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 "THE INLAND OCEAN OF THE NORTH. 
 
 BY .1. MAC'DONALl) OXLEY. 
 
 VJ 
 
 
 ;* ! 
 
 
 ^.■' 
 
 Mm 
 
 ■.?i 
 
 
 
 The history of luinian effort to pierce 
 the iee-defeiuh'cl mysteries of the Arctic 
 Zone is invested not only witli the deej)- 
 est interest, hut with the most moving- 
 pnthos. Franklin and his fjallant ship- 
 mates hattling hravely, hut alas! help- 
 lessly, for life amidst the pitiless, pathless 
 ice Hoes, and Heiu-y Hudson thrust forth 
 from his own shi;-, m a tiny skirt" hy 
 his nmtinous, nunderous crew, to find a 
 grave in the waters of the mi<rhty inland 
 sea, that would also ])reserve his remem- 
 hrance, are names associated in our minds 
 with feelings of teiulerest syn)pathy, not 
 less than of warmest admiration. Those 
 who hore them were to our Continent 
 what Livmgstone was to Africa ; and to 
 their self-sacriticing heroism Ave are in- 
 debted in like manner for additions to 
 the sum of human knowledge whose 
 worth cainiot he estimated. 
 
 Seeing that the Hrst motive which im- 
 pelled men to pit themselves against the 
 terrors of those thrilling regions of thick- 
 rihhed ice was the hope of discovering a 
 safer and speedier passage to the won- 
 drous treasures of the East than the 
 storm-heset route around the Cape <if 
 Good Hope afforded, it is exceedingly 
 interesting to find that an important 
 question of to-day is whether or not a 
 practicable connnercial highway can he 
 estahlished through the inland ocean 
 which hears the name of Hudson to t^'e 
 very heart of this American Continent. 
 The hope of a north-we.st passage to the 
 Indies has long heiMi abandoned. In- 
 deed, the cutting of the Suez Canal would 
 have finally superseded the enterprise, 
 even though there had been ])rospects of 
 a successful issue. But a north-west pas- 
 sage to the North-west itself is an alto- 
 gether different thing, and it is some 
 account of the extensive explorations 
 which have been carried on to this end 
 Ihat I shall seek to give in the present 
 pai)er. 
 
 Looking carefully at the map of North 
 America, and noting how far the vast 
 bulk of Hudson's Bay thrusts itself 
 inland, it is evident at once that the 
 examination of this mighty sea, with a 
 
 view to determining its possil)ilities in 
 the way of navigation, nuist lu' simply 
 a question of time. So long as only 
 the eastern and central parts of Canada 
 were settled, the St. Lawrence did well 
 enough; hut once the tide of ])o])ulation 
 hegan to ffow over the houndless ])rai- 
 ries of the West, and to garner from 
 them such harvests as iiot even Egypt 
 might surpass, the men who chafed at 
 the long and costly ov* rland ])assage 
 their grain must undergo, turned tlieir 
 eyes toward the great hay that seemed 
 to promise a means of relief, and they 
 demanded that the Government of Can- 
 ada should take measures to ascertain 
 whether the promise could he fulfilled 
 or no. 
 
 Parliament is proverhially slow to 
 move. Y(m must he very nnich in 
 earnest, very persistent, and, above all 
 things, have some influence over a con- 
 stituency or two, in order to gain any 
 favors from it. Fortunately for their 
 enterprise, those who were interested in 
 Hudson's Biiy, })ossessed all o. these val- 
 uahle qualifications; and so in the early 
 part of January, 1SS4, we find a commit- 
 tee of the House of Connnons appointed 
 to take into consideration the quesiiou 
 of the lutvigation of Hudson's Biiy, with 
 power to seiul for ])ersons, ])apers and 
 records. The committee .sat for nearly 
 two months, examined a numher of 
 ])ersons who either had, or Avere sup- 
 l)osed to have, some knowledge of the 
 subject ; jdunged dee]) into the records of 
 the Hudson's Bay Comi)any, which went 
 to show that for two centuries their ves- 
 sels had navigated the bay every year; 
 and altogether carried out their instruo- 
 tions in a very thorough and creditable 
 manner, concluding their labor l)y bring- 
 ing in a rei)ort which the Govn'rnment 
 considered ample justification for grant- 
 ing a sufficient sum of money to cover 
 the expenses of systematic investigation. 
 
 The first exj.loratory exp< J -on set 
 forth from the harbor of Halifax, in the 
 month of July, 1H84. It comprised a 
 single vessel, the Newfoundland steam 
 whaler " Neptune," inider connnand of 
 
 42('5S 
 
 Pacific N. W. Histr 
 
 "•A 
 
 n 
 
 >>i 
 
 PROVINCIAL- Ll.anA 
 VICTORJA, B. C. 
 
ss 
 
 mm 
 
 ] ILiU 
 
 4(10 
 
 THE IXLAXD OCEAN OF THE NORTHS 
 
 I'OliT LAPEKRlEltE. 
 
 lojriciil 8ni'vey (upon whose excellent 
 photofjraphic work many of the illus- 
 trations to this article are based), seven 
 observers, and twelve station-men. The 
 " Neptxnie " was not just the most de- 
 sirable sort of a vessel for the ])uri)ose. 
 She was as slow as a snail, afforded at 
 best very cram])ed acconnnodation, and 
 moreover, having seen long service in 
 the odorifennis occupation of whaling, 
 was rich in reminiscences of the business, 
 which could never by any i)ossibility 
 have been mistaken for scents from 
 Araby the blest. Her redeeming feature 
 was lier sturdy strength which enabled 
 her to submit unharmed to the fiercest 
 
 buffeting, not 
 only of wind 
 and wave, but 
 of ice-tioe and 
 rock-reef also. 
 Setting forth 
 from Halifax, 
 on July 22nd, 
 18S4, the "Ne])- 
 tune," sailing 
 up through the 
 Gulf of St. Law- 
 rence and Straits 
 of Belle Isle, 
 coasted ah)ng 
 the bleak, for- 
 bidding Labrador shore until she arrived 
 at Cape Chudleigh, which forms one of 
 the lips of tlie mouth of Hudson's Straits. 
 Many icebergs were encountered on the 
 way, and constant vigilance had to be 
 exercised to guard against their coming 
 to too close quarters. 
 
 At Cape Chudleigh a dense fog envel- 
 oped the ve.ssel, and kept her a close pris- 
 oner for several days. When it cleared 
 away she pushed on through the strait, 
 and looked about until a fine harbor was 
 discovered on the north-western shore of 
 the cape, which was evidently just the 
 place for Observatory Station No. 1. As 
 some slight consolation for having to 
 spend the winter there, the station was 
 called PortBurwell in honor of the observ- 
 er who was i)laced in cliarge, together with 
 two station-men to kee]) liim com])any. 
 The same pleasant compliment Avas paid 
 each of the other observers left behind 
 drring the progress of the expedition, and 
 future geographers will therefore please 
 
 
'•■ ■■ ■ 
 
 " THE INLAND OCEAN OF THE NORTH.'' 
 
