceed on our
journey--Great difficulty in crossing a jumble of rocks--Arrive
at the Fort 96

CHAP. IV.

Transactions during our Stay at Prince of Wales's Fort, and the
former Part of our third Expedition, till our Arrival at Clowey,
where we built Canoes, in May 1771.

Preparations for our departure--Refuse to take any of the
home-guard Indians with me--By so doing, I offend the
Governor--Leave the Fort a third time--My instructions on this
expedition--Provisions of all kinds very scarce--Arrive at the
woods, where we kill some deer--Arrive at Island
Lake--Matonabbee taken ill--Some remarks thereon--Join the
remainder of the Indians' families--Leave Island
Lake--Description thereof--Deer plentiful--Meet a strange
Indian--Alter our course from West North West to West by
South--Cross Cathawhachaga River, Cossed Lake, Snow-Bird Lake,
and Pike Lake--Arrive at a tent of strangers, who are employed
in snaring deer in a pound--Description of a pound--Method of
proceeding--Remarks thereon--Proceed on our journey--Meet with
several parties of Indians; by one of whom I sent a letter to
the Governor at Prince of Wales's Fort--Arrive at
Thleweyazayeth--Employment there--Proceed to the North North
West and North--Arrive at Clowey--One of the Indian's wives
taken in labour--Remarks thereon--Customs observed by the
Northern Indians on those occasions 106

{xiv} CHAP. V.

Transactions at Clowey, and on our Journey, till our Arrival at
the Copper-mine River.

Several strange Indians join us--Indians employed in building
canoes; description and use of them--More Indians join us, to
the amount of some hundreds--Leave Clowey--Receive intelligence
that Keelshies was near us--Two young men dispatched for my
letters and goods--Arrive at Peshew Lake; cross part of it, and
make a large smoke--One of Matonabbee's wives elopes--Some
remarks on the natives--Keelshies joins us, and delivers my
letters, but the goods were all expended--A Northern Indian
wishes to take one of Matonabbee's wives from him; matters
compromised, but had like to have proved fatal to my
progress--Cross Peshew Lake, when I make proper arrangements for
the remainder of my journey--Many Indians join our party, in
order to make war on the Esquimaux at the Copper
River--Preparations made for that purpose while at
Clowey--Proceed on our journey to the North--Some remarks on the
way--Cross Cogead Lake on the ice--The sun did not set--Arrive
at Congecathawhachaga--Find several Copper Indians
there--Remarks and transactions during our stay at
Congecathawhachaga--Proceed on our journey--Weather very
bad--Arrive at the Stoney Mountains--Some account of them--Cross
part of Buffalo Lake on the ice--Saw many musk-oxen--Description
of them--Went with some Indians to view Grizzlebear Hill--Join a
strange Northern Indian Leader, called O'lye, in company with
some Copper Indians--Their behaviour to me--Arrive at the
Copper-mine River 133

CHAP. VI.

Transactions at the Copper-mine River, and till we joined all
the Women to the South of Cogead Lake.

Some Copper Indians join us--Indians send three spies down the
river--Begin my survey--Spies return, and give an account of
five tents of Esquimaux--Indians consult the best method to
steal on them in the night, and {xv} kill them while
asleep--Cross the river--Proceedings of the Indians as they
advance towards the Esquimaux tents--The Indians begin the
massacre while the poor Esquimaux are asleep, and slay them
all--Much affected at the sight of one young woman killed close
to my feet--The behaviour of the Indians on this occasion--Their
brutish treatment of the dead bodies--Seven more tents seen on
the opposite side of the river--The Indians harass them, till
they fly to a shoal in the river for safety--Behaviour of the
Indians after killing those Esquimaux--Cross the river, and
proceed to the tents on that side--Plunder their tents, and
destroy their utensils--Continue my survey to the river's
mouth--Remarks there--Set out on my return--Arrive at one of the
Copper-mines--Remarks on it--Many attempts made to induce the
Copper Indians to carry their own goods to market--Obstacles to
it--Villany and cruelty of Keelshies to some of those poor
Indians--Leave the Copper-mine, and walk at an amazing rate till
we join the women, by the side of Cogead Whoie--Much
foot-foundered--The appearance very alarming, but soon changes
for the better--Proceed to the southward, and join the remainder
of the women and children--Many other Indians arrive with them
173

CHAP. VII.

