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Nullrusaddiiiusjaranin'Uirbanta^i/fri'f / r ^0 me cunque rapit tempejiasy defcror hofpesl' '^^ HoR. ^Sworntommajler*sarbitr0-yfwap^ *' Iran^e where-e'er^occajion potTits the way. The FI^TH and SIXtH VOLUMES, which compleat the Wojk, are in the Prefs j With which will be printed /^ Tavlb of.CbNTEN.Ts to «ach V01.UM?, aadjiTranlli^ -- , , .. tion of all the Grcpk and 1 atip Paffages. /:^ifejstw :.^^--^..^ •■uir--^- IL M A N N E RS : A correa an4 elegwt Tranflation of L e s M o b u r s. With the original ^rontifpiece. Refpkere exemplar vita mcruMqut* •> HoR, The Second Edition^ iimo. Price bound 3^. r> '■\ ,in. A Treatise on Vllttui^ and HAPPINESS. 3y Thomas NETTtETON,M.D. and F.R.S. l — — ^-~^^J^amhocefi\ ' ' '^ S-^' Hoc faciens vfvam melius j Jic dulcis amicis Occurram. HoR. The Third Edition, printed from ^-Cepy in the Po{Icf!'?on of th& Author's Widow, confidemWy > ar h?iVXidtmH To which is added^ V.' . AC q XJ N T >— -vi ■ «ii^.''M*« I" ■'"H'r'f 1. .( 1 , 7. m 1- s' i ?*-..:^^:t^ iii ..*■* ;r- ^»- . _- i'- ■^"■"W^P^BWH ^im .v»i<^fl~/-i'T.i'%^'';ifc;'' :>'<.4iit4«''. '' * ■* ' .. . J*. .«» ..A.. "A-. r.«<. ^ ^•*. '-•■■'Vv. Y-". ■•''■' ... . i.H'ij <«■,>'" "V ..*ti.;' F. .,,.•.,.. ..--•■•• 7; --..^ .>v ••'•■sate i' ,',.''(.•''•"••■ ■ ►-:.'^'.: 'I j!^ ■-."•'■ «-^^ V ■ .-...'>• ■^~" ^ •*■■•. ;^- ..-'.■/• " ' .,'•;.« • ■ •■ . ' ■ . •_ ■ ' '■\^-v. <'Vn> .^'Vv ,^-'- '»*.-' »!:"« '>,->S^'%. ' »v.: v4. Draught of • ^ Jl l^ELSOX Z^ILttE S DRIVERS ^iv , Lat? jT'.io.lNoith. ^>>. Tar.i6 . 45 IWefterly . ' J"^ ,.,<*t A^ ^, N..-JS.I ;i •'V;..,.-;4f. ■ *i~. FUuiljorough Head •,w^'U ':"%> ^/l/"../-.**!. ,..1, -*-^ .il'A."-. iiiSM-' .!!*'*. .As i, f,:j -.'i* .■Jj,,'/-^.".!,.' ***■! P«* "«ir,v„ ;l'H.<:ir«/; ,4 ■jj... • , .;,VU' hIiA, •'* '"f: ■i . , ^■•^ i.f^K "'•*■., -'•./<»^.. •"'9b. ■^V •&. ..f ,.*t«" \.a:j.. ■•, .*i>.S. ./"V*,. ..«i!fi»^"' •J«.<. VpperJ}ea'Si4lft i*/<'**^afcg*»4/jitiftw"- ■MiddUJiea^Jttdjj, ->|.*/: -,J»!»/^- ..i'll,S> v4»(fH ..MaV' ■-•1\>/ -.*fc '../i*. ...;■•■"■•■. ,. .... ^..»/A. 'r ,,„,. .ji. — _ '. ■■.-uw '>i/<.l.f. ! :j:- ' Jack-a- ■^v. '-' -.^■M ■-.)•»<*/ .„,,,•■■., <•*»'■» --" *'/ 1/' i.:.>^!!S^ 'M*j.':-;a-t^-"v-'''"V? . <^/>'V •)**>«: i>iin\*t. ■■'->;■■ ^y-^' -v-iv/ >-.;,.,►»,.; •■•^•. ."jW'v; i'K'i: Y,. . '..>A«, ■' L— '.. i-- i J L '^X ar^Jtfiir^ J, A fhort Hiftory of the Difcovcry of Hudfon's-bay ; and of the Proceedings of the Englifli there fwc the Grant of 'tfie Hu4fon'8 -bay Charter t To- gether with Remarks upon the Papers and Evidence produced by that Com- . pany before the Committee of the Honour&ble Houfe of Common's, in the- Year 1749. II. An Eflimate of the Exptnce of building the Stone Fort, called Prince of VTales's-fojrt, at the entrance of Churchill-liver.' "' V ' in. The Soundings of Neiron>river. ;•,•: -., , JV. A Survey of the Courfe of Nclfon-river. V. A Survey of Seal and Gillam's IHands. And, VI. A Journal of the Winds and Tides at Churchill-rlver, for Part of the Vears 1746 and 1747. ' , , The Whole illuftrated, PY a Draught of Nplsqn and Hayes's Rivers ; a Draught of CiiuRCHiLL-RivER J and Plans of YoRic-FQRT, and Prince of Wales's fort. LONDON: printed for J. Payne and J. Bouquet in Pater-Nofter-Row j • Mr. KiNQAiD, at Edinburgh^ Mri.BARRY, at Glafgow; and Mr. J. Smith, at Dublin. '""- . ^ ^ : AIDCCLII, - ' 'i; tr« ,-,■**■:.' r<* -t y T 3 '^y'-'K '*• '" 'V 'T .\ L '-Jt* .^ ■ 1 frhe re^dcf is deftrod tacorre£t the followtng. Errata, />ceaiionf4 by the author's diftance from the prefs. . «* " ' ' Pago 3. 1. I J. 16. 1 7. for flay read H.yf, * 22. 1. 21. for eight tea.djfix. . . 27. 1. 17 and page 28.. 1. 19 for JUen read J//on. 29. 1* S &nd 6 foiF /^ lytnvp thir«lt thattt read /^ /Ajn 30. Note at the bottom, for flg. 3 read fig. i. . ^ ^ 59. 1. 21. dele «// 46. 1. II. for them, ttad a /rog. \. 12 and 13. fot dm read »V, aild 1. 14. for they tirr^, read it ivas, ■'"":. 50. 1. 29 and 30. for Cafi«i^fio. nzd Codacapo. .''T' .n ' ; 54. 1. 19. for Pocathujkot read Pockaracifco. "^' • ' 66. I. 24 and 25. dele, ofnuatytom^ anal. 27. iox feaf't •^ fiint tcz^ fea-horfe Jkin. ,; ;. 6'7. 1. 1 1 . after oy^*, add, iirow //&r country, and ' ' 68. 1. 10. (we greet, xtzd greater. APPENDIX. t« Pagf 12. 1. 35- forjeerf/, xtzd Jheered, ^„,,, :, , . ..,, .^^ 13. 1. 7. dele tf«^, ,- wtH- V 15. I. a6 and 29. foryb-f reiid /ffz-ftavT^-l* .. »-,— 4^' hA f| ,;^ \ ..... , It: :■|,^A'»a^t.^ ti;» :-. Wnv^ >; .V Xii 7t •• •■'V''ni'-f ' -> '.W*. t . The Right Honourable ^3 <' ■ • ■" GEO R G E ■ • >Vv. ■■■■V^'' •*|- ''V^'? '?'-^ ^ ♦ » Pirft Lord Commissioner v' '" * *^ -^'TRAttfe" and Plantations,'^ .^ My Lord, . j jv . ^ ^ , YOUR Lordlhip is the on- ly perfon in the kingdom to whom I ought to dedicate the following ftieets, I was prompt- wal ■• -a ■ •■ ed r 'l ( n ) cd to write them by a ftrong de- lire to ferve my native country; and I flatter myfelf, that yoiir Lordfliip will look into them at a leifure hour, and find, at leaft, fome amufement from the fails, though reprefented in a homely drefs. - ' :: ' ' "'/ "''''' The opening a new channel for trade to a vaft country, a- bounding with inhabitants, and with many beneficial articles of commerce, is a work that highly merits the attention of our wifeft and greatelt mert. . T There are furs, my Lord, on this large tra£t of land, fufficient to fupply all Europe } which yet are locked up by a tew (iii) few mgn, from the ^ body of the people of Great Britain, though not from the French. The poor inhabitants are clad in the fkins of wild beafts, which they part with freely for qui: woollen and iron manufadiures, oil fuch amazing low termS) as will fcarcely be credited by thofe who have not rafted of the fweets of the Hudfon's- bay monoply.- - -._^^,^^^^ i-r Whales and various other fifh are fo plenty in the Bay, and in the inlets leading from thence to the weftern ocean, that the natives catch more thari are neceflary for their fub- fiftence, with their own fimple ,jf<|fjBH ••. a a con- I (iv) contrivances. ' The land a- bounds with mines and miner-^ als, and is alfo capable of gr^lt improvement by cultivation ; and the climate within the country is very habitable. If the able poor or the convidls were font thither, with fuitable encouragement, they would very foon become happy them- felve3 and ufeful to the pub- lic. — -- -^^ ■■- ^ ' -'^'Qoriom. -/^-^ ^-'VoUE Lordflhip's wife and ftgady tondu(9: fince you ap* peared at the head of the board of trade, has drawn upon you the eye? of every trader in the nation ; even the loweft manu* faiSturers now fay,ii! They are '■ happy, ►no'i /"> f i cc (V) happy, fince Halifax pre- " fides: He knows the true in-. ^* tereftofjthe nation, that it de- ^^ pends upon trade and manu- ^' failures 5 that we have now ^' more rivals than ever ; that " navigation is our bulw*ark, ^^ and colonics our chief fup-* ^' port} and that new channels " of trade ihould be induftri- ^^ oufly opened: therefore, he ^' furveys the whole globe in ^^ fearch of frefh inlets, where ** our ihips ihay enter and These are the fentiments that are univ^rfally entertained of your Lordfliip, and I am jlbuud?intly convinced that they are mm (vi) are juft j which makes me re- joice in the prefent opportunity of profefling myfelf, with the greateft poflible refpe£t 1 > «»,•♦■ V,^»'-K on ■-* .ft. rd Hi ^'J) •fivl * ■ i • tf%x My Lord, " • T "* i n .^ '.It-* « A # (if A ♦.>( ^ 4|iuf X^.. 1 » M.M; ' H^-' V J - i-ML ,». * * ->, «^ Zt-ffOlOO b i-'A^ Your Lordship's 'if-T. ■•* ,V>» ». -• I"!!? t ;i-( /y'nltaqo -{li^ ^,1 Ovl \.»ji- jl/^ obedient and ^ '^'^n\y ;:i^lm ,flbii io ii-^m^it ''^. ^^ humble Servant •>Mr# ««.j»* » , London, April TiS^W 1752" ^ ./^ J^lfl a r><3-*-r r-s- » ^Jtli \.kk>^ % ' > J» n^ rr hi /:i^iij Joseph Robsoi^ a'iiJ '-i. . .V, ..v ( I ) ■J\.. j.. MHfeifaMM >^ *■> -■«» ^»» t V* vr- PREFACE. AFTER having been fix years in the countries adjoining to Hudfon*s-Bay, up- on my return to London I found that the mer- cantile part of the nation thought it a matter of the utmofl importance to put the trade to that place upon a different footing, by laying it open to all the Britifh merchants, and fetting aiide a hurtful monopoly, granted only by charter, and not confirmed by parliament but for feven years, which expired above fifty years ago. ')5ut'^rifiX? :.' i- ■/ s »t/.-r».:{ {rr^^-' •? ^^uoiiij^iJ It Was evident, that notwlthftanding the Hudfon's-Bay Company had enjoyed the benefits of an exclufive charter for near eighty years, and had received no interruption to their pof-- feflion fince the peace of Utrechtj they had not procured all the trade they might have done 5 having dealt in nothing confiderable but the Fur-trade, and thro' their parfimony on one hand, and exorbitancy on the other, con- fined even that to a very narrow channel ; fo that the trade to thofe vafl countries has beeri kept locked up, as if Uiis kingdom wanted no new vent for its manufa«5tureSj nor increafe to its fhipping. It was evident alfo, that tho' the B Com- ( 2 ■) Company had thus negledled the improvement of their own trade, and difcouraged a more extenfive one by induftrioufly preventing people from fettling about the Bay, and improving the lands and Sfheries there, they had not taken care to check the incroachments of the French, who are daily increafing and extending their Fur-trade within land to the fouth-weflward and weftward of the bay, among the lakes and near the fources of the feveral rivers upon which the Company have made fettlements. The chief trading cities and towns of Great Britain, therefore, from a juft concern for their own intereft arid the intereft of their country, which are infeparably united, in the year 1749 peti- tioned the parliament againft the Company's charter. ;;...n..^: ,-U i/ -M:': -^^.'^ .?'Jt; 'v:.;, ;:i-^ ; To fupport the allegations contained in thefe petitions, feveral perfons were examined before a committee of the honourable houfe of com- mons appointed to enquire info theftate and con- diticn of the countries about Hudfon's-Bayy and the trade^ carried on there. Of thefe I was one : but for want of confidence, and an ability to exprefs myfelf clearly, the account I then gave was far from being fo exad and full as that which I intended to have given. And, indeed, it is impoflible, from all the accounts united, to form a juft idea, either of the countries about Hudfon*s-Bay, or the Company's ma- nagement of the trade : I am acquainted with feveral of the witneffes, and know that they omitted upon their examination many impor- tant U'.. t. ':-Mi,,i ' = i,y^iii.^^i; B 2 Being (4) Being fenfible therefore, that the committee had been amufed by partial reprefentations j that a much more extenfive trade may be eflabliflied in Hudfon's-Bay, both for pelts and furs j that ther^ are great appearances of valuable mines along the coaft ; and that a pro- fitable fi(hery for whales, feals, &c, might be carried on by means of the natives at a fmall ex pence ; confidering alfo, the great fpirit for trade w^hich appears in all the Tiropean na- tions, and the obligations vsre are under upon that account to remove every thing that ob- ftrud:s our own trade and manufactures ; and being at the fame time convinced, that the mifmanagement of the Hudfon's-Bay Com- pany in locking up thefe countries from Bri- tain, in not fettling them, and fending up traders to the lakes and fources of the rivers in the Bay, not only gives the French an op- portunity of taking off the very beft commo- dities, but lays a foundation for their wrefting the whole country from us upon the firft war j a truth acknowledged even by the Company's principal officers : I fay, taking all thefe things together, I thought myfelfindifpenfably obliged to recover the truth out of that thick darknefs in which it had been deiigncdly involvedj and fet it in the fuUeft and cleareft light I was able, by the publication of the following iheets. .: ^ ,vr ..:>:,;,; vf',::;igi; I i/rui ;.;-'*;t^*> : I KNOW it has been induftrioufly propagated, by a fet of felf-interefted men, that the coun- tries adjoining to the Bay are incapable of any bene- X "ft ./yi;' ( 5) beneficial improvements ; and that the feverity of the climate renders them unfit for human creatures to inhabit. The fame was once faid of Siberia : but Siberia, which begins to be better known than the moft cultivated parts of Ruflia were a century ago, is found to be wa- tered with large navigable rivers, to have fpa- cious and fertile