 401 
 
 "T^rKiTi 
 
 
 
 
 FOHT YOUK. AND GARDEN. 
 
 take not<> of Aslic Ink'tou the iKjrtli side 
 of tlie strait, a little more than midway 
 bet'.veen the ocean and the hay ; Stiii)art"s 
 Bay, immediately opposite on the south- 
 ern shore; Port De Boueherville on Not- 
 ingham Island; and Port Lajterriere on 
 Dig'S'es Island. i\.t eaoli of these ])laces 
 an observer and two station-men were 
 established in simff huts taken tip for the 
 ])nrpose, and fitted out "with unstinted 
 stores of food, fuel. furs, and every nec- 
 essary comfort, besides, of course, a com 
 plete list of such insti-iunetits as Avouldbe 
 required foi' the observations as to move- 
 ments of the ice, tides and wiiids. Tlie 
 observers were also instructed to note 
 downcarefttlly, everything- of imi)ortance 
 as to the mio-rations of manuuals, birds 
 and fish, and also as to the growth of 
 gras,ses. In fact tliey were to find out 
 ever . thing they ])ossibly could; and it 
 may be said her<5 thai without exception 
 they discharged their duties in a thor- 
 ouglily satisfactory manntM', and tluis 
 accunmlat(>d an immense mass of infor- 
 mation about a region of country hitherto 
 almost unknown. 
 
 Having established the stations one by 
 one, the " Neptune" then turned nortlv- 
 
 VoL. VII.-5!0 
 
 ward to visit Chesterfield Inlet and Mar- 
 ble Island, thence southward to Fort 
 L'hui'chill, the future Liver])oot of that 
 I'egion, if the ho])es of tlie Hiid.soirs Bay 
 Hallway promoters shall ever be realized ; 
 and southward still to Fort York, the pre- 
 sent conunercial metropolis of the bay, if 
 so fine a tei'in may be apj)lied to a place 
 whose business activity is compressed 
 into a week or two out of eacli year, and 
 is then limited to ri>ceiving a cargo from 
 and lu'oviditig a retiu'u cargo for a single 
 shij). 
 
 All this took from Augu.st 6th to Sep- 
 tember 12th. On the evening of the lat- 
 ter day the '' Neptune " struck out acro.ss 
 tbt> broad bosom of the bay for Digges 
 Island, and beginning with Port Lajx'r- 
 riei'e made a farewell toitr of the various 
 stations, after ■whicli her course was 
 sha])ed homewards ; St. John's, New- 
 foundland, being reached by October 
 lltli, when tlie voyage came to an end. 
 
 Tlie results of the e.Kpedition were very 
 consid(M"able, although, of course, they 
 were only ])reliminary. In reference to 
 the ice, which had hitherto been supposed 
 to be the most formidable barrier to the 
 navigation of the waters, Lieut. Gordon, 
 
402 
 
 " THE INLAND OCEAN OB THE NORTH'' 
 
 the commander of the expedition, report- 
 ed that on close inspection its terror very 
 lartyely disa])pears. The ice met with 
 during his cruise could he divided into 
 three classes, each class having a sep- 
 arate origin : namely, icehergs from the 
 glaciers of Fox Channel, heavy Arctic 
 ice from the channel itself, and ordinary 
 field ice, heing that formed on the shores 
 
 of the hay and 
 strait. No ice- 
 hergs were en- 
 countered in 
 Hudson's Bay, 
 nor were any 
 reported as 
 having heen 
 
 "^^r 
 
 seen there in the 
 past; but in the strait 
 a good many were 
 met with, princii)ally 
 along the northern 
 shoi*e, where a num- 
 ber were sti'anded 
 in the coves, while 
 some others were 
 passed in mid-chan- 
 nel. They were not 
 thought, however, to 
 form any greater bar- 
 riers to navigation 
 than do those met with in Belle Isle 
 Strait, nor Avere they more numerous 
 than they frequently are in these waters. 
 The fleld-ice encountered, although it 
 would have compelled an ordinary iron 
 steamer to go dead-slow, gave no trouble 
 to the " Neptune," the vessel running at 
 full speed between the pans, and rarely 
 touching one of them. 
 
 The followiug summer a second expe- 
 dition, in charge of the same commander 
 as before, went up to the bay, this time 
 
 GROrNDED ICEBERO, 
 
 in a much superior vessel, H. M. S. 
 "Alert," which had been lent for the 
 purpose by tlie BritisJi naval authori- 
 ties. In every respect, except, perhaps, 
 speed, a better vessel than this steam- 
 sliip could hardly have been selected. 
 She had been specially rebuilt for the 
 Nares Arctic expedition of 187(5, and 
 was so constructed as to be capable of 
 resistiug great ice-pressure, while her 
 engines gave a very creditable amount 
 of speed for a very small expenditure of 
 coal. It being deemed essontial to de- 
 termine, so far as possible, the time of the 
 opening of Hudson's Straits for naviga- 
 tion, a much earlier start was made 
 than before ; tlie " Alert " steaming out 
 of Halifax Harbor on the 27th 
 of May. Unfortunately, how- 
 ever, the fates saw fit to frus- 
 trate this design ; for, after 
 ^ making her way with nuich diffi- 
 
 culty, but no misha]), thi'ough 
 fields of ice and banks of fog 
 right up to the mouth of the 
 strait, on the l()th of June the 
 ice set solid to the ship 
 fore aiul aft, rafting 
 and piling up all 
 around her, and the 
 next day it Avas dis- 
 cover(>d that the iron 
 stern -plates had been 
 broken off some dis- 
 tance below the water. 
 This was a most seri- 
 ous injury, as Lieut. 
 Gordon did not dare 
 drive his ship at all 
 hard through the ice, 
 and from that day 
 until July 6th Avas 
 compelled to let her 
 drift about, the jilay- 
 thing and sport of the 
 pitiless ice-king. Tlius, much precious 
 time Avas lost, and a still further delay 
 occasioned by the necessity of returning 
 to Newfoundland for repairs, which took 
 until nearly the end of the month, so 
 that August had come before the first 
 station, Port Burwell, Avas reached. The 
 obserA^er and his assistants Avere found 
 in excellent health, and reported having 
 passed a very pleasant winter, even if 
 the cold did happen to freeze the mer- 
 cury solid sometimes. 
 
 (SfsUnl^i 
 
 . i<ri^r- 
 
 Ji 
 
mmi^ 
 
 " THE J XL AND OCEAN' OF THE NORTHr 
 
 m 
 
 The round of the different 
 stations was then made, and 
 men who liad spent the win- 
 ter there were rephiced by 
 fresh garris«)ns, tlie nmnher 
 in each case heiii<.v the same 
 as before. With two excei)- 
 tions the men were found in 
 perfect health, the excejjtions 
 being one of the observers, 
 wlio was suffering from a 
 sliylit attack of scurvy, and 
 one of the station hands, who 
 had faHen a victim to tliat 
 disease. In tlie hitter case 
 the fault lay entirely Avith 
 the unfortuiuite fellow, as, 
 during the Aviuter months, 
 lie spent the greater part of 
 his time in bed, and persistently neg- 
 lected every precaution against an at- 
 tack. After \nsiting Fort Churchill, 
 where, as may be readily supposed, the 
 adA'ent of the " Alert'' was hailed Avith 
 delight by the little band of residents, 
 
 STEAMER "ALKHT OFF UUADMAN S ISLAND. 
 
 her of graves dotting its bleak and 
 barren back Avith pathetic memorials of 
 those Avho had gone out from their NeAV 
 Bedford homes to return no more for- 
 CA'er. 
 