Remarks from the Time the Women joined us till our Arrival at
the Athapuscow Lake.

Several of the Indians sick--Methods used by the conjurors 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 conjurors--Leave Anawd
Lake--Arrive at the great Athapuscow Lake 209

{xvi} CHAP. VIII.

Transactions and Remarks from our Arrival on the South Side of
the Athapuscow Lake, till our Arrival at Prince of Wales's Fort
on Churchill River.

Cross the Athapuscow Lake--Description of it and its
productions, as far as could be discovered in Winter, when the
snow was on the ground--Fish found in the lake--Description of
the buffalo; of the moose or elk, and the method of dressing
their skins--Find a woman alone that had not seen a human face
for more than seven months--Her account how she came to be in
that situation; and her curious method of procuring a
livelihood--Many of my Indians wrestled for her--Arrive at the
Great Athapuscow River--Walk along the side of the River for
several days, and then strike off to the Eastward--Difficulty in
getting through the woods in many places--Meet with some strange
Northern Indians on their return from the Fort--Meet more
strangers, whom my companions plundered, and from whom they took
one of their young women--Curious manner of life which those
strangers lead, and the reason they gave for roving so far from
their usual residence--Leave the fine level country of the
Athapuscows, and arrive at the Stony Hills of the Northern
Indian Country--Meet some strange Northern Indians, one of whom
carried a letter for me to Prince of Wales's Fort, in March one
thousand seven hundred and seventy-one, and now gave me an
answer to it, dated twentieth of June following--Indians begin
preparing wood-work and birch-rind for canoes--The equinoctial
gale very severe--Indian method of running the moose deer down
by speed of foot--Arrival at Theeleyaza River--See some
strangers--The brutality of my companions--A tremendous gale and
snow-drift--Meet with more strangers; remarks on it--Leave all
the elderly people and children, and proceed directly to the
Fort--Stop to build canoes, and then advance--Several of the
Indians die through hunger, and many others are obliged to
decline the journey for want of ammunition--A violent storm and
inundation, that forced us to the top of a high hill, where we
suffered great distress for more than two days--Kill several
deer--The Indians' method of preserving the flesh without the
assistance of salt--See several Indians that were going to
Knapp's Bay--Game of all kinds remarkably plentiful--Arrive at
the Factory 252

{xvii} CHAP. IX.

A short Description of the Northern Indians, also a farther
Account of their Country, Manufactures, Customs, &c.

An account of the persons and tempers of the Northern
Indians--They possess a great deal of art and cunning--Are very
guilty of fraud when in their power, and generally exact more
for their furs than any other tribe of Indians--Always
dissatisfied, yet have their good qualities--The men in general
jealous of their wives--Their marriages--Girls always betrothed
when children, and their reasons for it--Great care and
confinement of young girls from the age of eight or nine
years--Divorces common among those people--The women are less
prolific than in warmer countries--Remarkable piece of
superstition observed by the women at particular periods--Their
art in making it an excuse for a temporary separation from their
husbands on any little quarrel--Reckoned very unclean on those
occasions--The Northern Indians frequently, for the want of
firing, are obliged to eat their meat raw--Some through
necessity obliged to boil it in vessels made of the rind of the
birch-tree--A remarkable dish among those people--The young
animals always cut out of their dams, eaten, and accounted a
great delicacy--The parts of generation of all animals eat by
the men and boys--Manner of passing their time, and method of
killing deer in Summer with bows and arrows--Their tents, dogs,
sledges, &c.--Snow-shoes--Their partiality to domestic
vermin--Utmost extent of the Northern Indian country--Face of
the country--Species of fish--A peculiar kind of moss useful
for the support of man--Northern Indian method of catching fish,
either with hooks or nets--Ceremony observed when two parties of
those people meet--Diversions in common use--A singular disorder
which attacks some of those people--Their superstition with
respect to the death of their friends--Ceremony observed on
those occasions--Their ideas of the first inhabitants of the
world--No form of religion among them--Remarks on that
circumstance--The extreme misery to which old age is
exposed--Their opinion of the _Aurora Borealis_, &c.--Some
account of Matonabbee, and his services to his country, as well
as to the Hudson's Bay Company 297

{xviii} CHAP. X.

