Chapter III: New Experiences in a New Land

While, as we have seen, MacTavish’s impression of the young men coming into his employ had been pleasing, he was anxious to become more closely acquainted personally with each of them. MacTavish was a judge of men. It was his business to place the lads where they would accomplish the best results in the Company’s work; in consequence, each was brought into his quarters and interviewed separately. In making provision for the allocation of the men the hard way of the wilds was followed, and no provision was given for relationships or friendships. It is not to be wondered at then that when the allotment of the lads to territory was made Robert and Will found that their ways were to separate. Indeed, had they thought to make inquiries they would have learned that their ultimate locations lay over a thousand miles apart.

Fort Garry, now Winnipeg, was at that time one of the Company’s rapidly growing posts. The Factor here, Andrew Donald, had written MacTavish, in a letter which had been sent in care of Pete, one of the faithful Indian guides, outlining the growth of the Company’s trade in that Section and asking for assistance. He saw possibilities of materially enlarging the Company’s trade in his territory, and stated that he wanted young men with youth, endurance and enthusiasm, who would be obedient but who would be possessed of indomitable will and unconquered spirit. When considering Donald’s letter MacTavish finally sent for Robert and instructed him that he had been selected for duty at Fort Garry and that he was to leave the following day for the journey of over a thousand miles through the wilderness. Will had been assigned to a post in a region further west. It was natural that keen feelings should stir in the hearts of these sturdy lads when the final time for separation arrived. They had hoped that the situation might be otherwise, but not a word of complaint was heard from either of them.

Duty was their watchword. Discipline and obedience had been faithfully instilled into them by their mother in their earlier days. They knew they were starting out to fulfil their contract. They knew, further, that the Company’s employees were men who did not even flinch when their duty was pointed out to them, and in consequence they obeyed without a whimper. A simple clasp of the hand was the only evidence of their feeling at parting, but this did not by any means give any indication of the regret and longing which burned within. Taking a few steps, Robert turned and cast a lingering glance toward his brother. Then, with a farewell wave of the hand, with faces beaming with love and confidence in the future, they parted to be swallowed up by the vast and unknown regions of the Canadian West. From henceforth the wilderness world was to be their home.

Imagine, you lads of sixteen and seventeen, the feelings of this young man, starting out on a new adventure into unknown country. You lads who are homesick when you spend a week away from home on the farm will appreciate the indomitable spirit that Robert must have possessed at this point in the journey. Put yourself in his place and imagine how you would have felt.

After a time Robert discovered he had one comforting feature. We have spoken of the Indian guide, Pete, who had been sent from Fort Garry by Factor Donald. Pete had proved himself one of the most trustworthy Indians in the Company employ, and MacTavish had impressed on him especially the character of the youth who was to be with him, and had admonished him not only to see that good care was taken of the young man, but also that he be taught such things as Pete was capable of teaching him. Unknown to Robert, also, Pete was given a note to Donald telling something of the impression he had made on MacTavish and giving an account of his conduct during the voyage. MacTavish had sized the boy up well and knew, as was true, that such a story would never come from the lad himself. Something of the result of the lad’s manly bearing and his influence on various members of the crew during the voyage had been transmitted to MacTavish by the ship’s captain, and this also was included in the note carried by the Indian guide.

Robert soon came to appreciate the strength and the knowledge of the country and its conditions evidenced by his companion. He was exceedingly thankful again for the fact that during the voyage he had picked up enough of the Indian language to be able to converse, though with some little difficulty, with his companion.