plains, and many rich mines of gold, iilver, and other metals. Yet this country, as it lies parallel with the more northerly part of Hudfon's-Bay, and is as it were the center of a much larger continent, is feveral degrees colder than the countries weft- ward of the Bay 5 for the farther eafterly all northern countries are, they are proportionably colder, from the prevailing wefterly winds, in the higher latitudes, crofling over large trails of land covered with fnow, whilft the winds which come from the ocean and open fea, are milder and more temperate. Banifhment to this country was at firft thought little better than immediate death: but by venturing to make ufe of it for this purpofe, it was found to be very habitable, its immenfe treafures were difcovered, and the power of the Ruffian em- pire was greatly extended and increafed. Let us make the fame experiment with the coun- tries about Hudfon's-Bay ; either affign them as a place of banifliment for our convidls, or fend thither properly furnifhed a number of men of capacity and refolution, or do both ; and the fame, or better, I am perfuaded, will De me errecrs. . .... ,i^,- v-i. lu v m ^ i>..4» ■ .11 . . --f B3 The I h - ( 6 ) The Company have for eighty years flept at the edge of a frozen fea j they have (hewn no curiofity to penetrate* farther thennfelves, and have exerted all their art and power tq crulh that fpirit in others. They have kept the language of the natives, and all that might be gained by a familiar and friendly intercourfe with them, as much as poflible, a fecret to then* own fervants; and the invaluable trea- fures of this extensive country a profound fe- cret to Great Britain. But there are not only bare fymptoms, but confiriiied accounts of many rich mines here ; there are fine rivers running from and leading to the fouthward and fouth-weftward, inviting the people to go up and fee what the countries afford : and inter- preters have gathered from the natives, that they have been in countries where the rivers run a contrary courfe to the rivers in the Bay 5 that fome have feen the fea and fhips on the other fide of the land to the weflward ; that the people dwell in towns 5 that little fnow lies in that country * ; and that the French live and trade with them within the country at the heads of thofe rivers that run down to the Endilh fadories. ''■■ '*-'* • ' • ^-'i^'sR HSivmyuf' * Some of the Indians that come to York-fort have wondered to fee the fnow-lhoes j and upon being told tq what ufe they Vv'ere applied, have anfwcred, that as they had but' little fnow, they had no occafion for fuch helps. And a trader informed me, that having one day offered an Indian woman I'ome prunes to make up the deftdls of a bad comrnodity, fhe alked him how he could offer her fruit of which (he had plenty in her own country, ' :" " '^ ( 7) ' I had an opportunity during my relidence in Hudfon's-Bay, to obtain many accounts of the country, and the condudl of the Company ; by which, and my own obfervations, the follow- ing articles are confirmed to me as matters of fact. I. That the Hudfon's-Bay Company have fliewn no concern for the improvement of their trade, extending it but partially to the Furs, and totally negleding the Mines and Fiflieries. II. That they believe a more extenfive trade, and farther difcoveries inconfiftent with their intereft -, as an exclufive trade and valu- able difcoveries might alarm the people of Great Britain, and engage them in fchemes to lay the trade open and fettle the countries. - III. That in confequence of this narrow fpirit of felf-intereft, the French have been encouraged to travel many hundred miles over land from Canada, and up many rivers that have great water-falls, in order to make trad- ing fettlements ; and that they carry on a friendly intercourfe with the natives at the heads of moft of our rivers weft ward of the Bay, even as far as Churchill^river, and inter- cept the Company's trade, .o-^w w. (. . ;,iift:: IV. That there are fine improveable lands up the rivers in the Bay ; and no Britifti fettle-. ments, or colonies, mad^ or attempted to be made. there. "■•^ '^ * (:■■ - "'hu :n-'*'-' ■ ' -'-^ :«- ^-'^' V. That it is very practicable to navigate the rivers and lakes, and fettle colonies upon them, which might be comfortably fubfifted B4 . ^y 1^ F^^f A J iiiiffta 11 I • ( 8 ) by tillage and pafturage, to the great improve- ment of the trade of the country, and the confumption of Britifh manufactures. VI. That the feveral tribes of natives hin- der each other, by their v^rars, from hunting to advantage, and coming to the EngliHi fadlo- ries : whereas, if the En^lifh had fettlements among them, and took pains to civilize and endear them, they would apply themfelves to hunting in the proper feafons, and bring all their Furs to ihe Englifh factories j which would put an efFedtual flop to the incroach- ments of the French. * -., .. VIL That there are the ftrongeft fymp- toms, and even confirmed accounts of valuable mines about the Bay. VIII. That a very p~ofitable fifliery might be eftablifhed in the Bay and Straits for Whales and Seals, by means of the Efkimaux and other natives. IX. That it is pradticable in two fammers, and with very little expence, to determine the reality of a north^weft paflage. And, X. That the laying open the trade of Hudfon*s-Bay, and making it the object of national encouragement, is the only method left of keeping both the trade and the country out of the hands of the French. .. . < t, All thefe particulars I have endeavoured to fet in the cleared light ; and I have to the beft of my knowledge kept within the bounds of trutu. :/iitMi»i:> 'viiiiy/v, i/JJ/f. ,^r.''n.';i -Uii -cii;:;'. ij :*iJ^ u ''*': improvc- and the •j i,i._ '^^ Ives hin- hunting \(h facSo- ttlemrnts Hze and ifelves to bring all ; which iicroach- I fymp- valuable ry might ■ Whales nix and jmmers, [line the :rade of >bjed: of method country 3ured to the heft unds of ■ AN M ' : ii«' ,.v,r.s,„,^i; ,•«."/ . it'.* ■•r*» . • 4: -i'- -;#^: ,^.^y I \ \ ) (ir>.- --vV f-^itHW^H^* \ \ 9 * ' ^ 1. , 1 • « , . \ , H *> , v.t ' \ *" 7? 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'1 ■•ii'..- Plate lJ?n. ■■+- . t ^4. IrrauQ'bt of jChitrchill Hivr/ i^nrXat .59^0 o .^N^or th. , .^_-z_ Var. 16^40 .Weft . v'i ■-^i ■ . I < J . • .' J » " 1 ' 1 (9) I ' ,{. .X;|1 , A N '<■'.: J ^.» V J f ** ' k ACCOUNT O F Six Years Residence ^ ^ • /^ [/D S O N's-BJ r. r , . , . r. - •H./V IN the year 1733 I embarked on board the Mary frigate, commanded by captain George Spurrell, bound for Churchill-river in Hudfon's-Bay. We failed from Gravefend the 1 6th of May, put into Tinmouth the 24th, touched at Carftown in the Orkneys the 7th of June, and arrived at Churchill- river the 3d of Auguft. I was ordered direftly to Efkimaux-point at the entrance of the river, where I found feveralper- fons employed in laying the foundation of a ftone- fort. The principal workman was an old man, named Tuttie, who had been a labourer to mafons in London, and knew nothing of the theory of building ; and the perfon whom the go- vernor had appointed overfeer, was one Thomas Giddins, formerly a common foldier, but lately a hofier near London, who failing in his bufmefs, was taken into the Company's fervice and fent to Churchill-rivcr, not as a tradefman, but as a com- mon fervant. Under fuch influence was the build- ing ( 10 ) ing carried on, as if it had been the firfl: attempted to be made by the nation to whom it belonged. I N thefe circumftances it was natural to con^ cUide, that the governor would be pleafed to find a man capable of conducing the building pro- perly ; and accordingly 1 ventured to interfere in thfe diredtidn. But upon the governor's firft vifit, who, as it\*'as the feafon foi^ the comirtg in of the Ihip from England, was obliged to refide chiefly at the old factory five miles diftant, I found myfelf egre- gioufly miftaken. He Ihook his horfewhip at me, and ailced, Who made me a diteftor over thefe men ? But notwithftanding this difcouragin'g check, I ftill applied diligently to the v/ork j for I was young and fond of fhewing my abilities, and was befides much grieved to fee a building of fuch con» fequence ruined thro' ignorance and want of care. Th b nertt time the governor came, he offered me a dram, and told me I muft do nothing withr. out firft acquainting him. But as he lived at fo great a diftance, I thought it wrong to retard the Work by fending to him for inftrudllons which I knew he was incapable of giving-, for he was an abfolute ftranger to the rules of building, having been brought up from a boy in Hudfon's-Bay, where nothing is to be learned but the language and manners of the natives, and the methods of trading with them. The ilones we made ufe of being of the pebble kind, could only be hammered into fhape. The choofing out thofe which were moft proper for the purpofe was the firft ftep, the laying them near the place where they would be wanted the next, and the fixing them to the beft advantage, and with leaft hammering, was the third and principal, The fecond only was the province of our overfeer, who in every thing elfe a&cd under my diredion as mafon: :empted ;ed. tx) con- to find 1^ pro- riere in ft vifit, thelhip y at the :lf egre- > at me, er thefe y check, r I was and was ich con* want of offered ig withr ed at fo tard the which I was an having n*s-Bay, mguage hods of of the I fhape. proper ig them ited the ige, and •incipal, verfeer, idlion as malbn : mafon i and being piqued at receiving orders from a ftranger, who, perhaps, examined too narrowly and reproved too freely for Iiis intereft, he took every opportunity of fecretly oppofing my pjan, and often ordered the labourers to lay the ftones down wrong. This retarded the v/ork exceedingly ; fori was determined to redtify all miftakes, whe- ther they proceeded from ignorance or malice. In- deed after I left the country the building proceeded in the old way, without any ufeful guidance or in- fpeftion i and every error pafl: uncorre<5ted. This was evident upon my return in 1 746 ; for part of that which they conducted had tumbled, and much more of it bulged : and I am convinced that if the cannon upon the rampart had been loaded and fired for fervice, much of it muft have fallen upon the firft or fecond difcharge. '- • .' We left off building in the beginning of Sep- tember, and repaired to the old fadory five miles up the river ; and when winter fet in, the fervants were ordered abroad to their feveral works, fome to fifh, others to the woods, and fome to hunt and trap. The fifhers go up to the lakes, as well as up the rivers* There are fome particular places, where filh are only to be caught when the river is frozen over, as at the foot of a deep ftream, or the mouth of a creek. They fometimes make large openings in the ice, where they angle with a hook and line, and catch falmon, pike, mothy, titemag, &c. Sometimes they cut feveral fmall holes in a right line, at fuch diftances as they can pafs a line at the end of a ftick, from hole to hole, and hawl a net through under the ice ; but in the beginning of winter when the ice is not very thick, they cut a larger opening, and fet nets. By fome of thefe methods filh are taken 'till after Chriftmas. ... , . * :.,.., . . , - • . . Ihose «w-^ t*t ','1 ( 12 ) Th6$£ that are Tent lo the iwocl^, cut do^ri trees, or fqiiarc the timber that was cut down the former winter, or faw it into planks ; and after Chriflmas hawl k upon fleds to the river fide, fct- ting it up near the fire wood that is intended to be rafted to the faftory in the fummen '^v/rp.