An Account of the principal Quadrupeds found in the Northern
Parts of Hudson's Bay: The Buffalo, Moose, Musk-ox, Deer, and
Beaver--A capital Mistake cleared up respecting the We-was-kish.

Animals with Canine Teeth: The Wolf--Foxes of various
colours--Lynx, or Wild Cat--Polar, or White Bear--Black
Bear--Brown Bear--Wolverene--Otter--Jackash--Wejack--Skunk--Pine
Martin--Ermine, or Stote.

Animals with cutting Teeth: The Musk Beaver--Porcupine--Varying
Hare--American Hare--Common Squirrel--Ground Squirrel--Mice of
various kinds--and the Castor Beaver.

The Pinnated Quadrupeds with finlike Feet, found in Hudson's
Bay, are but three in number, viz.: The Walrus, or
Sea-Horse--Seal--and Sea-Unicorn.

* * * * *

The Species of Fish found in the Salt Water of Hudson's Bay are
also few in number: being the Black Whale--White
Whale--Salmon--and Kepling.

Shell-fish, and empty Shells of several kinds, found on the Sea
Coast near Churchill River.

* * * * *

Frogs of various sizes and colours; also a great variety of
Grubbs, and other Insects, always found in a frozen state during
Winter, but when exposed to the heat of a slow fire, are soon
re-animated.

* * * * *

An account of some of the principal Birds found in the Northern
Parts of Hudson's Bay; as well those that only migrate there in
Summer, as those that are known to brave the coldest Winters:
Eagles of various kinds--Hawks of various sizes and
plumage--White or Snowy Owl--Grey or mottled
Owl--Cob-a-dee-cooch--Raven--Cinerious Crow--Wood Pecker--Ruffed
Grouse--Pheasant--Wood Partridge--Willow Partridge--Rock
Partridge--Pigeon--Red-breasted Thrush--Grosbeak--Snow
Bunting--White-crowned Bunting--Lapland Finch, two
sorts--Lark--Titmouse--Swallow--Martin--Hopping Crane--Brown
Crane--Bitron--Carlow, two sorts--Jack Snipe--Red
Godwart--Plover--Black Gullemet--Northern Diver--Black-throated
Diver--Red-throated Diver--White Gull--Grey
Gull--Black-head--Pelican--Goosander--Swans of two
species--Common {xix} Grey Goose--Canada Goose--White or Snow
Goose--Blue Goose--Horned Wavy--Laughing Goose--Barren
Goose--Brent Goose--Dunter Goose--Bean Goose.

The species of Water-Fowl usually called Duck, that resort to
those Parts annually, are in great variety; but those that are
most esteemed are, the Mallard Duck--Long-tailed Duck--Wigeon,
and Teal.

* * * * *

Of the Vegetable Productions as far North as Churchill River,
particularly the most useful; such as the Berry-bearing Bushes,
&c.: Gooseberry--Cranberry--Heathberry--Dewater-berry--Black
Currans--Juniper-berry--Partridge-berry--Strawberry--Eye-berry--
Blue-berry--and a small species of Hips.

Burridge--Coltsfoot--Sorrel--Dandelion.

Wish-a-capucca--Jackashey-puck--Moss of various sorts--Grass of
several kinds--and Vetches.

The Trees found so far North near the Sea, consist only of
Pines--Juniper--Small Poplar--Bush-willows--and Creeping Birch
335

INTRODUCTION.

For many years it was the opinion of all ranks of people, that the Hudson's Bay Company were averse to making discoveries of every kind; and being content with the profits of their small capital, as it was then called, did not want to increase their trade. What might have been the ideas of former members of the Company respecting the first part of these charges I cannot say, but I am well assured that they, as well as the present members, have always been ready to embrace every plausible plan for extending the trade. As a proof of this assertion, I need only mention the vast sums of money which they have expended at different times in endeavouring to establish fisheries, though without success: and the following Journey, together with the various attempts made by Bean, Christopher, Johnston, and Duncan,[13] to find a North West passage, are recent proofs that the present members are as desirous of making discoveries, as they are of extending their trade.