Something of the journey the two had undertaken may be appreciated when it is known that they anticipated travelling at least thirty days on foot. While later Robert was to experience the delights of travelling by dog-sled, this was impossible at this season since the winter had not set in as yet. Again, it was a custom of the Company to start their new men out on foot, believing that from the incidents of such a journey they would gain experience such as would be invaluable to them afterward. For instance, it was expected that Pete would teach Robert some of the arts of woodcraft--how to make provision for spending the night on the trail and how to secure a supply of food when such was required. Then, again, Robert encountered another experience which, while it was new, brought to him thoughts of home. To aid in transportation the Company followed the custom of placing canoes at different points on the trail, which eased very much and frequently materially shortened the journey. While Robert was at home on the water, his first experiences with a canoe were rather amusing, and in his first attempts to use his great strength he would frequently have come to disaster had it not been for Pete’s readiness with the paddle. It was not long, however, until he became familiar with the frail birchbark craft, and was able to make the canoe glide through the water in a way even to bring admiration to the eyes of Pete, who naturally was a thoroughly experienced canoeman. So quickly did Robert adapt himself to the conditions met with that Pete began to be proud of his companion and was well satisfied as to their reception at Fort Garry. Robert was so anxious to learn that not only did he keep Pete busy by day, but kept the guide and himself awake sometimes far into the night talking of methods of trapping and of experiences so different to what the lad had been accustomed to in the Old Land. Never so late did they stay awake, however, but that daylight found them awake and ready to proceed on their journey.

Robert had been a one hundred per cent. boy. He was now making himself into a one hundred per cent. youth. By incessant application he had learned to master himself. His early training at home had given him to realize the importance of little things. All this helped to make him a willing pupil in Pete’s hands, and instead of feeling himself, as a good many lads would have done in his place, superior to the Indian, he realized very shortly how much better equipped the red man was than he to meet most of the experiences they were about to enter upon. He was superior to the Indian in many ways, however. He had accepted God as his guide. His forces, both physical and mental, were now being fused into a product of genuine manhood. When he had played in the games at home he had played to win, but he had never forgotten that manliness comes first and that the mere matter of winning occupies a secondary place. He had learned the importance of concentration, and while he perhaps did not realize the significance of it, he had discovered possibilities within himself. His ordeals had been faced bravely and manfully and with an unflinching spirit. Character stood out boldly on his face. He had begun to understand that life was a test of patience and endurance and that he must be continually in action to develop the best that was in himself. He had asserted himself as a boy. He was now asserting himself as a youth. He had come to realize that nothing worth while could thrive in a cold heart, and that if his heart was to be properly warm it must beat to the impulses that were right, noble and true. He had learned to start off being properly thankful every day; that grumbling, growling and criticising do not help either to make up character or to help one along. He had learned that sacrifice would help to lift him a long distance on life’s journey, and from a religious aspect he realized that he was constructing a house within himself that he had to live in; that it was his duty to his God to make that home worthy and beautiful.

Pete began to appreciate some of these things after a very short association with his companion. He had seen the Bibles of some of the white men, but had never before seen one who so faithfully followed every day the practice of spending a little time with the Great Book. After a time Robert told Pete how the gift had come to him from his mother, and before many nights Pete of his accord knelt at Robert’s side when the young man began his devotions and said his own evening prayer. Companionship in the temple of God’s great solitude, accompanied by genuineness of character inevitably leads to friendship, and so these two rapidly grew closer together.

The forest was a never-ending wonder to Robert since, of course, he had never known anything of it in his island home. The seemingly endless rivers were another source of awe. He was a lover of nature, and each day presented to him paintings of God’s great canvas ever fresh and ever new. There seemed a friendliness about the birds, the wild flowers, the trees and the rippling streams which made him wish sometimes that the sun would always shine, so that he might always have the beauty of nature before his eyes. After a time he learned that night in the forest also has its charm. Even the darkest night gave forth the softer tones of shadow and glow. Then the camp-fire threw out wonderful shadow effects on the trees and appeared to spread living pictures all around him. With these bits came also practical things. Wild life was much in evidence. Deer and moose frequently crossed the path and at night the lonesome cry of the wolves was sometimes heard.

When the forest wilds were passed the prairie again was a revelation to Robert. Of course there were no houses in those days, and to him it seemed just a mighty world placed there by the Creator, ready and waiting for man to sow with seeds of golden grain. Here again something that Robert had not even dreamed of made its appearance, since herds of buffalo were frequently to be seen roaming at will over the prairie. Then occasionally bands of Indians came into view, some of these hunting the buffalo for their winter’s food. As time passed Pete made Robert acquainted with the various tribes that were sighted, with their history, and with the dangerous spirit of some of these.