^cyj The hunters and trappers flioot partridges, pheafants, and other game for the fubfiftence oF the factory ; and fet traps in their walks made of fmall (lakes, and a pretty large log, that fa'ls up* on ermines, martins, foxes, or any beafi- that hap- {)ens to take the bait. They are obliged to carrjr all the furs they get to the fadory, to be fc«t hom6 in the Company's cargo, foi" which they arc al- lowed the half of what they produce at the Com- pany's fale ; but I know by experience, that thh of late has turned to very little account. In this hianner we fpend the autumn and winter. We had brought over in the fliip a bull, four heifers, two oxen, andahorfej there was an Orkney bul! and cow there before : fome of the heifers after- wards calved, and I think with cafe they would have increafed and done well ; tho* this place is in 5() deg. and the moft northerly fettlement iri the Bay. In the fpring 173^4* all hands were employed to hawl down nccelfarics on a large fled upon the ice, and to prepare materials for the building a^ gainfl: the weather would permit us to work. By this time I difcovered in what manner affairs were managed in the Bay, having contrafted an inti- macy with the furgeon, who had lived in the coun- try three years. *-- i'^r---'- '• ^ ^ .:i<-- ^.iou As the wind fuffered very little fnow to lie on the hiil where the fort was to be eredted, upon the firft thaw I began to examine whether it was laid out conformably to the plan -, but finding it very ill executed, I altered the piquets, and had the ( '3 ) the foundation dug afrefli; and the governor feemed pleafed, and fecretly offered me fuch tri- fling favours as they beftow upon the Indians. We contended, however, about many points ; and with fome difficulty I obtained mortar, which tho* not very good was yet better than none. I was foUicitous for the perfedion of the building, and therefore oppofed every ftep which I thought not calculated to anfwer the end-, while he, on the contrary, feemed more defirous to have much work done, than to have it well done. As foon as the fecond fummer was over, and we were fettled again in our winter quarters at the old fadory, the governor fent for me to inftruit him in dialling. 1 had the preceding winter taught him numbers and drawing, for which he paid me at the rate they pay the Indians for their furs, with a dram now and then, which I refufed almoft as often as it was offered. But the indignity he put upon me at my firft arrival, the difputes that con- tinually fubfifted between us in relation to the build- ing, the tyranny of his temper, and the poverty of his underftanding, had at length created in me fuch a diQike of the man and his converfation, that I now refufed to be with him. This he refented highly, and ordered me out to hawl the fled, and do other drudgeries of a common fervant. I obeyed his capricious commands with feeming hearfulnefs, becaufe 1 would not give him any retencc for complaining to the Company : but my mind was fo embittered and depreffed by this treat- iient, that in the fummer 1735, 1 was unable carry on the building with any fpirit. This le perceived ; and being bent upon a voyage to "ngland when the fhips returned, and fo well con- inccd of the incapacity of the other workmen, as oc to be willing to leave the building to their ma- lagement, he endeavoured to footh me by promifes ( H ) of favour, which, as I knew th^ man, 1 did not riJy on ; however, as he made fome concefllons which I thought I had a right to expe(5t, I aflurcd him I would exert all my Ikill and care in directing the building 'vhile I ftaid, but that I was deter- mined to gj honie at the expiration of the time ipecified in my contract. And accordingly I gave notice of my refolution to the Company by a letter in which I could not help complaining of the go- vernor's behaviour to me, and remonftrating that the fort would be fpoiled if it was left to his ma- nagement. Soon after this he embarked for Eng- land ; and at his return next year, 1736, we learnt that he had given the Company fuch a favourable teprefentation of his condu6t as to procure very high commendations, clofed with a promife of an advanced falary of 20/. j)er ann. for five years, if he would ufe all his application to expedite the building of the fort. The bringing this to a fpeedy conclufion, was the point that engroflcd all their attention, and the encouragement was well adapted to that end ; butj taking the governor's want of fkill into the account, it was no lefs calcu- lated to render the building totally ufelefs. What was the real efFed, the reader will fee in the courfe of this work, for whofe fatisfadion I have inferted in the appendix an eftimate of the expence the Company have been at in ruining this fort. Aft£r three years of vexation and almoft in- effedbual labour, I left the people at the Bay to purfue their c ,vn meafures, and fet fail for London 5 where I had no fooner arrived than I went to pay my refpedls to the Company. But inftead of tak- ing notice of my fervices, they did not even afk me a fingle queftion about the fort, but treated me as a troublefome and refractory fellow. For this I am fenfible I was indebted to the governor, who had fo grofly impofed upon them in every refpedt, ( 15 ) refped, that they alked a mafon who was going over in their fervice whether a wall built with or without mortar was the ftrongeft ; and by the event they were made to believe the latter, as no mortar was ufed for the fort after I left the coun- try. Though every intelligent man in the Bay be* lieved that the Company was averfe to the making difcoveries, I could not for fome time help con- troverting an opinion that charged them with {q much weaknefs and inattention to their intercftj but 1 was obliged at laft to fubmit to the evidence of fafts, among a variety of which they told me the following i Governor Knight and captain Barlow being well affured that there were rich mines to the northward, from the accounts of the Indians of thofe parts who had brought fome of the ore to the factory, they were bent upon making the dif- covery ; and the governor faid he knew the way to the place as well as to his bedfide. When they re- turned to England, therefore, they importuned the Company to fit them out a fhip and floop to go in queft of thefe mines ; but meeting with no encou- ragement, they told the Company, with a becom- ing fpirit, that // they did not ihufe to equip them for this fervice^ they would apply to thofe that would do it chearfully. Upon this the Company complied ; and they itx. out upon the expedition, but were unhappily loft in the Bay. Thofe who told me this affured me, that fome of the Company faid upon this occafion, that they did not value the lofs of the fhip and floop as long as they were rid of thofe troublefome men ; and that it was fome time after, that they fent Scraggs to the northward to difcovef if they or any of the crew were alive. My infor- mants could not mention this circumftance without indignation ; and juftly obferved^ that as k was pofTiblc ? i ! ( j6) pofliblc thcfc unhappy fufFcrcrs might have got iafely to land, where they could have fupported thcmlclvcs with the fhip's provifions, the fending a iloop direftly in fearch of them might have faved their lives. The fettlements which the French had made about the Bay were alfo SL fr'jjeft of difcourfe among the fervants: but as no notice Was then taken of the French being at the head of Nelfon- river, as there is now, it is probable, that they have pulhed on to Nelfon-river fince that time ; and they will extend their fettlements *cill we have not the power of diflodging them, if fome fpeedy methods are not taken to prevent it. The Com- pany had done many things, they obferved, par- ticularly the fending a floop to Whale-co^'e, to quiet the importunities of a gentleman in London who had charged the Company with being afleep. Sir Biby Lake indeed, they added, had clofetted this gentleman, and endeavoured to remove the charge j but they were of opinion it was too juftly founded, or they would not tamely fuffer the French to make fuch dangerous encroachments. It was then the general opinion of the fervants at the Bay, that the Company thought the difco- very of a north-weft paflage inconfiftent with their intereft -, and accordingly all who have attempted the making this difcovery are confidered by the fervants as the Company's worft enemies. "While I was in the Bay, the Churchill- floop went twice or thrice to York-fort, and I heard much about Whale- cove and the floop's having been there -, par- ticularly, that the floop having once a hawfer fattened round a large ftone on the fliore at low- water mark, about high water a black whale got foul of the hawfer, forced it from the ftones, and towed the floop to fea. Many things were alfo told about the natives atWhalc-cove,and of Scragg's floop ( '7 ) flpop that was fent^after Knight and Barlow : but in all the difcourfes about thc''.i and other expedi- tions, there was no mention of the Company's in- clination to difcover a north- weft paflage, nor of any attempt that they had ever made for that pur- pole. To converfe with an Indian is a great crime, but to trade with him for a Ikin is capital, and pu- niihed by a forfeiture of all wages. If a fcrvant is- guilty of thcft^ or any aB: that would be deemed' grofs felony by the laws of England, and fubjedb him to capiral punidiment, the governor only whips him, and afterwards fenc's him home to ht prolecuted by the Company : but from a miftakerr lenity, or for fome ferret re afons, they proceed na farther than a quiet difmiffion from their "irvice. There are inftances of this within my own know- ledge, and I never heard of a fingle one to the contrary. But men are generally tenacious of their own interefts, and if they are worthy members of the community, muft fhrink at admitting into it one whom they know to be a villain, and fuffer- ing him to live at large when the law has put it in- their power to cut him off, or at leaft to ftigma- tize him with marks of public infamy. The natu- ral conclufion, therefore, is, that the Company are unwilling to try the ifllie of a legal procefs, left by any accidental mention of their tranfadions in the Bay, their whole condudt Ihould be too nicely fcru- tinized, and their right to an exclufive trade ex- amined and fet afide. Many other important obfervations were made by n!edui;ing my firft abode in this country, and many well-attefted accounts given me by the Company's fervants : biit as they will be more fuitably con- neded with what happened to me in the time of my fecond refidence there, I have chofen to incorporate C. I them i- m.'^'ifi ill •I ( 18 ) them with the relation of thofe events which I ihall enter upon immedialvly. In the year 1 744 I embarked aboard the prince Rupert, George Spurrel commander, bound firft to Churchill- river, and afterwards to York- fort. I lived with the captain upon very good terms, and converfed freely with him about the aflfairs of the Hudfon's-Bay Company. Speaking one day of^ the new afibciation for fnding fhips to the Bay for the difcovery of a north- weft paflage, he told me, that it was his opinion the Company would not have entertained me a fccond time, if it had not been to keep me from Mr. Dobbs. I replied, I was not fenfible that I could be of any fervice to thofe gentlemen. Yes, rejoined he, you know the nature of the country, and how to lay down 3 fort. ' The French fettlements were alfo a fubjed of our converfation -, upon which occafion I exprefled my furprize, that the Company did not fendEnglifh- men up the rivers to encourage and endear the na- tives, and by that means put a ftop to thepro- grefs of the French. The captain admitted the expediency of fuch a ftep, but urged the hazards an Englifliman was expofed to, and the hardfhips he mull fuffer, in going up the rivers with goods. To this I anfwered, that the French came many hundred miles over land from Canada, carrying goods at their backs, and furmountii^^g every diffi- culty, *till they penetrated to the v«ny fources of thofe rivers upon which we might carry up all the conveniences both for fubfiftence and traffic with little hazard and lefs toil. So far from controvert- ing this, he faid, that he believed the French would have all the country in another centuiy : Ta which I could not help immediately replying, that fuch an alienation could only be effeded thro* the rcmilTnefs of the Englilb. In all that pafled be- . tween ( J9 ) twcen us upon this fuHjcn5t, 1 dkl not hear a fingle rcalbn that in any tolt^rable mannL-r accounted for the Company's condudl. ' '■; ' '» ' •• ♦ • ^'■' • The (lone ioit at Churchill-rivcr was once men- tioned ; and the ca[)tain informed me, that it was v^ry badly e5ceciitcd ai'tcr I left it ; for fome parts had fallen, which were obliged to be ixbuilt j and others were ready to fall : biit that which I had conduifled, he faid, (lood Hrm, and he believed would continue to ftand. I was willing to difcover the true caufe of this mifmanagement, and, there- fore, faid, that I greatly wondered the Company did not take more care of abnildinn; of fuch im- portancc. But I foon j^erceivcd that the fubjedt was too tender to ciwcll upon; for the captain an- Avered me with great referve. tie faid