That air of mystery, and affectation of secrecy, perhaps, which formerly attended some of the Company's proceedings in the Bay, might give rise to those conjectures; and the unfounded assertions and unjust aspersions of Dobbs, {xxii} Ellis, Robson, Dragge, and the American Traveller,[14] the only Authors that have written on Hudson's Bay, and who have all, from motives of interest or revenge, taken a particular pleasure in arraigning the conduct of the Company, without having any real knowledge of their proceedings, or any experience in their service, on which to found their charges, must have contributed to confirm the public in that opinion. Most of those Writers, however, advance such notorious absurdities, that none except those who are already prejudiced against the Company can give them credit.[B]

Robson, from his six years' residence in Hudson's Bay and in the Company's service, might naturally have been supposed to know something of the climate and soil immediately round the Factories at which he resided; but the whole of his book is evidently written with prejudice, and dictated by a spirit of revenge, because his romantic and inconsistent schemes were rejected by the Company. Besides, it is well known that Robson was no more than a tool in the hand of Mr. Dobbs.

The American Traveller, though a more elegant writer, has still less claim to our indulgence, as his assertions are {xxiii} a greater tax on our credulity. His saying that he discovered several large lumps of the finest virgin copper[C] is such a palpable falsehood that it needs no refutation. No man, either English or Indian, ever found a bit of copper in that country to the South of the seventy-first degree of latitude,[16] unless it had been accidentally dropped by some of the far Northern Indians in their way to the Company's Factory.

The natives who range over, rather than inhabit, the large tract of land which lies to the North of Churchill River, having repeatedly brought samples of copper to the Company's Factory, many of our people conjectured that it was found not far from our settlements; and as the Indians informed them that the mines were not very distant from a large river, it was generally supposed that this river must empty itself into Hudson's Bay; as they could by no means think that any set of people, however wandering their manner of life might be, could ever traverse so large a tract of country as to pass the Northern boundary of that Bay, and particularly without the assistance of water-carriage. The following Journal, however, will show how much those people have been mistaken, and prove also the improbability of putting their favourite scheme of mining into practice.

{xxiv} The accounts of this grand River, which some have turned into a Strait, together with the samples of copper, were brought to the Company's Factory at Churchill River immediately after its first establishment, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifteen; and it does not appear that any attempts were made to discover either the river or mines till the year one thousand seven hundred and nineteen, when the Company fitted out a ship, called the _Albany Frigate_, Captain George Barlow,[D] and a sloop {xxv} called the _Discovery_, Captain David Vaughan. The sole command of this expedition, however, was given to Mr. James Knight, a man of great experience in the Company's service, who had been many years Governor at the different Factories in the Bay, and who had made the first settlement at Churchill River. Notwithstanding the experience Mr. Knight might have had of the Company's business, and his knowledge of those parts of the Bay where he had resided, it cannot be supposed he was well acquainted with the nature of the business in which he then engaged, having nothing to direct him but the slender and imperfect accounts which he had received from the Indians, who at that time were little known, and less understood.

{xxvi} Those disadvantages, added to his advanced age, he being then near eighty, by no means discouraged this bold adventurer; who was so prepossessed of his success, and of the great advantage that would arise from his discoveries, that he procured, and took with him, some large iron-bound chests, to hold gold dust and other valuables, which he fondly flattered himself were to be found in those parts.

The first paragraph of the Company's Orders to Mr. Knight on this occasion appears to be as follows:

"_To_ CAPTAIN JAMES KNIGHT.
"_4th June, 1719._

"SIR,

"From the experience we have had of your abilities in the
management of our affairs, we have, upon your application to us,
fitted out the _Albany_ frigate, Captain George Barlow, and the
_Discovery_, Captain David Vaughan, Commander, upon a discovery
to the Northward; and to that end have given you power and
authority to act and do all things relating to the said voyage,
the navigation of the said ship and sloop only excepted; and
have given orders and instructions to our said Commanders for
that purpose.

"You are, with the first opportunity of wind and weather, to
depart from Gravesend on your intended {xxvii} voyage, and by
God's permission, to find out the Straits of Anian, in order to
discover gold and other valuable commodities to the Northward,
&c. &c."