 Forts York and Churchill Avere then 
 and her dei)arture Avas delayed by a A'io- called at, and a survey nuide of the lat- 
 lent stcirm that lasted over a week, the ter place Avith a \'w\w t)f ascertaining its 
 
 return A'oyage Avas entered upon, the 
 parting round of the stations made, and 
 their tiny garrisons Avere left to the cold 
 and darkness of a long and dreary Arctic 
 Avinter. 
 
 The third expedition, in Avhich the 
 "Alert" AA^as again used, sailed on 
 June 24th, 1880, and had far better luck 
 than its innnediate predecessor, as no 
 special dilUculty or cause of delay Avas 
 experienced, the season proA'ing to be 
 s(mieAvhat earlier than the preA'ious year, 
 and the ice, consequently, in a much 
 more disorganized condition. It is true 
 that Avhile rannning at a taut bar of ice 
 a little more than half Avay through the 
 strait, the screw got Avorsted in the en- 
 counter to the extent of one blade, but 
 as the same accident liad occurred on 
 both the ])reA'ious trips, Lie\xt. Gordon 
 kncAV exactly how to rej)air thedanuige, 
 and little time Avas lost. The stations 
 Avere visited in turn, and all their occu- 
 pants taken off, as they Avere to be nuiiu- 
 tained no longer. This duty accom- 
 plished, an excursion Avas made to 
 
 commercial capabilities, the result be- 
 ing that it Avas pronounced admirably 
 suited for the Avater terminus of a rail- 
 road system, and easily coiiA'ertible into 
 a port lit for doing a business of great 
 magnitude. The estuary of the Nelson 
 RiA'er, by the shores of which Fort York 
 stands, is, on the other haiul, declared 
 by Lieut. Gordon to be one of the most 
 dangerous places in the Avorld for ship- 
 ping ; so that, if Hudson's Bay CA^er 
 does become the summer outlet for the 
 commerce of the Great North-west, 
 Churchill harbor must undoubtedly be 
 the shipping port. Some day or other 
 there may be a boom up there, and this 
 little bit of information may proA'e very 
 valuable, but I present it freely to my 
 readers notwithstanding, and they can 
 use it as they see tit. 
 
 HaAMUg thus glanced briefly at the 
 moA'ements of the three expeditions, my 
 next business is to rescue the more 
 important results of their explorations 
 from the quick obli\'ion of the blue- 
 book, and make them public property; a 
 
 Marble Island, in the northern part of task that has been rendered materially 
 
 the bay, a great resort of Avhalers, in more interesting through the kindness 
 
 whose chief harbor there is a spot called of Mr. W. A. Ashe, observer at Ashe 
 
 Deadnian's Island, because of the uum- Inlet, in placing at my disposal the 
 
4U4 
 
 "THE INLAND rx'/Al.V OF Till': NORTH." 
 
 <'xt<Misivr> Mild valuiiblo notes made l»y a ('oiillict. its ])oss('ssi()U hoinnf fioivoly dis- 
 liiiu diii'iny his winter sojoiini. as well piited Ity the Fi'eiicli and Kiiylish tor a 
 
 period exteiidiiiy ovei- two centuries. An 
 interestiiiii' relic of those tiiiiiultiious d:iys 
 is still to he seen in what is without doiiht 
 the lar<4'«'st ruin in North America — Fort 
 I'riiice of Wales, whose hattei-ed walls 
 
 as his helpful collection of ]»hot<)frra|>hs. 
 taken diirinu' tlu- same period. 
 
 First of all, a word or two in refer- 
 once to HudsoiTs IJay itself. The pro- 
 jiortions of this inland ocean are such 
 
 as to yive it a ])roiiiiiient place anioii^' stand out i)romineiitly upon the jioint at 
 
 the <i-eo<irai)hical features of the world. tht> west side of the entrance to C'hiircli- 
 
 ( )iie thousand three hundred miles in ill Harhor. Bei,'-uii in IT".'}:}, it (x'cupied 
 
 lenyth hy si.K liundred miles in hreadlli, several years in huildiny, and when 
 
 it e.xtends over twelve (le<yrees of lati- completed must have looked very impos- 
 
 tude. and covers an area of not less iiifj with its lofty stone hattlemeiits and 
 
 than half-a-million s((iiare miles. Of two-s<'ore menaciiiii' cannon. Vetstroiiy 
 
 the live hasiiis into which Canada is di- 
 vided, that of Hudson's Bay is immeas- 
 urahly tlH> laryest, the e.vtent of country 
 drainin>i' into it heiiiji- estim.ited at three 
 iiiillioii s(]uare miles. To swell the 
 niiji'hty voluiiie of its waters there come 
 rivers which take their ri.se in the Kockv 
 
 as it was, Goveriier Heariie, who had 
 charji'e in 17^2, surrendered without iir- 
 in<i' a shot, to the French Admiral La 
 Perouse, when he ap])eared hefore him 
 in a .seventy-four accompanied by two 
 frijiates, and summoned him to yield. 
 La J*erouse spiked and dismounted the 
 Mountains on the east, and tiie Lab- ffuns, i)artially destroyed the walls, and 
 rador wilderness on the west, while then sailed away with his prisoners, 
 southward its river-roots stretch far leaving tla; fort to a neglect and silence 
 down Ik'Iow the 41)th ])arallel, until that have not been broken since, except 
 they ta|> the same lak(> source; whence when ])erchance some curious visitor ex- 
 tlows a stream into tlu! Gulf of Mexico, plores its fast crumhliny ruins. 
 Stranj^'e as it may seem, it is yet ])er- The chief reason for the deep interest 
 ^'ectly possible that a passing biu'ath of manifested in t'le bay by the two j^'reat 
 Aviiid should determine whether the ulti- rivals was their desire to control the 
 mate destiny of the rain-drop fallino- lucrative fur trade for which it otfcM'cd 
 
 so excellent an outlet. The 
 famous Hudson Bay Com- 
 pany was formed under the 
 ]iatronaii'e of Prince Ru- 
 pert in ]t!SS, and forthwith 
 ))roceeded to estal)iish forts 
 alony the shore, beo-iiuiino^ 
 with Moose Factory at the 
 foot of James Bay, Forts 
 Albany, York and Cbnrcli- 
 ill followed in due time, 
 and reyular commuiiica- 
 
 iiito that little hike be the 
 balmy bosom of the ^[ex- 
 ican (xulf, or the chilly 
 S'rasp of the Arctic ice-floe. 
 Altbouo-h seemin<>*ly .so 
 remote from the needs of 
 humanity, Hudson's Bay 
 has l)eeii the scene of many 
 
 i 
 
 4 
 
" THE INLAND OCEAN OE THE NORTH r 
 
 405 
 
 >rcely dis- 
 lish tor a 
 ifios. An 
 iiousduys 
 out doubt 
 ■icii — Fort 
 red walls 
 le-poiiit at 
 I) Cliurch- 
 L o('oui)it'd 
 nd when 
 [>ry inii)os- 
 iKMits and 
 Yet strong 
 
 who had 
 itliout tir- 
 iliniral La 
 x'fovc him 
 I'd by two 
 I to yitdd. 
 muted the 
 walls, and 
 
 prisoners, 
 iiul silence 
 nee, except 
 ; visitor ex- 
 s. 
 