enough, however, to nonvince me, that the Company had not the "Well- building of the fort at heart, but de- fired the name more than the thing itfelf, which they might furely have purchafed at a much cheaper i«te, 1 hoj^ I fliall net lole the good opinion of the reader, by mentioning thefe rhingxS, .which would t\ot have efcaped me, if I did not think diat the making known every teftimony I could procure in confirmation of thefe fatfls tended to the good of my country, my obligations to promote which fu- per'.ede the rights of private converfation, if they are not made facred by a promifc of fecrecy. Off Cape- farewell we difcovercd feveral fail of fhips, and gave chace to a veflel larger than the re(i, (for we were four in company) which afterwards proved to be a Dutchman. Wlien we were got near the Savage-Iilands in Hudfon's-flraits, the Efld- maux for feveral days came off to us in great num- bers, and gave us, in exchange for whatever we tliought fit to offer them, whalebone, fea-horfe- , teeth, feal-(kins, furs, and even the apparel they had on. A few days after we thought we had ^' • ' C 2 dii^ ,1 • i ■ !l ( 20 ) difcovered a commodious harbour, and a confulta- tion was propofed about fending ofT boats to ex- amine it J but I heard our captain declare, that they were not permitted to fend a boat afhore in the ftraits upon any account. At Cape-Diggs the captain expeded more Eflcimaux j but none ap- pearing, he conjectured that the Indians trom the eaft-main had cut them off. Here two boats were ordered afhore to look for a harbour, and found a good one. When we had run almoft acrofs the Bay, and were got near fome banks to the north- ward of Churchill- river, the captain exprefied his regret that they were not tried for cod -, for it feemed highly probable to him, he faid, that ther^ was almoft as many to be taken there as at New- foundland. However, he did not ftay to make the experiment, but made the beft of his way for Churchill- river, where we arrived foon after. I went alhore immediately, for I was impatient to fee the fort •, and at the firft view the effeds of the extraordinary falary allowed the governor for expedition, were eafily perceived. Inftead of a detenfible fort c-xpable of refifting the force of an enemy, it had in many places yielded to its own weaknefs and the attacks of wind and weather y and was not only unworthy of the name by which it was diftinguifhed, but even of the perfons at whofe coft it was built. I haftened back to the (hip, grieved to fee fo excellent a plan fpoiled -, and convinced, that for the fame money as was expended upon this fort, though far Ihort of the fum of thirty or forty thoufand pounds, at which it was rated by a gentleman before the houfe of commons, upon a very wrong information given him by fome of the Company, v, ho could have expended no more than eight thoufand pounds * •, * See the cftimale, Appendix, No. II. .8.J.-.S I ( 21 ) I fay, that even for fo fmall a fum, a good fort might have been erefltd, capable of fecuring the fubjed:s and the trade of Britain from the attacks and incroachments of her worft enemies. We failed out of Churchill -river, and foon ar- rived at York- fort upon Hayes's river, where the Jhip was to deliver her cargo and take in another. After her departure for England, 1 applied myfelf to the fetting up beacons in order to make a chart of the river. The governor, who had refided in the country twenty years, was perfe6t mailer of the traditional hiftory of it, even from the firft fettlement of the Englifh ; and being a free and communicative man, he ufed frequently to entertain us with a regular account of all the principal events and difcoveries ; to which the linguiils fel- dom failed to add the information they had ga- thered from the natives. By their rrieans I fooh obtained a general knowledge of the country, as well inland as upon the coafts. '' WAen the feafon approached for going abroad, 1 mentioned to the governor a defign I had lortg entertained of travelling up the country, not only to confirm what I had heard, but to make new uifcoveries. This brought on difmal tales of the difficulties to be encountered in fuch an expedition : and when I talked of going up the rivers, I was told of ftupendous heaps of ice and dreadful water- falls, which would not only obftrud my paflage, but endanger my life. To confirm this he faid, that governor Maclifh, in company with him and one or two more, once attempted to go a little way up Nelfon- river to look for timber, in order to build a faftory : that when they had croffed the ifland, they found fuch heaps of ice in the river, that they were difcouraged from proceeding any higher: the governor, therefore, returned, fay- ing it was fo fatiguing and dangerous, that he C j would ' t rid ii ( S2 ) would venture no farther ; and that if they went as, high as he intended, they might perhaps meet with no timber. He added other accounts to in- timidate me, and drive me from my purpofe ; and the reft of the people alfo, of whom I did not fail to enquire, related cxadlly the fame ftories : but I could not find ^;hat a fingle man among them told thefc things from his own experience, but only from the rcporti of others, which, as they might have a weaker foundation the higher they were traced, I rcfolved not to credit, but to be de- termined folely by the evidence of my own ftnfes. Accordingly, I acquainted the governor, that with his petmifTion I would fet out immediately for Nelfon- river, which 1 had a ftrong inclination to go up, He gave me his confent indeed, but with fuch evident marks of difpleafure, that thq' a guide is always fent out with a ftranger even to the mofl trifling diitance, left by the weather's proving hazy he fhould be loft ; and tho' it was eight miles from York- fort to Nelfon- river, thro' woods and plains where I had never been -, I was fufFered to go alone expofed to all hazards : how- ever I found, the way,, and got home again fafe and well. - - That part of the river where I took my firft view appeared to be about four miles broad, The ice vyas then driving about in great quantities, and the weather was very thick and fnowy. This form- ed a dreadful profped, and had fuch anefted upon me, that I could not help feeling fome imprelTion from tlie ftories 1 had heard j which perhaps my being alone and a ftranger, did nof a little con- tribute to fttengthen ; 1 therefore relinquiftied my firft defign, and contented myfdf the remainder of th'it winter with making a chart of Hayes's-river. During this employment, I learnt that Nelfon and Haycs.'o- rivers .wtr^ but different branches of the . " " ' ' " "' fame ('23) fame river, which divided about one hunclrecl miles above York-fort» forming an ifiand betwixt them. 1 he greater part of the natives that trade at York- fort, 1 was told, came down the branch called Hayes's river -, it being reckoned by them much the fliorter way, and not fo wide and dangerous as Nelfon-branch. But upon examining the inter- preters more clofcly, tliey could not make it appear, that the natives tound much greater difficulties m coming down or going up the one than the other; aiid the only fubtiantial rcafon I could find for the preference, was, tliat as York- fort lay upon IIayes*s- river, and Nelibn- river was very broad below, they could not bring their furs round by fea below the point of the ifiand which divides the branches, without great danger, nor conveniently carry them by Innd -^-.rofs tlie i(l.ind. But vvi^h regard to the diffi: '^' of navigating the diiFcrent brancht-s, which were fo magnified on the Nelfon fide, I ar- gued thus : They both proceed from the fame level of water at the head of the ifiand, one hundred miles above the fadory ; and at the fea are again up- on an equal level; if then there were greater falls or fliarps upon Nelfon-river (as they allow it was longer in its courfe) than upon Hayes's river, there muit be more upon Hayes's-river ; and the dif- tances betwixt fail and fall upon Nelfon, muil be greater and the '•vaters more level, than upon pJayes's- river: ns a fall of three feet in ten, mud: be twice as lliai i-^ .i fall of three feet in twenty : therefore I conciut. .'rr, that there was as good going up and down Nelfonnvcr fis Hayes's-river; whick upon examination I afterwards found true. In the year 1744* on occafion of a French war, the Company thought it expedient t6 winter the Sea- horfe frigate, : captain Fowler, irv the Bay. He accordingly wintered in Churchill-river •, bt«: aji fQuft *JS th' »v:ex was opcp, and the ic/; was cleaved .t C 4 —■^'- •'- . ,.from ( *4) from the fhort, he failed from thftncc to Haycs-*- river, to be ready upon the approach of any of th6 enemy's fhips, to take up the buoys and beacons, and rijn up a-brcafl of the fadtory. In thie inter- val of leilure, captain Fowler prevailed with the governor to lend him the fad:ory's Jong boat, that he and 1 might found JSFcifon- river j for it was then totally unknown to the Company's fervants, whe^ ther a fhip could go ip or out : a point furely well worth determining, as the fliips, which always i'k in five-fathom- hole, the entrance of which is very bad, might be fccure of a retreat in cafe of danger from ftorms or an enemy. Accordingly, on the X5th July, 1745, we left the (hip in five-fathom- hole to go upon rh. •^''diuion ; and a journal of the foundings and the .rfes of the river is added in the appendix. When we entered the river's mouth, it blew 4 frelh gale ; and foon alter there came on fo thick g. fog, thgt we could not fee the fhore on either fide. We had now a rough fea, and only three feet water, and if the boat had ftruck and fille4 here we muft inevitably have perilhed ; for in two parts more of the line, which the man caft as quick as he could, we found purfelves in tight fathom water. When the fog blew off fufficiently to let ws fee the fhore on both fides, v/e fleered up the river &long the north fhore, and pafTed Seal illand, beyond which we met a flrong ftream, but having a fair wind we failed Up till we foun4 fmooth water. Soon after we returned and pitched our tent upon ? fine gravelly point of Giilam*i jf]and, where our boat hiy very fafely all nisht. The next day we made obfervations upon the jflsnds, .and along th? banks.; but in all our fea re hes no (igns.cKauld be difcovered of their having ever -feeen a fetpkmcnt upon this river. J went up mych jiighcr fh^D tht Coftip*}^ would have fixed a .X... (25) faflory, if one may judge from their faftories up- on other rivers -, and the trees all the way were of full fize and growing near the edge on both fides, without a fmgle ftump among them, or the leaft token of any having ever been cut down : but where there is a fettlement, a great quantity of wood is cut down in one year's time, and that is taken which is neareft and to be got with leaft labour. Indeed when I was up this river in the winter, I found in a creek on the north fide, a little way a- bove Gillam's ifland, two or three ftumps of large trees i but I immediately conjedured, that they muft have been cut down many years ago by per- fons who had accidentally tented in that creek ; for the ftumps were very old and decayed, and they do not decay faft in this country. Befides, if any of the Company's ftiips had ever gone up this river, the entrance of it could not have been un- known in 1745 : neither would they have kft it to fettle upon Hayes's-river, where they had a fettle- ment above fixty years ago when the French took poflS^flionof it, and gave the name of Fort Bourbon to what the Company at firfl: called Port Nelfon from the matter of Sir Thomas Button's fhip, but afterwards York -fort in compliment to the duke of York ; nor would they have had two fadories fo near each other. Indeed, either thro' ignorance or defign, the old name of Port Nelfon has been fince reftored; the Company's letters in 1688, 1690, and 1 69 1 being addrefled to governor Geyer and council at Port Nelfon j yet the anfwers tothefe very letters are all of them dated from York-fort. From the whole therefore it is evident, that no fettlement has ever been made upon the branch called Nelfon- river, fince the date ot the Company's charter. ■■''> • As we walked alongtneriverifide wc fawmanyftoncs in fhape and colour like a cannon bail 5 and upon breaking i i; ! 