Mr. Knight soon left Gravesend, and proceeded on his voyage; but the ship not returning to England that year, as was expected, it was judged that she had wintered in Hudson's Bay; and having on board a good stock of provisions, a house in frame, together with all necessary mechanics, and a great assortment of trading goods, little or no thoughts were entertained of their not being in safety; but as neither ship nor sloop returned to England in the following year, (one thousand seven hundred and twenty), the Company were much alarmed for their welfare; and, by their ship which went to Churchill in the year one thousand seven hundred and twenty-one, they sent orders for a sloop called the _Whale-Bone_, John Scroggs Master, to go in search of them; but the ship not arriving in Churchill till late in the year, those orders could not be put in execution till the Summer following (one thousand seven hundred and twenty-two).

The North West coast of Hudson's Bay being little known in those days, and Mr. Scroggs finding himself greatly embarrassed with shoals and rocks, returned to Prince of Wales's Fort without making any certain discovery respecting the above ship or sloop; for all the marks he saw among the Esquimaux at Whale Cove scarcely {xxviii} amounted to the spoils which might have been made from a trifling accident, and consequently could not be considered as signs of a total shipwreck.

The strong opinion which then prevailed in Europe respecting the probability of a North West passage by the way of Hudson's Bay, made many conjecture that Messrs. Knight and Barlow had found that passage, and had gone through it into the South Sea, by the way of California. Many years elapsed without any other convincing proof occurring to the contrary, except that Middleton, Ellis, Bean, Christopher, and Johnston, had not been able to find any such passage. And notwithstanding a sloop was annually sent to the Northward on discovery, and to trade with the Esquimaux, it was the Summer of one thousand seven hundred and sixty-seven, before we had positive proofs that poor Mr. Knight and Captain Barlow had been lost in Hudson's Bay.

The Company were now carrying on a black whale fishery, and Marble Island was made the place of rendezvous, not only on account of the commodiousness of the harbour, but because it had been observed that the whales were more plentiful about that island than on any other part of the coast. This being the case, the boats, when on the look-out for fish, had frequent occasion to row close to the island, by which means they discovered a new harbour near the East end of it, at the head {xxix} of which they found guns, anchors, cables, bricks, a smith's anvil, and many other articles, which the hand of time had not defaced, and which being of no use to the natives, or too heavy to be removed by them, had not been taken from the place in which they were originally laid. The remains of the house, though pulled to pieces by the Esquimaux for the wood and iron, are yet very plain to be seen, as also the hulls, or more properly speaking, the bottoms of the ship and sloop, which lie sunk in about five fathoms water, toward the head of the harbour. The figure-head of the ship, and also the guns, &c. were sent home to the Company, and are certain proofs that Messrs. Knight and Barlow had been lost on that inhospitable island, where neither stick nor stump was to be seen, and which lies near sixteen miles from the main land. Indeed the main is little better, being a jumble of barren hills and rocks, destitute of every kind of herbage except moss and grass; and at that part, the woods are several hundreds of miles from the sea-side.

In the Summer of one thousand seven hundred and sixty-nine, while we were prosecuting the fishery, we saw several Esquimaux at this new harbour; and perceiving that one or two of them were greatly advanced in years, our curiosity was excited to ask them some questions concerning the above ship and sloop, which we were the better enabled to do by the assistance of an Esquimaux, who was then in the Company's service as a linguist, and annually sailed in one of their vessels in that character. The {xxx} account which we received from them was full, clear, and unreserved, and the sum of it was to the following purport:

When the vessels arrived at this place (Marble Island) it was very late in the Fall, and in getting them into the harbour, the largest received much damage; but on being fairly in, the English began to build the house, their number at that time seeming to be about fifty. As soon as the ice permitted, in the following Summer, (one thousand seven hundred and twenty), the Esquimaux paid them another visit, by which time the number of the English was greatly reduced, and those that were living seemed very unhealthy. According to the account given by the Esquimaux they were then very busily employed, but about what they could not easily describe, probably in lengthening the long-boat; for at a little distance from the house there is now lying a great quantity of oak chips, which have been most assuredly made by carpenters.