 i>ep interest 
 B two yreat 
 control the 
 h it otVered 
 .utlet. The 
 1 Bay C'oni- 
 ■d uiuU'r the 
 Prince Ru- 
 (l forthwith 
 tablish forts 
 ;>, befi'iuninj? 
 ctory at the 
 Bay.' Forts 
 iiiul C'liurch- 
 n due time, 
 couHUUnica- 
 
 wai'd a better uiuler- 
 staiidiiiu' (,f tiit'se little 
 known jM'ople. For 
 more than a year lie 
 dwelt alnon(;•^l them 
 on an island on the 
 north side of tlie s.rait 
 at about the middle 
 jxiint of its len<i'th, his 
 liome beiny a frame 
 house, sixteen by t wen- 
 ty feet in dimensions. 
 in which lie and his two 
 men successfully en- 
 dured a climate whose 
 
 ^^^^|. 
 
 tion has been luaintained l)etween them 
 and (xreat Britain, the records showiny 
 that with the exce])tion of one year (I7T1M 
 a ship has annually visited Moose Factory 
 for 151 years, and York Factory for !)T 
 yeai's. 
 
 The nativa Indiaus and Eski- 
 mo were from the fii'st deli<ihted 
 at the establishment of these 
 forts, and at no time have the 
 relations between them and 
 their white brethren beenothei'- 
 Avise than perfectly Imrmonious. 
 They scour tlu; counti-y far and 
 wide for furs, and briiif>'in<i'lhem 
 to the fort, obtain in exchan<ie. 
 ammunition, yuns, hatchets, 
 knives, beads and other articles 
 dear to the savajre heart, and 
 essential to their wild life. 
 They are a harmless, inott'ensive ])eo])le 
 as a rule, and have readily listeufnl to 
 the missionaries sent to minister unto 
 their spii-itiial necessities, the consecpuMit 
 im])rovement in their life beiny easily 
 percep<^il>le. 
 
 The Indians of these i-eyions have so 
 much in connnon with the ordinary red 
 n.an as to call for no special remark: 
 but the Eskimo present an individuality 
 and interest that render them peculiarly 
 attractive, as a subject of study at all 
 events, and Mr. Ashe's acute and sym- 
 pathetic observations help us greatly to- 
 
 FISHlN(i WITH NliTS O.S' THE EDITH RIVEK. 
 
 mean temperature was nineteen degi'ees 
 b(>l()w freezing ])oint, permitting snow 
 to Ii(> in shady ])laces the whole year 
 round, nid making a siuiw-storm ])ossi- 
 ble in the height of summer. 
 
 It is a sad and gloomy land. In 
 winter the world lies burie(i beneath its 
 monotonous i-obe of Avhite. In summer 
 it reminds one of a Dore illnstrati(m to 
 the "Inferno," for Avithout a sign of 
 vegetation save a sickly growth of moss 
 in sheltered nook.s, the bare, bleak rocks 
 lie tumbled about in chaotic confusion, 
 wearying the eye aiul chilling the soul 
 

 40G 
 
 "Till': JXLAXD (K'I'JAX UF TUh: XOHTll. 
 
 I 
 
 CAMP OF CHIPPEWA INDIANS. 
 
 witli tlioiv unmitijratod stenuioss. Amid 
 sucli .suvrouiulinys do the Eskimo spend 
 their life, ])assiii<^ fi-om cradle to grave 
 without one faintest {rleiini of the glo- 
 rious beauty of flower-strewn meadow 
 or billowy verdured forest. And yet 
 they are far from being an unhappy or 
 unintelligent race. On tlie contrary, 
 they are both cheerful and bright by 
 nature to a degree that puts them npon 
 a higher level than numy of the Indians 
 who have mucli gi-eater advantages. In 
 the matter of mechanical ability, for 
 instance, examine the tool-box of an 
 P^skimo when he considers it well fur- 
 nished, and -what does it ccmtain ? A 
 well-worn file, an inditl'erent saw, a few 
 I'usty nails, a cheap ])en-knife, and a 
 very inferior sheath-knife. What would 
 the ordinary mechanic of civilization 
 accomplish with such implements as 
 these ? Yet with these poor tools the 
 Eskimo will repair the locks of their 
 guns, make harpoons and spears, put 
 together their kayaks and iimiaks, and 
 manufacture all sorts of things out of wal- 
 rus ivory. They will take the blade out of 
 one pen-knife, alter it so as to be of suit- 
 
 able size, and place it in another handle, 
 drilling witli a broken needle the hole for 
 the i)in on which the blade turns, having 
 first by means of fire carefully untem- 
 pered the part of the blade to ])e drilled. 
 
 The appearance of these Eskimo is 
 suggestive of patience and perseverance. 
 They are short and sipuit of tigui'e, tlie 
 men averaging five feet three inches, aiul 
 the women five feet in height. Their 
 breadth is apt to vary, according to 
 Avhether the fates have sent them ])lenty 
 of seal or imt. Tlieir eyes and hair are 
 of the very blackest, the latter being as 
 straight and not less coarse than horse- 
 hair. A favorite annisenu'ut among the 
 women is for two of tliem to select a 
 hair out of their heads, and loo])ing one 
 througii the other, to ])ull on the ends 
 held in their hands until one of the hairs 
 gives way, to the vast delight of the 
 fat little lady Avhose capillary strength 
 wins in this odd tug-of-war. 
 
 The men generally sport a moustache, 
 and occasionally a beard, the usual 
 thing, however, being a tuft on the chin. 
 They have very flat noses and high 
 cheek-bones, so that if vou were to hold 
 
 as 
 
m 
 
 ^nm 
 
 mt 
 
 THE INLAND OCEAN OF THE NORTH" 
 
 407 
 
 W: 
 
 W'H 
 
 a striiiyht rule from one of tlicir cyc-halls 
 1o tlio other, it would in iiiiiuy eas«'s 
 tail to touch the hridye of the nose. 
 Their eyes have an upward tendency at 
 
 the cornel's; their coniplexio!) i.s of a 
 li<fht Itrown tinye, often da.slied witli 
 red; their mouths wich', l)ut not t)iick- 
 lipped; their teeth very irreyuhir, and 
 considerably more like rusty iron tlian 
 ^•U'auiin<r l)earl in color, 
 wiiile in tiie women tliey 
 are apt to he worn down 
 almost to the <:^ums by their 
 custom of chewin<;, until it 
 is soft enouffh to be easily 
 se'vn. ihesiin-stiffened.seal- 
 .skin out of which their gar- 
 ments are made. However 
 lacking in attractive quali- 
 ties the Eskimo belle may 
 appear to the civilized eye, she possc^.ses 
 one element of beauty Avhich even the 
 most charminj? residents of Madison 
 Squai-e or Beacon Street mioht fairly 
 covet, and that is exquisitely small hands 
 and feet. Wlule her southern sister com- 
 presses her understandings into the tight- 
 est of French bottines, and yet is not 
 satisfied, the houri of Hudson's Straits 
 puts on first a sealskin stocking with the 
 fur inside; then another, made out of the 
 skin of a duck, loon, or raven, with its 
 feathers still on ; then one or two more 
 of sealskin, and lastly, the boot it.self; 
 notwithstanding all of which wrapping, 
 her foot seems small and dainty. 
 