'i iff) >( I I 111! w (26) breakirtg them againft larger ftones we found that the infidg alfo looked like iron. Up another river, called Ship-river, a few miles eaftward aloiig fhore from York- fort, there is a bank abounding with thefe round ftones. When we had repaffed the mouth of the river and were got near the Ihip, it being then young flood and a fine afternoon, the white whales appeared upon the furface in fuch Ihoals, that we could look no way round without feeing a company of thirty or forty going into the river with the flood. I had feen many atChurchill- river, but here the number was much greater. ,We got aboard about feven o'clock. At the clofe of this year I took a fecond furvey of Nelfon-river from Flamborough-head upwards, and alfo of Seal and Gillam's iflands -, it being my opinion that if ever the trade of thefe countries is improved, Seal-ifland is the propereft place for the principal fadory and fettlement. It was about the end of January 1 745 when I compleated this perambulation. The river was frozen fall every where except at Flamborough-head, and where captain Fowler and I attempted to fail up, which I now found we had almofl: efFefted when we turned back. However, as thefe fl:reams were not frozen, it was evident that here were the fliarpeft falls I had met with. I faw many rabbet-tracks on both fides the river, in the creeks, and on the ifland. I Ihot a pheafant alfo and fome partridges ; and had not the weather been exceedingly fevere, I Ihould have attempted to fifli. But the few days I was out, the cold happened to. be more intenfe than it was at any other time throughout the feafon, and I had no more cloathing upon me than what I ufual- Ij wore in the warmeft days in winter : this con- fided of breeches made of thin deer-fl^in not lined, a cloth waiftcoat, and Elk-fkin coat, and a pretty tjuck covering upon my head, hands, legs and , ., ,; I feet. !i ( 27 ) feet. I fuffcrcd only in my thighs, which were ready to freeze v/henever I v/alkcd againft the wind, and would have frozen if 1 had not rubbed them very frequently. ...^^ , . .;..;,;. , •:, , .^. . I met with the fame oppofition, and heard the fame common- place ftories, upon propofing this fecond vifit to Nelfon-rivcr as I did on occcafion of the firfl: : but I had now acquired more experience, and was therefore lefs lik'!ly to forego an expedition upon which my heart \, as bent. 1 Ihall here relate a few particulars of it, chiefly to give the reader an idea of the method oi travelling thro* this country, ar ' to enable him to account for the long journies wl .a it is pretended the natives take when- ever they come down to our fad:ories. ,' "' '^ I fet out from the fort in company with one William Allen, and went to a tent fifteen miles up Hayes*s- river, where we lay that night. Next morning it fnowed much, and th? weather was fog- gy : but having a draught of the ifland and rivers thus far up, and both the tent places b?ing marked, I thought we might fafcly venture to beat & .^^athacrofs the ifland, which would enable our dog to gj with us more eafily the next day. This dog hawlcd a a fled with near three quarters of a hundred weight lipon it j but the fnow being deep, he had no hold for hisfeet but funk at every ftep. Accord- ingly we fet out, fl:eering by the compaisj for the weather dill continued very thick, and the fnow fell plentifully. We made but fmall progrefs in our fnow- fhoes, which were three feet and a half long, and one foot and a quarter broad, beating a path of the breadth of two feet. When we had travelled about three hours my mate began to fear that v/e were loft. He faid he was fure we had gone more than feven miles (for I had told hin in the morning that it was above fevcn miles to Nelfon- riyerj and it w^s his opinion that we were tfavelling I i: ! ( 28 ) direflly into the inland country. I comforted him by the mod ea-neft aflurances that we were right, and repcatirr . \ gently that as the fnow was deep we advance ' L Howly, having gone not half fo far as he imagined : and upon the ftrength of this we went forward an hour longer. It was now my own opinion that we were near the river, and the weather clearing up, I climbed a tall tree to look for it, but could obferve nothing by which to form a judgment of our fituation. It therefore occurred to me that fome accident had occafioned a viariation of the needle, and that we had indeed wandered out of the way. However I took no notice of this to my comrade, but endeavoured to keep up his fpirits by chearful converfation. The vreathcr thickened again more than ever, the fnow fell in greater quantites, and the day was far fpcnt. Having no mind to take up my refidence where we were, I told Allen that we would only light a ifnall fire in order to make fome bumbo with ttielted fnow, and return immediately to the tent. He complied, tho* with many afleyerations that we fhould not reach the tent before dark ; and after liavjng cleared away the fnow, made a fire, and rc- frelhed ourfelves, we turned back in our beaten path, arid arrived at the tent in a little more than an hour and a half. We found every thing fafe j and the next morning, the weather proving very fine and clear, we got all our neceflaries together, and fet out with the dog, who now travelled with great eafe. We had good walking till we got to the extent of our path, but then found the fame ob- ftruflions we had met with the preceding day. Nevcrthelefs we kept on our courfe for many hours, till my poor mate was a fecond time driven almoft to defpair. I bade him climb the next tree we came to, and before he was half way up he dif- covered the river. I then climbed it myfelf, and faw ( 29 ) Taw plainly that we were (leering right for the teat» where we arrived a little before dark. This diffi- culty of walking thro* the country renders the computed diftances very inaccurate: I meafujred fome of them, and found them lefs by two thirds than what they were rated at. The natives talk of two moons as the Ihort- eft time in which they perform their journies to the fadories: but it is to be confidered, that they are an improvident and lazy people, having no, concern but for the fubfiftence of the prefentday; and that they are perpetually wandering out of the way to hunt for provifions, and loitering whea, they have procured them. This, together with, tjie obftru6tions they muft unavoidably meet with in travelling a pathlefs country, will eafily account for the length of time they mention, without fup- pofing that they coiiij from places at feyeral hun- dred miles diftance, and that the continent is of fuch a prodigious extent to the weftward. My mate and I travelled very hard ; and yet if we had. croflcd the ifland in one uninterrupted journey, though the diftance between tent and tent is not eight miles, it would have required near eight hours to have performed it in : and even when, but little fnow had fallen, and it was very good; walking without fnow-fhoes, I have not been able to accomplifh the fame journey in lefs than fix hours. If the reader is ftill doubtful of the fadt, let him make the experiment himfelf in any path- lefs piece of coppice, marfh, or heath : let him alio carry fixty or feventy pounds weight, (for the na- tives always come laden to the fafbories;) and let him travel in this manner for feveral days together ; and then fee how many miles he will be able to go in eight hours, day after day. And yet this would not be equal to the taking long journies in fnow- Ihoes, and through light fnow, where he muft lift his hw I I ( 3° ) his f6ot at every ftep as if he was afccnding ftccp ftairs. I \Vas now ordered to a different ftarion j but before I leave York- fort, I will giVe fome ac- count of its fituation and flrength. *' . • ••^- * York- FORT (lands above high- water- fnark, about eighty yards from Hayes's- river, and fot r miles from the fea. It is built with logs of white fir eight or nine inches fquarc, which are laid one upon another. In the fummer the water beats be- tween the logs, keeping the timber continually damp; and in the winter the white froft gets through, whlc'-i being thawed by the heat of the ftoves, has the fame efFed : fo that with the water above and the damp below, the timbef both of the foundation and fuper-ftrufture rots fo fiaft, that in twenty-five or thirty years the whole fort muft be rebuilt with frefh timber, which with the great quantity ufed for firing, will occafion a fcarcity there in a few years. ' ' It has four baftiorts, but hot fit for cannon i' the diftancc between the falient angle of each baftion is ninety feet. On each curtain there are three pateraroes, or fwivel-guns, and loop-holes for fmall arms i it is alfo furrounded by two rows of pallifadoes, fome three inches thick, and the largeft feven inches *, but there is no ditch. The wall is of wood, eight or nine inches thick* The magazine is in the weft baftion ; its wall /is of the fame thicknefs as the fort-wall, its floor is raifed two feet and a half or three feet above the level of the fort, and its fides are lined with flit- deal plaiftered. Upon the banks of the river are planted two batteries from twelve to fix pounders, one of four guns, the other of ten. A guard of thirty men was kept in the fort during the late w:"r, and • See the plate, ^^q. III. Fig. 3. tj OVli^iJp-i H^-^'* ;' ^ . wniic Xo^Jit^fjo. ftation i bme ac- inark, nd foi r f white aid one leats be- tinualJy froft he heat lat with timbef rots fo I whole :h with cafion a rannoni »f each lerc are )p- holes vo rows md the .- The * The ; of the ; raifed le level lit-deal planted one of * thirty »-«r, and while ft .C' -^ (Ufmfl t/u^Date^.m ;V^'. ,» -< . - , Plate Kim. ' 's» PIANTS of YORK and PRmCE ofWALES'^TORTS 7 .2%< On^maL Jure thatiiS^ the^Fbundation tfuyranqfthel tA' f^aJUy dTioTv^ tfAot^^ %yl&ria. S^^ow Sjs0:es. \_ li.O0eAf.. - -^ CE OFWAjjESiFORT. b^/^ I The On'ffmal Fiand ^Ramfuxrtwm 4aMe^, hit the Gov. WM Jure that'25 Jhe^ n^mUdfto vriy it^U.Iim* orcUfHthete/bre to lay theJbtindation ^Ibttt/tifk euf'SLX.%..'Wken ffit Cattnonwtt& ttytC tfuyntn of the WallM L .wa^ tmU'/f dount t^^Builtitn aecoreUna to the./lfvtTlanMX.arui'KniTttjfonexet. ^^-m ^ — ^ ^ Scale 114 £eetiu one lo^ tA Oi(mnd t^atd t:^i>t ^ ^ ^&na . W^S. i^ ate^verut/h/i ^Ai ' ?2 •■'■a im I n A •> ^" - "'i,--' /- »" »»:,•«>-» ■■ /^ * r<'^ »1? i-'S. VJ^ .N' . ,* < ^^JiA*' ': - '»lf^; ^ ■v - ,*. . h^f^'^' :.mf\ . r..:.7. . : "'^' .^rm'sft . ^ I. •'if ' ■ ( 'V ^ -t< ' .>•( KiO-X', ■:^ :■■-*!'■. -t-' „■/■> .•■'■4.- .!» 5,. I i' <'.«. '^^; fiSf! ij'- -. 'a >f:^^ : r.. r^0>^- ■:^iq. •i v.. ■•■.;•>.■«;» ^€ -i* ■ '^ .. ■:'Ki ■■:.» vjifc^^ while the fea-horfe wintered in the Bay it €onfifl;cd of thirty- fix. ^ " From this defcription it is plain, that York-fort has not ftrength enough to refii^ a vigorous attack * the bringing only one fix-pounder againft it on the land-fide, where the batteries on the river could be of no fervice, would be fujfHcient to make the men furrender or abandon it; a fix-pounder planted behind the fort, at fuch a diilance that no gun upon the fort could anfwer it, would pierce it through and through: and furely a prudent man would not ftay to defend it in fuch circum- ftanccs, when the firft ball might blow up the magazii7c, and fort, and all that were near it : the only thing left for refolute courage to do, would be to meet t..e enemy Li the field, tho* twice fuperior in number. When I had been here two or three moriths, and the v/hole mefs were together in the governor's apartment, I faid, that it was ufukl in fiich build* ings as the fort, to have a foundation of brick or ftone; which would preferve the fuper-ftrufture from decaying much longer than if it was raifed only lipon logs of wood laid level in the ground. The governor replied, that they would have taken this method if bricks could have been procured ; and every one prefent acknowledged the fuperior advantages of fuch a foundation. 