Sickness and famine occasioned such havock among the English, that by the setting in of the second Winter their number was reduced to twenty. That Winter (one thousand seven hundred and twenty) some of the Esquimaux took up their abode on the opposite side of the harbour to that on which the English had built their houses,[E] and {xxxi} frequently supplied them with such provisions as they had, which chiefly consisted of whale's blubber and seal's flesh and train oil. When the Spring advanced, the Esquimaux went to the continent, and on their visiting Marble Island again, in the Summer of one thousand seven hundred and twenty-one, they only found five of the English alive, and those were in such distress for provisions that they eagerly eat the seal's flesh and whale's blubber quite raw, as they purchased it from the natives. This disordered them so much, that three of them died in a few days, and the other two, though very weak, made a shift to bury them. Those two survived many days after the rest, and frequently went to the top of an adjacent rock, and earnestly looked to the South and East, as if in expectation of some vessels coming to their relief. After continuing there a considerable time together, and nothing appearing in sight, they sat down close together, and wept bitterly. At length one of the two died, and the other's strength was so far exhausted, that he fell down and died also, in attempting to dig a grave for his companion. The {xxxii} sculls and other large bones of those two men are now lying above-ground close to the house. The longest liver was, according to the Esquimaux account, always employed in working of iron into implements for them; probably he was the armourer, or smith.

Some Northern Indians who came to trade at Prince of Wales's Fort in the Spring of the year one thousand seven hundred and sixty-eight, brought farther accounts of the grand river, as it was called, and also several pieces of copper, as samples of the produce of the mine near it; which determined Mr. Norton, who was then Governor at Churchill, to represent it to the Company as an affair worthy of their attention; and as he went that year to England, he had an opportunity of laying all the information he had received before the Board, with his opinion thereon, and the plan which he thought most likely to succeed in the discovery of those mines. In consequence of Mr. Norton's representations, the Committee resolved to send an intelligent person by land to observe the longitude and latitude of the river's mouth, to make a chart of the country he might walk through, with such remarks as occurred to him during the Journey; when I was pitched on as a proper person to conduct the expedition. By the ship that went to Churchill in the Summer of one thousand seven hundred and sixty-nine, the Company sent out some astronomical instruments, very portable, and fit for such observations as they required me {xxxiii} to make, and at the same time requested me to undertake the Journey, promising to allow me at my return, a gratuity proportionable to the trouble and fatigue I might undergo in the expedition.[F]

{xxxiv} I did not hesitate to comply with the request of the Company, and in the November following, when some Northern Indians came to trade, Mr. Norton, who was then returned to the command of Prince of Wales's Fort, engaged such of them for my guides as he thought were most likely to answer the purpose; but none of them had been at this grand river. I was fitted out with everything thought necessary, and with ammunition to serve two years. I was to be accompanied by two of the Company's servants, two of the Home-guard[G] (Southern) Indians, {xxxv} and a sufficient number of Northern Indians to carry and haul my baggage, provide for me, &c. But for the better stating this arrangement, it will not be improper to insert my Instructions, which, with some occasional remarks thereon, will throw much light on the following Journal, and be the best method of proving how far those orders have been complied with, as well as shew my reasons for neglecting some parts as unnecessary, and the impossibility of putting other parts of them in execution.

"ORDERS _and_ INSTRUCTIONS _for_ Mr. SAMUEL HEARNE, _going on an
Expedition by Land towards the Latitude 70° North, in order to
gain a Knowledge of the Northern Indians Country, &c. on Behalf
of the Honourable Hudson's Bay Company, in the Year 1769_.

"Mr. SAMUEL HEARNE,

"SIR,

"Whereas the Honourable Hudson's Bay Company have been informed
by the report from Indians, that there is a great probability of
considerable advantages to be expected from a better knowledge
of their country by us, than what hitherto has been obtained;
and as it is the Company's earnest desire to embrace every
circumstance that may tend to the benefit of the said Company,
or the Nation at large, they have requested you to conduct this
Expedition; and as you {xxxvi} have readily consented to
undertake the present Journey, you are hereby desired to proceed
as soon as possible, with William Isbester sailor, and Thomas
Merriman landsman, as companions, they both being willing to
accompany you; also two of the Home-guard Southern Indians, who
are to attend and assist you during the Journey; and Captain
Chawchinahaw, his Lieutenant Nabyah, and six or eight of the
best Northern Indians we can procure, with a small part of their
families, are to conduct you, provide for you, and assist you
and your companions in every thing that lays in their power,
having particular orders so to do.

"2dly, Whereas you and your companions are well fitted-out with
every thing we think necessary, as also a sample of light
trading goods; these you are to dispose of by way of presents
(and not by way of trade) to such far-off Indians as you may
meet with, and to smoke your Calimut[H] of Peace with their
leaders, in order to establish a friendship with them. You are
also to persuade them as much as possible from going to war with
each other, to encourage them to exert themselves in procuring
furrs and other articles for trade, and to assure them of good
payment for them at the Company's Factory.