 The Eskimo costume consists in sum- 
 mer of seal-skins, and in winter of rein- 
 deer-skins, the latter being always worn 
 in duplicate, one set witli the fur next 
 the body, the other with the fur outside, 
 an arrangement that is even better than 
 the famous one of Brian O'Lynn, who, 
 
 according to the old song, liaving no 
 breeches to near, got him a sheei)-skin 
 to make hini a ]>air, and then 
 
 With th<' skinny side out, ami the woolly side in. 
 He \va.s line anil warm was Hriau o'Lynii. 
 
 The ])attern o: their garments varies 
 not a whit from generatit)n to genera- 
 tion. The coat, which does not button 
 but is hauled on over the head, has 
 a large capuchin, in Eskimo language, 
 "amook." at the back of the neck. The 
 only difference between lh(^ coats of the 
 men and the women lies in the latter i)e- 
 ing graced with a tail, both "fore and 
 aft. " so to s])eak, ujx)!! which the femi- 
 nine fondness for ornamentation is in- 
 dulged to the full extent of the wearer's 
 means, so that they may be seen adorned 
 with numerous rows of Iwads ami bits of 
 brass orcoppi-r, such things as the works 
 of a clock not being despi.sed, for in- 
 stance. A ve.y }'o])ular form of decora- 
 tion consists of table-si)oons, which they 
 break in two, and arrange 
 in various devices, group- 
 ing the handles in one place 
 and the bowls in aiu)ther. 
 In the sunnner each fam- 
 ily has its own home, Init 
 in winter two or more fam- 
 ilies live tijgether for the 
 sake of increas(Hl warmth 
 and economy of fuel. The 
 summer residence is a tent 
 made of sealskins with the hair scrajjcd 
 otf, giving much the a])])earance of yel- 
 lowish i)arch me nt. which is stretched over 
 ]K)les of drift-wood arranged in the ordi- 
 nary cone shape. The door always faces 
 
 toward the water by whose side they are 
 camped, and at the opposite side of the 
 tent is the bed, composed of moss covered 
 with sealskin. As they sleep with head 
 
«ff 
 
 408 
 
 " THE INLAND OCEAN OF THE NORTH.'' 
 
 poiiUiiifr doorward, they Jiecessarily lio 
 (lown-liill owiii<>- to the natural slope of 
 tlie laud toward the shore. This does not 
 seem either a conifortahle or healthy posi- 
 tion, hut apparently they are none the 
 woi'so for it. On either side of the door- 
 way is their lanhM-, ('onsistin<!: of exceed- 
 in<>ly repulsive-h)okin<>' piles of seal meat 
 and hluhher, whieh give forth an odcn* 
 that Samson himself, with his luiir at its 
 long-est, could hardly wrestle v»ith suc- 
 cessfully, sooverwhehniufjis its strength. 
 The winter liahitations ai-e made en- 
 tirely of snow, and are generally built 
 iiudei the sheltering lee of a rock, in the 
 drift that accumulates there. The builders 
 begin l)y marking out on the snow a circle 
 about iifteen feet in diameter, which re- 
 ])resents the inmu" side of the walls, and 
 with a .saw or long-l>laded knife tliey cut 
 out blocks of snow from three to six feet 
 long by a foot thick, and high, from 
 inside the circle they have marked; 
 then, placing- the blocks around the 
 circle, they carry the walls up spirally 
 (not in tiers), until they meet in a key- 
 .stoiu^ abdve. at a distance of about nine 
 fe«'t fi'om the excavated ]ev(d of the n(K)r. 
 The result is. except, of course, as to 
 color, the production of a gigantic bee- 
 hive, over the door or in the centre of the 
 roof of Avhich is set a big block of fresh- 
 
 water ice to serve the purpose of a win- 
 dow in lighting an interior that, although 
 stainless white at first, is soon blackened 
 by the ever-smoking, evil-smelling lamps 
 the inmates use. 
 
 The furniture of these human hives is 
 very simple, as may be readily supposed. 
 It con.sists of a bed-place or divan along 
 the side of the "igloo "' opposite the door, 
 and two fire-places, one on either hand as 
 you eiitei'. These are made of firmly 
 packed snow, and raised about three feet 
 above the floor, the divan having its outer 
 edge faced with a i)ole to ])revent it from 
 crumbling away when used i.s a seat in 
 the day-time. The beds are made up in 
 the following manner : first, a layer of 
 moss spread over the snow; next, a layei* 
 of .sealskins; then a layer of bear or 
 deerskins, and finally the sleeping bags, 
 which resemble exaggei'ated j)illow-sli])s. 
 only that fur takes the jdace of liiuMi. 
 and the fur is double, so that there may be 
 hair both inside and outside. Into these 
 bags, of which each adult has one. the 
 Eskimo, stri])])ed to the h-.wo buff, ci-eeps 
 for the night, and slee])s very comfort- 
 ably. Up to th(^ age of ten the children 
 ■share their i)arents' bag; after that tiiey 
 are ])romoted to having one of their own. 
 
 Their fires are nothing more than 
 lamps rudely fashioned cmt of .soap- 
 
 ..■".v/r-f.; 
 
 
 
 1 
 
mmgmimgitmfit*^^^>^i 
 
 THE INLAND OCEAN OF THE NORTH:' 
 
 409 
 
 I 
 
 4 
 
 stono, and so arraiijnfed 
 as to be self-supplyiiit?, 
 a mass of blubber be- 
 iii<r liuno- in such close 
 ])i'oxiniity to tlie flnuie 
 that the fat is con verted 
 into oil. which, drip- 
 ping into the bowl be- 
 h)W, is consumed bj^ 
 means of a moss wick. 
 As the lamp has no 
 chimney, and both oil 
 and wick ai-e of the 
 pooi*est, the result is 
 the reverse of l)ri]liant; 
 neitJK'r liji'lit 
 nor heat be- 
 in<^' obtained 
 in what we 
 would consi- 
 der a satisfac- 
 tory ([uantity. 
 Just above 
 the lamps a 
 sealskin is 
 sketched to 
 
 
 I'nKl'AlllNIl I'llU WI.NTEll. 
 
 prevent the heat thawing tlie roof away, 
 a precaution tliat seems hardly neces- 
 sary, seeing th.at the ordinary tempera- 
 ture of these snow-huts is 27 degi-ees at 
 tlie riof and 24 degrees at the level of 
 the beds; in other woi-ds, from 5 to S de- 
 grees below freezing-p 'int. Pray ))ause 
 for a moment, good ]MM)ple, as you read 
 tins by cosy liresides, or in register-heated 
 chambers, where the thermometer keeps 
 comfortably near the seventies, and try to 
 realize what it means. What sort of a 
 
 INTERIOR OF OBSERVATORY AT ASHE INLET. 
 
 time would you have with the air 
 chilled to ten degrees below zero, out- 
 side, and warmed to only twenty-five 
 above, inside ? Verily, one half the 
 world does not know, and indeed 
 can hardly understand, how the other 
 half lives. 
 