1 then rejoined, that fince bricks could not be got, ftones would anfwer the purpofe equally, if not better ; and there was great plenty of them upon the flats on Hayes's-rivcr. The governor anfwered peevifhly, that thofe ftones would not make a foundation 5 and the carpenter fupported the aflertion, by al- leging the difficulty of levelling the ftones fit for the logs to lie upon (which in fac. could be done as eafily here as at Churchill- river •, ) and adding another aflertion, that the driving fpikes into the • logs wmmm /^- ^pgs W0pl4 ^^€ fuQ^ ^ foupdation. to pieces ; is, if a brick of five or fix pounds could beai; mpre $prce tha^ a fton^ of ten. times thev weight. The ftones.ugQn.thefl^ts at^ hard aod white; and not only fit % a fQUi?dation,, but for ftrong walls :, t haye feen. very goud walls built with much wocfe.,. But nptw^thilaqding this, abundant plenty of goodj ftone,, theyr h^ve p^rfified in building their lortSj with wood, and upon no other founiktion thfin, Ipgs, lai^i level in the groupd ; the confequence of wlxich is, that they are reduced to rebuild thern^ every twenty-five or thirty years: \yJieiieas if they had laid down a ftone-foundation, chef^ts wou^ have laded three times as long^ and faved the Company, two. thirds of the expence. In the year 1,745 I wrote a letter to the Company, upon the comparative advantages of building thelr^ foiiu^^tioDS. at; leafl:^ with ftone rathei^ than wood ; in which I rcprefepted, *^ F^AT the evil of being obl^g^ed to rebuild their ^' foi-ts every, twenty-five or, thmy years, coujdf •* not be remedied butby laying their foundationsii^ " a difieteni; manner, or making them of dififerent ** materials. Logs laid in the ground, tho* of the, *' very b«ft oak» muft be fubjed to unavoidable ** decay f^om^.the wet that; continually furround& *' them^^;' and it v(as well known, that the- timber ** in the upper works of every building will endure many years longer than the tin^ber at the bottom, if it be not raiied high enough to preferve; it from the damps of the earth. *^ That in thofe parts of England where (lone ** apd brick are fcarce, they drive pieces of oajc. *' into the ground two or three feet deep, whpfe ** upper ends are tenanted into the under fide. of ** the fill or botom of the timber houfe, fupport- *' ing it a foot or more above the ground, a^ the< fpaces between thefe piles are filled up with flints and «C ■'Mi' ■i*'t M (C *• fuch a manticr that the wet got in tschind, and •' kept there in fpite of fun or wind j fo that the •' timber rotted as faft^ as if it had lain s^ainft a *' bank of wet earth. t"" " That there is a method to make under- fet- ** tings to buildings of Wood, much lefs expenfive ** than an entire ftone or brick foundation. A fort •' of the dimenfions of York- fort may be fupported *' by forty^ight fl:6ne or brick piers, one at each " falient and re-entring angle ; with a pier or two *' under each face and curtain. The interftices *' between thefe piers may be made of any llufF *' that can be got, and repaired at any time with* *' out difturbing the fuperftrudure. If lime can- *' not eafily be got for thefe purpofes, ftones might be prepared in the Orknies or elfewhere, each large enough to make a pier, and not exceed *' five hundred weight. Forty- eight of thefe ftones ** would fuftain fuch a fort as York-fort, and the " whole would not coft above fix pounds in the ** Orknies: fifty of them would be about twelve or •' thirteen tons. Stone or brick piers may be put ** under a building of timber after it is erected, •' which would make it endut many years longer •' then it would without them." The Company took not the lead notice of thefe remonftrances. X In the fuminer, 1746^ I received the following letter: and fix of the committee. < In obedience to this order I embarked aboard the Churchili-floopj — Horner mafter, which happen- ed to come to York-fort, and arrived at Churchill- river the 1 8th of Auguft. After two or three days I began to corre6t the erroneous method the men were then taking in building the ftone para- pet •, which brought on the refentment of the governor, who renewed the cuflomary oppofition againft me, notwithftanding the unlimited powers given me by the Company. There was iraong them a man who had been lately fent over under the character of engineer, in the exercife of which office he had juft before I arrived pafTed his appro- bation upon the only two embrafilires that were finifhed : but when I examined them and pointed out their errors and defeds, he retraced his former opinion, and was as peremptory in his difappro- bation. By this and other proofs, I was foon con- vinced, that he knew very little of the theory of military architedure, and lefs of the practice : however, I made a point of having his concurrence for the fake of order, and he very complaifantly acquiefced in every thing I prpppfed. I laid down the lines of an embrafilire upon a Pxoor in full proportion according to the beft modern rules, and : .- D 2 ^ he f! ^n: I i ( 36 ) he refolutely rnpportcd the propriety of them againft the outrageous cavils of the governor, tell- ing him that my method would bear demonftration, and he would take upon himfclf to anfwcr for the event. Thus I hoped I fliould be enabled to keep that part of the parapet which we were to be em- ployed upon that feafon, out of the power of ignor- ance and precipitation. When the froft became fo fevere that we could no longer lay any mortar, I employed myfelf in making coins for the cmbraf- furcs, but without offering to confult the opinion of the governor about them, who I was certain would not tail to be on the contrary fide : and finding by this, that the authority of his office would avail him but little againft ^lich united oppofition, before Chriftmas he cftranged himfelf from four of the mefs, the furgeon, the mafter of the floop, the titular engineer, and myfelf. The engineer, how* ever, begining to reflcd that he had hitherto facrificed his intereft to his complaifance, and that nothing was to be produced by fiding with us but the c^^pleafure and ill offices of the governor, left us very foon, and lived by himfelf for feveral weeks, waiting, as we could eafi'y perceive, to be reftored to favour. He fucceeded at laft by dif- avowing all our proceedings; and the governor finding his party ftrengthened, ordered all the coins I had made before winter to be altered to his own method : in confequence of which, the following fpring was loft to the building, and the parapet was entirely fpoiled. J- '- ^ . - When I came to England I follicited ia long time for an opportunity of laying a true ftate of •this affair before the Company : at l?ngth they fent for me from Protfmouth by the follov/ing letter i London h'r '- ■• ■■ ,,.,. (37) ^^ ..^ ,^, ^^_ London, 19th December, 1747. / ; Mr.,Robfbn, : "' ■ i,£rn ^^^- Mr# "^#1^^; " 'Tp H E gentlemen have received your letter, ** and cannot pay your bill until they have "had fome d'ifcourfe with you touching your " draughts, and fome other things that lie before *' them ; and therefore they defire you to attend **,on Wednefday the igth of January next at te» " o'clock in the morning." ?T" l(} V Your humble fervant. irht ^^^ ' 'V Charles Hay lecretary, V ' ' ' ' ■ ' '■ ., . ■ \.'i^ii:b:m I attended accordingly, and demonftrated by- the models in the committee foom, that my method of conducing the building was right, and the governor's wrong. The committee acknow- ledged it to be fo : yet fuch is their partiality for their principal officers, that all prefent, except Sir Atwell Lake, treated me with great rigour and difreiped: and governor Knap in particular faid, " That they found their fort was fpoiled and " good for" nothing, and that I had a great hand ** in building it." This ungenerous fpeech fhock-*" ed me, as it retraced the aknowledgement they had juft before unanimoufly made, and feemed calculated to withdraw the attention of the reft from the demon* ftrative evidence 1 had given, that my duW and care had been ufefully exerted. In vain I urged the integrity of my condud, and remonftratcd that by my^,; invariable attention to the Company's intereft, I had expofed niyfelf to the refentment and cruelty of the governor, wh6fe behaviour to me rendered my manner of life almoft intolerable, and that not foi: aday oc^^wcek, but for years > my argument* rt^' (38) produced no effed : nor was the leaft notice taken of gny of the reprefentations I had made them, fmce my firft arrival in the Bay ; but I was difmif- fed their fervice as a man who had conftantly ne- gledkcd his duty. The reader will from hence fee the uncontrol- able influence which the governors in the Bay maintain over the Company -, an influence which neither omiflTions of duty, pofitiye injuries with regard to their interefl:, oppreflion of their fervarits, nor the worft: of crimes, is capable of diminifh- ing. The governor at Churchill- river had a thou- fand times rendered hirpfelf unworthy of fociety : the furgeon, foon after my arrival there, told me of his crq^lties to the fcrvants with tears in his eyes ; and the account he gave me was then attefl:ed by every other intelligent man, and afterwards abun- dantly confirmed by my own ^xperi^nce. Th^ furgeon laid before the Coijnpany a fujil and cl^ar reprefentation of this man's crifnes; apd it was expe<^ied that he would be ordered to England, t^e year I cajne away : but he was CQiuinued in hi$ office without any diminution either ojf honour qr profit, and the furgeon treated with unparalldj^cl negledt. . ./iiol...v: ..^yMi \\\Hh 1j5 It is not very difficult to aflign the true reafon of this extraordinary policy, in the Company with j-egard to their fuperior oflkers, and I may here- after take an opportunity of explaining it : nor is the ground of the opprelTive and cruel behaviour of the govcjrnors and captains towards the inferior fexvants a more irnpeiietrable fecrer. Thefe men have generally fea-officers principles, and exert the f-une arbitrary command, and ex-pcdl: the fame flavifh obedience here, as is done on board a iliip. But as this fort of government is nqt. necefiary, lb it will not be ilibmitted to : and the - extreme rigow' 9a one hand, and the impatient kq[p ■.■-^■: . ,^i..^~,Ai ( 4° ) wi(h it could not be faid, th:.t taking advantage of thenecefTitics of this abufed people, who as they have no other market to go to are obliged to fubmit to any terms that are impofed upon them, they derive fome gains alfo from weights and meafures. This they call the profit of the over- pi us trade ; pare of which they always add to the Company's ftock for the fake of enhancing the merit of their fervices, and apply the remainder to their own ufe, which is often expended in bribes to fkreen their faults and con- tinue them in their command. It is this trade that is the great bond of union between the governors and captains, who are lb extremely watchful over their ftrange privileges, that, as I faid before, if there is the leaft fufpicion of a man's having un- derftanding enough ta difcbver their iniquities, and honefty enough to deteft and expofe them, he is fure to be undermined in the Company's efteem; he is kept as ignorant of the trade and nature of the country as poITible •, and when his time is expired, if not before, is fcnt home with fuch a ^hara6ler' as will effc6lual]y hinder Ms return/ *^ ^'^';. ^ >*f-^ , It is certain tliat the cf.uel and opprefllvd behavi- our of the govenors and captains towards the inferior fcrvants, not only deters ufeful people from en- gaging in the Company's fervice, a circumftance which they ought to attend to for their own inter- ell-, but furnilhes one pretence for the bad charafter that is given of the country. Thofe men that are driven irom it by ill ufage, come home with minds embittered and full of refentmcnt j and finding ho rcdrefs from the Company, they make a point of djfcouraging others from going thither, by magni- fying the diftrefies they have undergone, without meritipning a fingle circumftance to counter- balance them. But there arc others, that from very different motives, give an imprelTion of the country not at all to its advantage J who rather than not eftablilh a character for capacity and rcfolution, do it at the • '' .ex- itage of ey have bmit to r derive This pare of ock for ces, and is often [\d con- ade that )vernors ful over efore, if 'ing un- ies, and n, he is ;emi he e of the expired, raAer s^ ' behavi- ihferipr Irom en- r ■ mftance inter- larafter that are minds ding ho point of magni- without balance different ot at all ablifh a at the ex- ■ (41 ) expence of truth i and they think they fafely do it, as it is not hkely that they will be foon detefted. A man in Hudfon*s-Bay has not much opportunity for figp.alizing himfelf : his fphere of aftion is con- fined within the very narrow limits of carrying large logs of wood, walking in fnow-fhoes, fetting traps, hunting and fowling. The being a dextrous hun- ter, and travelling well in fnow-lhoes, are efteemed the chief points of honour: they, therefore give the moft romantic account of their