After they were well on their journey Robert’s feet suffered from the effects of the long-continued tramping. He was a sturdy youth, very different from the wiry and hardened Indian, who had spent all his life on these paths of forest and prairie. Pete, however, knew well how to deal with such difficulties, and it was not long before the lad was able to get through the day’s tramp without difficulty. At first, too, the heavy pack caused him considerable discomfort. As the days passed, however, his muscles hardened and the pack grew lighter.

Pete had intended to travel by water, using the Company’s canoes for most of the journey after leaving the forest, but the nights rapidly grew colder. That year the frost set in earlier than usual, and consequently they were obliged to change their course and tramp over more of the prairie. This brought to Robert an experience he never forgot. One morning, as they tramped along, the prairie seemed suddenly to be almost black with buffalo, and after a little Pete explained that several Indian bands must have started a drive and that the herds were travelling before them. It was impossible, without making a long detour, to avoid passing near the beasts, and as they paused, suddenly something seemed to frighten a section of the herd and it began to rush toward them. On the animals came, relentless and irresistible. The two travellers shouted and waved their arms, but all to no avail. Apparently nothing could stop the mighty rush. When the animals were almost upon them Pete advanced a little to protect his companion, but notwithstanding his efforts to divert the rush of the herd and his cat-like jump out of the path of the leaders, he was borne down beneath them. His efforts, however, seemed to turn the herd at an angle and they rushed to one side, leaving Robert in safety. So soon as he could the lad hastened to Pete’s side and found that, while his Indian friend was badly bruised and had suffered a broken leg, he was not dangerously injured. Under such conditions and three hundred miles from Fort Garry, their objective, the young man faced an unanticipated difficulty. However, he measured up to the situation. First, attention was given to the injured leg, and here he put into play one of the things he had learned from the Company’s officer during the voyage, and thanks to this was able to set the bones of the leg fairly well, if roughly and at considerable pain to his patient. Pete, with his characteristic Indian stoicism, bore the pain without a murmur. Following Pete’s suggestions, their packs of food and utensils were carefully gone over and everything not actually necessary was discarded. Finally, strapping the pack a little lower than usual, Robert provided for the additional burden, and picking the Indian up, placed him on his back and shoulders. At first the additional weight seemed unbearable, but at Pete’s suggestion the lad adopted the Indian lope, which the guide had taught him during the long journey. This made the burden easier, since at each step it eased it up from the shoulder so that it did not seem like dead weight, and was also easier on Pete. The burden was heavy, but nothing within reason was too great for Robert when he had made up his mind. His will-power and unusual strength made it possible to accomplish tasks that would look impossible to a faint-hearted youth. Pete was surprised at the ease with which Robert carried him, and when he was borne, by the pain in his leg to a partial unconsciousness, he was carried back to the days when he was a little papoose and his Indian mother carried him through the forest paths on her back.

Never since he had been a papoose, sixty or more years before, had Pete been similarly treated. His had been a life of self-protection and of service given to others. Now, when it was necessary for someone else to look after him the change was very marked, but it was none the less appreciated for this reason, and here again Robert’s early training came into play. His patient was given every attention he knew how to give. When he was forced to lay his burden down at night, prairie hay was gathered and worked up to provide a soft pillow as well as a restful support for the broken leg. Again Robert got a chance to put into play some of the knowledge of camp cookery he had learned on the voyage over. While their rations were not varied, these were added to one evening by a dish of prairie chicken which Robert was able to get after a good deal of difficulty with the muzzle-loader he carried.

As can be imagined, the difficulties Robert faced were by no means small ones. Time after time as he packed the injured Indian on his back over the prairie trails he was wearied almost beyond endurance. Time after time he was tempted to set his burden down and to give up the struggle. An ordinary lad would have given up the job before he started, but determination had been built into Robert’s heart and soul in his early days at home, and this found its way out on this long-to-be-remembered journey. Pete, too, had his troubles. While he was conscious that the leg was healing, it was a terrible thing for him to be so dependent on the efforts of the one whom he had been sent to help. However, day after day the two persisted, continuing on their way by means of great determination, courage, and the finest of physical strength, and toward the evening of the tenth day Pete, who had been eagerly watching the landmarks, joyfully cried out that Fort Garry was in sight. It was with considerable satisfaction and relief that Robert was able to walk up to the Company’s quarters and to lay his human burden safely down.