 In order to keep out as much cold 
 as possible, the doorways are very low 
 and nari'ow. a fact which 
 explains the curious 
 phrase with which the 
 hosts speed their parting 
 guests, nau'.ely : "Ta- 
 bourke aperniak in atit '' 
 — that is. " (xood-ltye ; 
 do n't bump your head." 
 Next to his children, 
 the most im])ortaiit mem- 
 bers of an Eskimo's 
 household are his dogs, 
 they bt>ing es.sential to 
 his hunting in summer, 
 and his traveling in winter. Th(\v are 
 very wild, wollish animals, only half- 
 domesticated, and possessing marvelous 
 digestive jKiwers. A i)up that Mr. Ashe 
 was rearing, being left to amuse himself 
 ni the hou.s(> one day, did so, vei'y etft'ctu- 
 ally, by devouring stockings, gloves, 'he 
 greater part of a top-boot, and many 
 smaller articles of a similar nature, none 
 of which, ai)])arently, disagreed with him. 
 In travidhig the dogs are harnessed to the 
 .sledges by traces of white whule-skiu, the 
 
410 
 
 " THE INLAND OCEAN OF THE NORTH:' 
 
 h 
 
 oldest and most trustworthy on the lead, 
 the others in pairs on either side of his 
 line ; a dozen constitutinji? a full team, and 
 the whole being controlled by a driver 
 who runs beside them, Avielding a whip 
 with a lash thirty feet long, which, in 
 his hands, can take a tuft of hair out of 
 the most distant dog, with unfailing ac- 
 curacy. Where tliere is no l)eaten track 
 some one must precede the dogs to show 
 them tlie Avay, but on a well-defined 
 route they Avill trot ak>ng merrily by 
 themselves at the rate of five or six 
 miles an hour. 
 
 then they may gorge themselves to their 
 hearts' content upon the rich and juicy 
 meat of the marine monsters. 
 
 The Eskimo language is very soft and 
 pleasing to the ear, but difficult to ac- 
 quire, principally because of the peculiar 
 use of the accent, and the difference a 
 wrong placing of it makes, as a word in- 
 correctlj- pronounced seems to be quite 
 unintelligible. Mr. Ashe's fir.st attempts 
 at conversation were so conspicuously 
 unsuccessful that he was mucli discour- 
 aged. For instance, he oiice said to a 
 young neiglibor: "Ibbe micky tiddle- 
 man pickaniminy petuang- 
 a-too," meaning thereby to 
 remark in a friendly wi,y: 
 "Your dog had five puppies 
 — they are dead ; '' }>ut in 
 reality testing his visitoi-'s 
 self-control by tiie offensive 
 assertion: "You are a dog 
 — you have not got five 
 children." 
 
 Although known to the 
 world as Eskimo or Esqui- 
 maux, these dwellei's in the 
 far north call themselves 
 
 ■ I 
 
 f f 
 
 
 
 V- -.. <e. 
 
 DdOS WAITING TO UE FED. 
 
 ()ft(Mi, when a pause is 
 made for a rest or to ice the 
 runners of the sledfie, a 
 discussion will arise among 
 the dogs as to whether all 
 are pulling their fair share. 
 From barks they soon come 
 to bites, and a scrinnnage 
 ensues which would cast the 
 liveliest corner of Donny- 
 brook Fair into the shade: 
 the dancing driver ^^'ith his 
 cracking whip, the snarling, 
 
 struggling dogs entangled in their traces. " Innuit," which means " the people," as 
 and the overturned .sled combine to make if they were the only peo])le in the world, 
 up a .scene that defies description. The generally accepted derivation of the 
 
 The Eskimos are v(My good to their term Eskimo, is from the Indian Avord 
 dogs, sharing their last bite with them "Eskimautsic," signifying "eaters of raw 
 when food is scarce. So fond are they of meat," but Mr. Ashe suggests another de- 
 them, too, that it is exceedingly difficult rivation that is at least very ]>lausible, and 
 1o ])urchase a good team. The Hudson's Avorthy of notice. The whaler of to-day 
 Bay Company employees find these dogs calls the Eskimo "Huskies," a v.ord that 
 very useful in their work, ami there are is not far vemoved fi-om "Husickie,"and 
 large packs of them at every fort. They that again from " Isickie," which is the 
 are famous fish-eaters, and great are the Iimuit word for a male. Now, what 
 rejoicings in dog-town, when a catch of .seems more probable than that the earli- 
 porpoises or white whales is effected ; for est visitors to those icy regions in seek- 
 
r.w-(<w-«»>jis»if,5R-(;« 
 
 -■!wr3M[i«iff^5:.?9a'4«3f,«iii:^?s^^ 
 
 THE INLAND OCEAN OF THE NORTH" 
 
 411 
 
 ing- information as to Avliar the inhabit- 
 ants called themselves v,ere understood 
 as wanting- to know A\)iether they were 
 males or female.s: ar.il, receiving the re- 
 ply " Isickie," have Inrned it into Eskimo 
 before handing it down to us? The Eski- 
 mo call their white visitors, whom they 
 are always so glad to see, '* Kedloonah," 
 tliat is, the " crested people ;" they at first 
 supposing that the hats worn bj them 
 were ]):u't of their ])hysical constitution. 
 
 In reference to their relig-ious beliefs 
 arid superstitions, the Eskimo are re- 
 markaldy reticent, for the reason prob- 
 al)ly that their intercourse has chiefly 
 been with rough, rude sailors, and they 
 are afraid of having their cherished 
 cei'emonies made the butt of the white 
 man's ridicule. 
 
 As I'egards matrimonial matters, they 
 g'enerally have but one wife, and never 
 more than two at the same time. No 
 formal prcliminuries in the way of a 
 marriage service seem to be presented. 
 Wlu'u a cou])le come to the same way 
 of thiiiking-. the man takes the woman 
 from her home, sometimes even with- 
 out asking the pai'ents' consent, and 
 instals her in his own igloo as the 
 fire-tender and "slavey" thereof. Usu- 
 ally the relation is a hap])y one. 
 Sometimes, however. incomi)atibility of 
 temper reveals itself, smd tlien the un- 
 congenial wife is returned to her former 
 home, having been taken only "on ap- 
 proval." and no formal divorce being 
 required, Avhicli shows that in this one 
 respect at least the otherwise slow-going 
 North has advanced farther even than 
 Chicago herself. 
 
 Eskimo ])arents are not a^it to be over- 
 burdened with children, five being con- 
 sidered a large family. This is due to 
 the lack of farinaceous food, which ren- 
 ders it necessary to postpone weaning 
 until the children are live or six years 
 old. What poor, dear Ai-temus Ward 
 would call "episodes'' are quite un- 
 known among iliem, and when assured 
 that tri])lets, or even quartets, were not 
 impossible in the South, their admiration 
 of the white man was A'astly increased. 
 