journies, magnify ev6ry little difficulty into a more than Herculean la- bour, and endeavour to convince their hearers, that nothing could have carried them through, lefs than the moft confumniate ftrength of mind and body: hence people have imagined, that it muft be the laft diftrefs that can drive a man to a country, where he has fo few chances not only for comfortable fub- fiftince but for life itfelf. It muft be acknow- ledged indeed, that upon his firft arrival in the Bay, an Englifhman makes a very difadvan- tageous comparifon between the appearance of that country and his own ; and it may be a year or two before he is thoroughly reconciled to the climate and the manner of living; but it is an indifputable fa6t, that thofewho have ftaid there their full time, and have lived tolerably under the governor, had rather go back again than enjoy the fame advan- tages in their native country : I myfelf am an inftance of this; and I have heard the captains frequently atteft the fame of others. This inclination, there- fore, to return to Hudfon's-Bay, when thus founded upon an experimental knowlege of the country, is furely a much ftronger proof of its being very habi- table, than all the ftories which have been propa- gated by the idle or the interefted tire of the contrary. Fofmy-ov^rn part, if I had paid the "lealt credit to the frightful talei I heard upon my arrival, I Ihould not h^ye ventured fix miles from my place of rcfi- :;tus - = - , dence. E| r ( 42 ) dcncc. But that the reader may have a more per- feft knowlege of the country, I will give fome ac- count of the foil and climate at York-fort and Churchill-river. It is not to be imagined, that the mod northerly fettlements in the Bay, fliould have as good a cli- mate as the -ibutherly fettlements, there being fo great a difference of latitude as from 59 deg. tp 51 deg. 30 min. I was no farther up GhurchiU- river than eight or nine miles ; but thofe who have been up thirty miles fay, that there arc pleafant mea^ dows and good grafs, that the foil is very good, ^d that there are goofeberries and black and red currants growing near the fea, upon points that appear almoft barren. Thofe that I have feen groyir iq low that the grafs covers them. The ma^-fhes and low grounds are full of good grafs ; and th^rc i$ g patch of ground near the fort on Eikimaux-point which, though expofed to the north and north- eaft winds, produces good radifhes, coleworts, turnips, fmall carrots, and lettices and other fallading: blacks berries alfo grow upon the heath. Upon clearing away the fnow in the fpring, we generally found the under part of it congealed to ice three or four inches thick, lying hollow from the ground. Whether this was caufed by the fnow's melting and thawing downwards, and then congealing from the coldneis of the earth; or by the fun's drawing up thawing vapours from the earth, and moiftening the fnow which was afterwards congealed again, I am not able to determine. I am inclined to believe the latter, becaufe the top of the fnow was formed intp a hard icy cruft, and within it was heavy tho' foft. However, beneath this arch of ice we found green vegetables growing up an inch or two above the ground. 1 he cattle here would live and do wellj, if the fame care was taken of them as is generally taken in Enlgand. The horfes I found among then> had /..>mn'> »*IU'. (43 ) had been kept fcveral years, and were conftantly employed in drawing (tones and other materials for the ufe of the fort. And if they can fubfift and be fit for fcrvice at Churchill-river in 59 dcg. they would furely fubfift and increafe alfo at the. bottom of the Bay, in 51 deg. 30 min. and in aU the more foutherly fettlements. . !! ,i-[\ /: 7. The foil about York- fort, which is itii 57 deg. 10 min. ic much better than that at Churchill-river. Moft kinds of garden ftufF grow here to perfec/r tion, particularly peafe and beans. I have feen a fmall pea growing without any culture •, and am of opinion that barley would fiouriflu here, and Confe- quently in much greater perfedlion at Moofe and Albany- rivers, v^hich are in 51 deg. 30 min. and 52 deg. Goofeberries and red and black currants are found in the woods growing upon ibch bulhes as in England. Up the river are patches of very good ground ; and battones under banlcs, fo de- tended from the north and horth-wcft winds, that there is a fine thaw below when thcftop is freezing : here whofej famujes might procure a, comfortable fubfiftjence, if tn£/ were as induftrious as they are in their own. country. Upon. Hayes's- river, fifteen miles from the fort, i& fucb, a bank as I have juft mentioned, near which I pitched my tent : after paling iri fome ground, ficM* rx coney- warren, ^nd for oxen, Iheep, goats, ^c. I fhould expedl by no more labour than, would be pro^r for my heakh, to {)rocure a dcfirable livelihood ; not at all doubting of my being able td raife peafe and beans, barley and probably other kinds of grain. The ifland on which. York- fort (lands,' is more capabk of improvement than can be imagined in fuch a latitude, and fo near the Bay. It is narrow: twenty tniles up from the fea •, fo that drains might be cut to very ufeful purpofc. 1 cut a drain near the fort? tp„ dry^ a- pieice pf ^Qur^d ior a. battqi^ of four ;i373 ■■""'• "'■'"' ^ ''•' '■- '^ " '" *" can- face ; ( 44 ) cannon, which afterwards wore quite a new the fnow cUd not lie upon it near fo long as before, and the grafs flourifhed with .new vigor. I ob- ferved alfo, that before the fnow was thoroughly thawed, feveral vegetables were fpringing up be- neath it •, and by the time it had left only a very thin fhell of ice, thefe vegetables were grown up three or four inches. - In September 1745 I tried the froft in the ground, by digging in a plain near the fort. I dug three feet and a half before I came to the froft, which was eight inches *hick. I then ftruck ar. iron bar eighteen inches below the frozen vein, and found the .earth very dry, the froft having ftopped the palTage of the water for nine months ; and it might be a month longer before the thaw would enable it to get fo low : it muft thaw every year, or no w^ter would ever penetrate fo deep. This, however, is not neceflary to vegetation ; fince three feet and a half of foil is fufficient, not only for all kinds of grain, but alfo for timber, which feldom ftrikes its roots fo deen, unlefs it be in the crevices of rocks. As the froft does not pe- netrate four feet and a half, the water has full three months to thaw it in, and is certainly able to effect it in that time ; though perhaps the froft may re- turn again above, before the thaw is thoroughly compkated below j and this, probably, is the cafe with all level and moift grounds : but in dry grounds, or in moil't grounds with fouthern declivities, it m^y be otherwife. It is the moifture that com- municates the freezing quality, and where that fails the froft can proceed no farther : in fwamps or wet plains, therefore, or in northern declivities where the fun is weak, the froft enters as far as there is any moifture, is very long in thawing, and fometimes continues in the ground the whole year t but in dry ground- ^t ha§, but -little ppwer, ana 'ii'<'j even ( 45 ) even m wet gfoundii that have a fouthcrn decli- vity, the froft does not keep poffefllon fo long j for the moifture acquires from the fun in the day, a warmth that it i-etains all night, and it may be a thaw undet ground while the furface is freezing. Cultivated land alfo thaws much fooner than bar^ I perceived that the garden - ground at ren. York-fort and Churchill-river thawed much fooner and deeper in the fpace of one month, than the wade that lies contiguous to it; and the fame is to be obferved in England. By the heat therefore which the earth licre would acquire from a general and careful cultivation, the froft might be fo foon overcome, that the people might expert regular re- turns of feed- time and harveft. The natural produce of Hudfon's-Bay grows very faft, and comes to perfedion much fooner than that of England. The alteration of the weather is very fudden and great : the wind veer- ing perpetually between north and fouth, occafions a perpetual alternate change of fummer and winter, which Ihould prevail upon thofe who go abroad to provide againft the worft that can happen ; a ftranger to the climate ought never to venture out alone. Thefe fudden alterations, however, make me conjefture that the climate differs much in a little way, efpecially in going from north to fouth ; at York-fort the difference is Icfs perceptible than at Churchill-river. In fummer, when the wind is about weft- fouth- weft, it becomes fultry -, and if it happens to blow frelh, it comes in hot gufts as if it blew from a fire, and the hardeft gufts bring the greateft heat : but this is not the cafe when the wind blows from any other point. In winter, the fky weft of the fort generally looks with a more thawing afpeft, than in any other quarter except towards the eaft. I noted this in my jour- nal, and concluded that thefe black watry clouds • - muft M'tfM^Jf ^M^H' '( 46 ) mtift be generated in places where the waters are not frozen ; for when I bbferved them at weft- by- fouth, I turned immediately to the eaft, where I knew was an open fea, and found that the clouds in that point had exadly the fame appear- ance. The former is the point where the natives fay is a deep ftrait, and the copper- mine. Frogs and fame kinds of fiih are found here frozen in folid pieces of ice, which upon the thaw recover their aftivity, and appear to have as much life as before. This was confirmed by laying them near a gentle fire ; biit upon expofing them afterwards to the froft, and bringing them to the fire a fecond time, they were always found dead. I MIGHT here give a particular defcription of all the animals peculiar to this country ; but as it does not enter into the nature of my defign, and befidcs, has been already done by other writers about Hud- fon*s-Bay, fufficiently enough to give a complete idea both of the benefits and evils that ariic ironi them V I Iball only relate an event or two with re* gard to the white bear^ and then proceed to an account of the natives. Governor White of York-fort told me that he and another being abroad together one winter, as they walked up the river, they difcovered an opening in the bank, and upon looking into it found a white bear, which they killed. The beaft in making this den had thrown up the earth behind her as Ihe went in, with a dclign, they thought, of obliging herfelf to continue there the whole fcafon of the froft, which had fo hardened the earth* that a complete thaw only could deliver her : it was difficult even with hatchets and ice-chizzcls to cut the mouth of the den wide enough to kt the body through. Having at length accompliHiGd this, they cut off the (kin and fat, and left them with the carcalc in the hole fecure enough as they ll:: ima- n of all i it does befidcs. It Hud- omplctc ifc from with re* sdto aii ne that winter, ered an into it le beaft behind jght, of feafon ic earth* her : it zzels to let the nplilhed ift them as they ima- ( 47 ) imagined ftom any beaft that might happen to come that way : but before morning a quiquihatch or wolverine, a very ftrong, cunning and rapacious creature, had broke through the fence and devour- ed all but the bones. The governor communicated this ftory to an old Indian, and afked him, if ic was common for the white bears that are big with young, as this proved to be, to bury themfelves during the froft : he faid no ; but that when they do, it is with a defign to ftay in their holes tilt the froft is over, and they have brought forth theif young J that diey will live a long time without food ; and that the black bear generally lies in his den as long as he finds any moifture in his paws to fubiift on, but when that is gone he is forced abroad again : tho' it is more probable that he palles the winter-months in fleep. While I was at Churchill- river, I went out one afternoon with my gun towards Eikimaux- point, and among fome large ftones that lie there- abouts, difcovered an enormous bear. Not being above a quarter of a mile diftant from the houfe, I was not much alarmed at the fight of this ani- mal, but crept forwards with a defign to (hoot him. By this time he had winded me, and was making towards me I fuppofe in the expeftation of meeting with a good prey : for prefently after, when I raifed myfelf behind