"It is sincerely recommended to you and your companions to treat
the natives with civility, so as not to give {xxxvii} them any
room for complaint or disgust, as they have strict orders not to
give you the least offence, but are to aid and assist you in any
matter you may request of them for the benefit of the
undertaking.

"If any Indians you may meet, that are coming to the Fort,
should be willing to trust you with either food or clothing,
make your agreement for those commodities, and by them send me a
letter, specifying the quantity of each article, and they shall
be paid according to your agreement. And, according to the
Company's orders, you are to correspond with me, or the Chief at
Prince of Wales's Fort for the time being, at all opportunities:
And as you have mathematical instruments with you, you are to
send me, or the Chief for the time being, an account of what
latitude and longitude you may be in at such and such periods,
together with the heads of your proceedings; which accounts are
to be remitted to the Company by the return of their ships.[I]

"3dly, The Indians who are now appointed your guides, are to
conduct you to the borders of the Athapuscow[J] Indians country,
where Captain Matonabbee {xxxviii} is to meet you[K] in the
Spring of one thousand seven hundred and seventy, in order to
conduct you to a river represented by the Indians to abound with
copper ore, animals of the furr kind, &c., and which is said to
be so far to the Northward, that in the middle of the Summer the
Sun does not set, and is supposed by the Indians to empty itself
into some ocean. This river, which is called by the Northern
Indians Neetha-san-san-dazey, or the Far Off Metal River, you
are, if possible, to trace to the mouth, and there determine the
latitude and longitude as near as you can; but more particularly
so if you find it navigable, and that a settlement can be made
there with any degree of safety, or benefit to the Company.

"Be careful to observe what mines are near the river, what water
there is at the river's mouth, how far the woods are from the
sea-side, the course of the river, the nature of the soil, and
the productions of it; and make any other remarks that you may
think will be either necessary or satisfactory. And if the said
river be likely to be of any utility, take possession of it on
behalf of the Hudson's Bay Company, by cutting your {xxxix} name
on some of the rocks, as also the date of the year, month,
&c.[L]

"When you attempt to trace this or any other river, be careful
that the Indians are furnished with a sufficient number of
canoes for trying the depth of water, the strength of the
current, &c. If by any unforeseen accident or disaster you
should not be able to reach the before-mentioned river, it is
earnestly recommended to you, if possible, to know the event of
Wager Strait;[M] for it is represented by the last discoverers
to terminate in small rivers and lakes. See how far the woods
are from the navigable parts of it; and whether a settlement
could with any propriety be made there. If this should prove
unworthy of notice, you are to take the same method with Baker's
Lake, which is the head of {xl} Bowden's or Chesterfield's
Inlet;[N] as also with any other rivers you may meet with; and
if likely to be of any utility, you are to take possession of
them, as before mentioned, on the behalf of the Honourable
Hudson's Bay Company. The draft of Bowden's Inlet and Wager
Strait I send with you, that you may have a better idea of those
places, in case of your visiting them.

"4thly, Another material point which is recommended to you, is
to find out, if you can, either by your own travels, or by
information from the Indians, whether there is a passage through
this continent.[O] It will be {xli} very useful to clear up this
point, if possible, in order to prevent farther doubts from
arising hereafter respecting a passage out of Hudson's Bay[P]
into the Western Ocean, as hath lately been represented by the
American Traveller. The particulars of those remarks you are to
insert in your Journal, to be remitted home to the Company.

"If you should want any supplies of ammunition, or other
necessaries, dispatch some trusty Indians to the Fort with a
letter, specifying the quantity of each article, and appoint a
place for the said Indians to meet you again.

"When on your return, if at a proper time of the year, and you
should be near any of the harbours that are frequented by the
brigantine _Charlotte_, or the sloop _Churchill_, during their
voyage to the Northward, and you should chuse to return in one
of them, you are desired to make frequent smokes as you approach
those harbours, and they will endeavour to receive you by making
smokes in answer to yours; and as one thousand seven hundred and
seventy-one will probably be the year in which you will return,
the Masters of those vessels at that period shall have
particular orders on that head.