 The dead are buried in the snow in 
 winter time, and among the i-ocks in the 
 summer, piles of stones being heaped 
 upon them to keep off the wolves and 
 dogs, W^ith the male dead, they bury a 
 
 knife and spear. Before the era of guns 
 they buried also a bow and arrow, but 
 when these became obsolete, they did 
 not put a gun in their place, arguing 
 soundly enough that he must be a poor 
 hunter indeed Avho cannot get all the 
 game he needs in the happy hunting- 
 grounds with a knife and .spear as his 
 only Aveapons. It would appear as if 
 there Avere advanced thinkers, moreoA'er, 
 Avho hold that even the knife and spear 
 are not necessary in a land of such mi- 
 limited plenty, and Avho accordingly de- 
 prive the dead man of both, for it is A'ery 
 rarely that graves are found still con- 
 taining these articles. With the Avomen 
 they bury nothing, holding that sojne- 
 body Avill hunt game for them in the 
 next world just as they luiA'e done in this. 
 
 The Eskimo pantheon is pretty Avell 
 occupied, there being gods to preside 
 OA'er the different natural phenomena, 
 such as the rain, snow, ice, tides and so 
 foi'th, and others controlling luunan des- 
 tiny in the chase, at home and else- 
 where. Their explanation of the tides 
 is A'ery na'i've. The genius of the Avaters, 
 it seems, wishing to cross the straits dry- 
 shod, caused the Avater that filled them 
 to heap itself up at one side, and then, 
 Avhen he had passed over, to fall back 
 into its place again, Avliich it did Avith 
 such momentum as to j:o on oscillating 
 to and fro ever since. Tii?v have no hick 
 of priests, and under their direction make 
 A'arious olferings to propitiate the deities, 
 particularly Avhen the season is bad, and 
 seals are scarce. 
 
 Their social customs are full of inter- 
 est and iiulividuality. Their Avay of 
 eating, for instance, is decidedly peculiar. 
 Cutting a long strip of gory, greasy 
 meat from the mass before him, the 
 Eskimo gourmand takes one end of it in 
 his mouth, and then jiulling on the otlier 
 until it is strained tight, Avith a (piick 
 shuh of the knife past his moutli and 
 nose, he severs a mouthful and swallows 
 it AA'ithout mastication, repeating the 
 operation rai)idly until the limit of his 
 storage ca])acity is reached. A civilized 
 spectator watching an Eskimo family at 
 dinner cannot fail to be struck with the 
 wisdom of Pro\'idence in giving these 
 people such short noses, as Avere the 
 features any longer they Avould infalli- 
 bly suffer early abbreviation. 
 
?-■ 
 
 412 
 
 " THE INLAND OCEAN OF THE NORTH." 
 
 PDHTAGIMi A YOHK BOAT. 
 
 In the matter of amusements the Es- 
 kimo are not badly off. They liave a 
 form of c'iii)-aiul-l)all, the ball beiiig a 
 block of ivory ])i«'rced with holes at 
 (litt'erent angles, into oJie of Avhich the 
 l)layers strive to insert an ivory ])e<? as 
 the block falls, the position of the hole 
 determining- the value of the stroke. 
 Another yame closely reseml)les domi- 
 noes, and contains pieces running' as 
 high as " double-thirtit s."' but the se- 
 (juences are not regularly cari'ied out, 
 the breaks in thein seeming' to be with- 
 out system, When they can borrow or 
 ])urchase a pack of cards, they will 
 play euchre ami high-low-jack with 
 consideral)le skill ; and they also enjoy 
 draughts, having' leai-ned these games 
 from the whalers They have a game 
 exactly like solita re, with the exce))i'on 
 that ivory pegs take the ])lace of the glass 
 balls. The sjjecialanuisemen' >f the wo- 
 men is a species of "cat's-cra i\" which 
 has been brought to such ])ertection that 
 they develop from twenty to thirty ditfer- 
 ent figures in it. Indeed, they ai'e ex- 
 trenu'ly clever in i)erforming tricks with 
 string, winding and twisting: a i)iece in and 
 out among' their iing'ers, and then disen- 
 tangling it by a single ])ull on (»ne end. 
 
 Such are some of the manners and 
 customs of the quaii't harmless and— 
 des])ite their dirt — lovable peoi)le whose 
 home is among the dreary regions to 
 
 the north and south of Hudson's Straits. 
 They have many admirable traits of 
 character. They are wonderfully patient 
 and enduring in times of trial and suffer- 
 ing; honestand intelligent toannnlooked- 
 for degree ; perfectly fearless in the chase, 
 yet so peace-loving in their disposition 
 that quarrels are almost unknown; hos- 
 pitable, docile, keenly appreciative of 
 kindness, and ready to share their last 
 bite with their white visitors; willing to 
 woi'k when opportunity offers, and con- 
 tent with small rennuieration. So nuiiiy 
 good ])oints have they, indeed, that the 
 sad certainty of their gradual extermi- 
 nation is rendered all the sadder there- 
 by. The most careful estimate of their 
 numbers in the Hudson's Straits re- 
 gion at ])resent is 1,500, but this, of 
 course, is only an approximation, as 
 their own system of counting, which 
 generally runs "one-two-three — a great 
 many," rendei's anything like an accu- 
 rate census impossible. Each year finds 
 their food-supply diminishing, thanks 
 mainly to the enterprise of the whalers 
 and sealers. As the nund)er of tho seals 
 decrease the nundx'rof the Eskimo must 
 decrease also, and the end, though it 
 m.i" be long delayed, seems inevitable. 
 
 xVlthough the region inhabited (if that 
 term can be rightly applied to tiny set- 
 tlenuMits scattered at vast intervals ovei* 
 boundless wastes) by the Eskimo is ut- 
 
iM^niK <«a\<eK$aiia>3*M«iK 
 
 THE INLAND OCEAN OF THE NORTHS 
 
 m 
 
 terly worthless for agricultural i)urposes, 
 the waters it surrounds eoutaiu sources 
 of wealth which, straug'e to say. have 
 hitherto heen monopolized hy the Dun- 
 dee ami New Bedford ■,. iialers, just as 
 the fur trade has heen i.i()uo])olized hy 
 the Eufrlish Hudson's Bay Company ; the 
 Canadians, to whom the reo^iou l)elon<rs. 
 deriving scarcely any l)enefit fi-om it 
 whatever. Formerly, the wliale lisher- 
 ies of the hay were extremely valuahle, 
 ])iit of late years this leviathan has so 
 decreased in niunhers as to r<Mider his 
 chase precariously profitahle. and his ex- 
 tinction an early possihility. From a 
 tahle ])repare(l hy Dr. Boas, it appears 
 that between 184G and 1875 inclusive, the 
 United States sent 1K5 vessels to the 
 Hudson's Bay whale fishin<j'. and that 
 they obtained l.()2() barrels of sperm. 
 5().<)HI barrels of whale oil, and n(>arly 
 a million jiounds of avIu lebone. which, 
 considerinif that the avt -age size of the 
 shij) is only 240 tons, makes it clear that 
 there has been a handsome mar£?in of 
 proiit. The rij.j'ht whale, which, in con- 
 sequence of the hijjfh ])rice of whale- 
 bone, viz.. alxnit !?12,0(M> a Ion. is by 
 far the richest prize a whaler can cap- 
 ture, attains a size of from lifty to 
 eig'hty feet. It was once readily found 
 in the noi'thern part of the bay, but 
 now is rarely seen and the pursuers 
 have to fi'o farther and farther north 
 every year. The white whale, on the 
 other hand, still al)ounds at the York. 
 Nelson, and Churchill rivers. They y'o 
 up with the tide every day in <rreat 
 numbers, and seem quite tame. bobl)inff' 
 up serenely and blowing' within twenty 
 feet of the boats. They are cauylit in 
 nets and also by rows of stakes driven 
 into the nuul. and taken to the foils 
 where they are flenched, the blubber 
 
 tried out. the skins cured, aiul the cai'- 
 cass ])ut by for tiie food of the dof^s in 
 winter. As these whales average al)out 
 forty gallons of oil each, and their skins 
 are valuable, they are worth fr«>m twenty 
 to thirty dollars apiece. The narwhale 
 or uniconi, and the wali'us still exist in 
 consideralile nunil)ers, and well repay 
 the trouble of huntiuf)- them, while the 
 seal, it need hardly be said, swarms upon 
 the ice in countless numbers duriny the 
 jrref'ter ])art of tiio year, and to a hu'j^e 
 extent constitutes the Eskimo's conunis- 
 sariat. Of smaller fishes, the salmon is the 
 only one havino'counnercial value. It is 
 caught in larjie quantities by the Com- 
 pany.aud sent to Enjrland fresh in a refrig- 
 erator shi]) specially built for the trade. 
 
 There are not many species of land 
 animals, the polar bear, wolf, wolverine, 
 arciic fox, reindeer, polar hare, and lem- 
 ming' being the princi])al ones. They are 
 all pretty numerous still, l)ut their ranks 
 are undoubtedly thinning, as the demands 
 of the fur trade increase; and some day 
 or other they will be so scarce as to ren- 
 der the business of catching them no 
 longer remunerative. Indeed, as it is 
 now, no nuitter how hosi)ital)le. genial, 
 or talkative an official at one of the Hud- 
 son's Bay Com])any's forts may be. under 
 no circinnstance can he be sed u'cd into 
 the admission that his post is run at a profit 
 to the company; according to him it is 
 kept up just for the hem-lit of tlie Indians 
 and Eskimo; in other words, for ])hilan- 
 thropic rather than for conuncrcial i)ur- 
 poses. Accordingly, if this showing be 
 true, the end of the fur trade is already 
 within sight. 
 
 But it is not because of its human in- 
 habitants, nor of its (juarries for the 
 hunter on land or sea tliat the Hudson's 
 Bay region has special interest for us to- 
 
 LOOKINO SOUTH ALONG THE MERIDIAN LINE, LENNOXVILLE, P. Q. 
 
414 
 
 THE INLAND OCEAN OF THE NORTH' 
 
 day. We might be content to leave it to 
 the chill obscurity which has been so long 
 its lot, were it not that, as already in- 
 dicated, the Central part of Canada, 
 and the North-west of the United States 
 are asking whether it does not afford a 
 solution of the problem how to secure 
 for their products the cheapest and most 
 expeditious road to the V)est markets. A 
 glance at the map Avill be sufficient to 
 make clear that the shortest possible 
 route between the region referred to and 
 Europe lies through Hudson's Bay. Care- 
 ful calculations have shown that the city 
 of Winnipeg, for instance, is at least eight 
 hundred miles nearer Liverpool by the 
 Hudson's Bay route than by the St. Law- 
 rence, and the difference in favor of the 
 former increases, of course, the farther 
 you advance north-westward. If, as has 
 been pointed out, you take the central 
 point of the agricultural lands of the 
 Canadian North-west, you will find that 
 the distance from it to Winnipeg is about 
 the same as to Churchill, the finest har- 
 bor of the bay. Now the distance be- 
 tween Churchill and Liverpool is a little 
 less (about sixty-four miles) than it is 
 between Montreal and that great entre- 
 pot of commerce. The conclusion, con- 
 sequently, is that as between the said 
 centre and Liverpool there is a saving 
 of the w^liole distance from Winnipeg to 
 Mont'-eal, by the use of Hudson's Bay, 
 which means in miles no less than 1,291 
 via Lake Superior aiul 1.698 via Chicago. 
 The people of Manitoba having become 
 fairly alive to the importance of the 
 subject, not only called upon Parliament 
 to help them, but, like sensible folk, set 
 to work to help themselves. A charter 
 was obtained for a railway from Winni- 
 peg to York Factory. The line was sur 
 veyed and found to be easy of consti'uc- 
 tion. Some eighty miles of it have been 
 already laid down. Two ])owerful steam- 
 ers of 6,000 tons each have been ordered 
 to be built expressly for the route, and 
 two others have been chartered. It is 
 intended that the.se vessels shall begin 
 running between England and Hudson's 
 Bay early in June, 1888. They will fi- 
 nally solve the all-important question as 
 to how early a powerful steamer of the 
 freight-cai'rying class may be able to 
 penetrate the straits, and they will also 
 furnish the supplies required for the pro- 
 secution of the road from York Factory 
 
 southwards, meeting it in its progress 
 from Winnipeg northwards. 
 
 Seeing how ardent, enf getic, and 
 hopeful, Manitobans have been in this 
 matter, it is not a little disappointing to 
 find that such competent authorities as 
 Lieut. Gordon and Mr. Ashe, are by no 
 means sanguine as to the success of the 
 route. The latter has pointed out tliat, 
 apart from the ice question, which is 
 quite serious enough of itself, there are 
 other ditficulties wliich have to be reck- 
 oned Avith, such as the dangers attend- 
 ant upon a passage along an unknown, 
 unlighted coast- line, with few harbors of 
 refuge, and very little rooui to ride out 
 a gale ; extreme depths of water, one 
 hundi'ed fathoms being often found 
 right up to the shore, with generally 
 very defective holding ground where the 
 depths are more moderate. In foul 
 weathei', no sounding being possible 
 that would be of value, a vessel would 
 receive no warning of her ])roximity to 
 the coast until it was, perhaps, too late 
 to save her from destruction. Further- 
 more, it must not be forgotten that the 
 proximity of the straits to the Magnetic 
 Pole renders the ordinary compass pei'- 
 fectly useless, and even the Thompson 
 compass becc ijs liable to aberration if 
 there are any disturbing elements on 
 shipboard. 
 
 The most serious objection of all. how- 
 ever, to the Hudson's Bay route, is the 
 ice that fills these waters with its de- 
 structive lloes and bergs. No ordinary 
 steamer could safely venture into its 
 midst. The bow must be armored, and 
 the whole frame strengthened to with- 
 stand the rude butt'eting that is so in- 
 evitable. All this, of course, means 
 increased cost and decreased carrying 
 capacity ; and even then the lesson of the 
 three expeditions would seem to be, 
 that the period of navigation for such a 
 vessel is from the ISth July to the 15th 
 October, with a possibility of navigation 
 from 1st July to 1st November. Wheth- 
 er a railroad system eight hundred miles 
 in length, and a fleet of steamships of a 
 V(^ry costly kind can be employed with 
 profit where the season for transporta- 
 tion is not moi'e than three or at the 
 most four months in duration, consti- 
 tutes the problem upon the solution of 
 which depends the future of the Inland 
 Ocean of the Noi*th. 
 
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 been in this 
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 elf, there are 
 ;^e to be reck- 
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 aften found 
 ;h generally 
 lid where the 
 e. In foul 
 ing possible 
 va\ssel would 
 proximity to 
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 he Magnetic 
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 aberration if 
 elements on 
 
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