a ftone to look for him, he was reared on the other fide to look for me. The furprize was mutual, depriving us both of the power of hurting each oiher : for he, turning fuddenly upon his hind- feet, made off with great precipitation*, and I, havingloftmy recolle£tJon, did not think of firing till he was far out of my reach, i Indeed I never heard, that a bear will feize upon a man before he is attacked and wounded himfelf. I have been prefent at the killing of feveral white bears, and never faw an inftance of their turning upon li (48 ) tjpon a man but once. We liacl hunted the crea* ture many hours firft on land and afterwards at fea : being almoft fpent with the lofs of blood, and forced to quit the water, he made one bold effort to come alhore •, but finding himfelf furrounded, fo that he could make no way up the country, he ran with open mouth at one Richard Walton, in order to force a pafiage. The man had the pre- fence of mind to fire his piece, and the bear being wounded by it took to the fea again ; and tho' purfued for feveral hours more, made his efcape at laft under Ihelter of the night. There is no beaft truly dangerous but the grizzled bear; and he al- >vays keeps up the country in a warmer climate, where indeed he makes dreadful ravages, de- vouring whple families in a Ihort time. . -4,v r The natives are a white people, without any thing peculiar in their fhape and fize to diftinguifh them from the reft of mankind. They are lefs hairy, indeed, than the Europeans, the men hav- ing little or no beard ; and thofe who have conver- fed with the women fay, that they have no hair but upon their heads. Every mafter of a family of any eminence keeps by him a fraall parcel, for which he has a moft fuperftitious reverence. This he calls his father's head, and is highly provoked if any one offers to look into it ; but upon exa- mination it has proved to be nothing more than a bundle of feathers tied round, with a piece of lea- ther. They have a religious apprehenfion of fome malevolent and capricious being, whom they are frequently afraid of; for when they eat, they throw a piece of flefh into the fire as a kind of offering to him, and when they go out in their canoes, they caft fomcthing aihore to render him propitious. At other times, as capricious thpm- lelvcs as the god they worfhip, they go out in patties with guns and hatchets to kill him; and at their ( 49 ) t;heir .retJJrft ;i/jfiU boMftr^hat f tbey \liai^e r, killed himi jeljing wheifQ they haj\ref!fettip the painit^ itif^k, in teftinjQoyof thdr fticceft. A tradton pfevmh apioflg theaii th^t all tbe* people of the country were toyrned except -eight, A^ho were fav^d ina canoe. :, Th e y ti^afee pretemfvank 'tQ divinmion i . for the cxercife pF whichi they i^orm a fquare clofe^ent, by laying jS^j^upon fbiirftitl^ xut green froim the tree, peeledr and fixed .perpendicularly, in the grpwt)(J InsQ this they enter^- (laying two or threa Hours i isn whkh tinfie many future events^ f hey fay, are : made kr^own f o them. Som^b of - ou r peo- ple are weak enough to give credit to this pw5- phetiq fpirit. In the: year; 1735 the fliip was fo late in coming from England, that the governoi' very fcrioufly' applied to an Indian to inform him whatnya,sJbefome of her j and after her arrival hi aiTured U3 tbdt the inan had told him the exadi: ?ruth. This power of divination^ it feems, is checked, if, an Engliflunan approaches the tqiit.vo Thjy have a generous feafe of property, and t difdainof oppreflion: the largeft beads and fowls^ they fay, arc their own ; and they call all. the Comi- pany's fervants, except the governor, (laves. They are exemplary in theiy affedion to the orphans of the fame family -, for upon the death of the parents the children are divided among the ncareft of kin, who feed and take care of them preferably to their own. When an Indian dies^ they ufually bury all he pclTeilfes with him, becaufe, they think he will wanjcitin the other country, where^ they fay, their .friends are making rner^ as often ^ as they fee an Aurora -boreal is » The corpfe bcibg placed upon its hams, the grave is filled up and; covered oV^ tvith bfulh-wood, in which they put fonie tobacco 1 and n^ar the grave is fixed a. pole with a deer (kin,, or fome other ikin, at ihc top. This method of phicing tlite .corpfe is no longer obfcry- E . ed i«!'"."'^ir«'w««if cd Sy the people who refort to the Engtifli fa£towc*i; but the upland Indians {lili retain their ancient euftoms. I have heard that the ruperannuated and helplefs among them are ftrangled at their own re- queft ; which ceremony is always performed by the neareft relations, wha, after placing thefe vo- luntary viibims in a gravcy ftnifh the horrid tafk after the manner of theTurkifli bow-ftring. ; » They dcfcribedays by thetimcsoffleeping, years by winters, and difFerent parts of the year by moons; as the fpog-moon, or the feafon when the frogs fpawn, which is in May or June ; the geefe-moon, wjien the geefe fly acrofa the country to breed v and other moons» diftinguilhed by ibme ftated appearance. ' They are fond of the tafte of brandy, and of being intoxicated with it •, efteeming it an honour to be drunk, and driving who (hall continue {o longeft : indeed this is a corruption not of their own growthr but introduced among them' by the lolly and villainy of Europeans. Inftead of ufing W^ter, they cleanfe thcmfchres with greafe and oil ; and when they have a mind to be ornamented, they paint their faces^ with a kind of red and yellow oaker, which with a ftring of beads hang- ing at the nofe, and a piece of greafy red cloth fixed on one fide of the head, makes an Indian as fine as he defircs to be. They ufe for an emetic a herb called cocka- pocko, and after the operation another herb called wofhapocko; and tlieir method of fweating them- felves is to fit in a clofe tentby aheapof heated ftoncs. Before- the ufe of kettles was introdiaced among them y they drefled their meat in a wooden or birch- rind diflr, heating the water, and keepibg it boiling by conftantly putting in thefe hot ftones. They cat as much flefh at a ti^.e as wrll ferve three or four Europeans i but theft they can /aft three or four if e» ( JO ' ' four times ar> long : ihd thcfe hibits of yoracidlifriefi' and abftinence feem to be determined by their natu- ral tempefj arid their tafte of life ; fot thcjr arfe lazy and impirovidenti • lyiiig in their tents and feafting upon their ftock till they have riot a day's prbVifibn left ; and if they are unfortunate enough to fail of a fupply before their power of fading is gonej they peridi with hunger. This has given birth to manj^ fcorieS of their being reduced td eat the fkihs that cover them* arid fometimes their Childreni Many' families in their journey to the fadtoHds hav^ been fo near ftarving, that they have faintied by the Wayj and muft haVe perilhedi if fdme among them had not been ftrong enough to come to the goverriors for relief. Upon going out to hUntj dnd at the deathj they fing two fongs, the latter at the head of the bead ; a praftice that prevails among the more refined j but lefs innocent fportfrhen hefi*. If fe- veral different parties of hunters happen to meet in the purfuit^ they do not regard who kills the beaft, but (hare the prey in conimon.* The; chief of a family has an appropriated part, whichi by way of diftindtion^ he dreffes himfeff : a woman is not fuffeted to touch itj nor to perform the leaft part of the culinary office, nor evfen to be prcfent at the feaft. When he thinks it is boiled enough j h(* takes it out of the kettle^ and gives the firft piece to the man he rtfpeifti moft^ proceeding in this manner through the whole company. , They have a nidxim very prejudicial to the country, which iSj that thfc more beads they kill, the more they in^ creafe) and in confequcncc of this they dedroy great nuriabers for the fake of the tongues j leaving the carcafes to rot. - ''^'^ The families take do#n their terits in thfe moftiingi and the chief orders Where they fhall be pitched at riight. In wiritcr when they can follow his txi£t in the ihow, hfc leaves the E 2 women (■ 52 ) women to (Irike the tent» and:qome after hitn with the baggage J and wh^r^ they fii^d a jiongiwhite ftick fixed in the ground, they pitch the tent again till the ae3^^ morning. At night the man comes home and Ats down, but without fpeaking, while his wife pulls off his wet cloaths, and cleanfcs his face with greafe or oil: he then takes the i^hief (eat, and begins to talk. ..;;;/' v - In marrying they have the eaftcrn cuftom of a plurality of W;ives ; though they gene- rally content themfelyes with two», which arc as, many as they cm well maintain by hunt- ing* They are not very fufceptible of the tender pafllons i for an Indian will gladly lend his wife to an EngHfhman for a bottle of brandy. It i& cuftomary for the man upon his marriage to leave his own friends, and live with his wife's father^ to whofe defence -and . fubliftejnce he devotes himfelf for the r^ainder of his life, which makes the hav- ing daughter^ a much more defirable part of their pcffefTion^ than Ions. A woman once in her life fcparates herfelf from all kind of converfe, and lives three week^s alone j^ in which time, thofe who ad- minifter to her, leave her food in a jcertain place, and return immediately without fpeaking. J em- ployed a man who underftood the language, and was intimate with feveral of the people of both fexes, to enquire into the nature. and end of this ceremony : but with all his art and addrefs he wa* never able to obtain more than a general knowledge of the fadl. At their feafts and merry meeting?, when they are difpofed to.dance, the (-ompaixy join 4iands .an4 Ihuffle found the mufician, who fits upon the grounds and beats a kind of drum* Jthe i^tfaial found of which he accompanies with ajrmj^re diG maUpn^ # voi€|g.v They fmoke.brftKil-tobacco mixed Vfith a ipeAjijliar herb, tUfim, from the deep hollows, which the itc ctinftamly plows tip on both fides..' Tius in- fercnce^ tli^refore, ftiti reinains juft dnd -natiwal, that the lands northward, of- 'Ghjrchill'riVar, are much narrower than th'ofe fouthW.^ni, and cannot be far from the wBtern ocean. This is^; farther cGnRtttied in point of teftimony, fr6m the evidence of the Indians dwelling upon Nelfon and ehukhUl^iv«r«, who fay, that they i^ave been upon rivers that tuA a contrary courfe to thofe in the Bay j and at the wefternfea on the other fide of the land, whcrfc they have feen Ihips.. h But another natural evidence of there being a fca- coaft to^ the .weftward not far frpm Churchill, is tliat th^ flights of wild-geefe in the fpring are feen to the hbrthwurd of Ghurcihtl), before thole which come al6ng the Bay frorii the fouthward are feen at York^fort,.' Icis received as an eftablifhed aitdcon^ firmed f«6li among the people at the Bay, thacchofe flocksofwild^eefe which appbar in theljpringyCome from the Jfouthward according as the wipw fnelts, ^d thd ' marfiies and riVers are thawed ifufficicntly to afford them fubfiftence in their flight riojthwardi' whither thfey 'repair to feek f6r unfrequented placei to hatch and brised their young. But if it happens to freeze againi they fiy back fouthward to get food^ and do not renew their fttght northward tiltxhe thaw is renewed; ;It - is alfo ^foitJ, that ihew coOrf© 15 generally pal-allfl) to the- coaft of the Bay* ' nba* the rtiourfis of 'rivers^nd ateng'the marfhes-j and; that they ^'dd riot cofinte' f roiti • 'Bbe inland cojiintry: weft ; to i caiib, i >bui ■ frqm^ !f0i»th to «orth, - being alwaysri firlb ife^h at the moft fputherly fadories^ But at CftQv'tlnll'y 'long befok the ice is: broken up: {buthwardy thereare alway$ fli^« of gQ6ft?tK>be fecn^ to the hor^wuj^ hqiVsting^abUuC-'f^r ^vcQuyfajjientt ^^■'"^^::. , .' ' "''■"' >^a'-;'''''."'":"^'"' pl^cc: .1 '. . ( ^7 ) place t6 feed wpon ; ' which not finding- bn account of the continuatitc of the froft^ jchcy fly back again inlwid to the HVeftward. Ift-is^ therefor'^/ pretty certain,': that thdif: flights ait made, from anothci cduntty i and arc not the fame that tome .froui the foiKhwardv »hicb do not ippear till a cpnfiderablc time after. Some probably . comie along the coaft of the wellera ocean from cht fouthward, as theic in itUe Bay ; >afld fome alon^ the eaft coail of America, and the weft coaftbf £i3topd ^ aili mak/^ ing^ riorthwai*d to Spittburg-and Greoilandi'iiriicre they breed :; while thofe, ' Which I fuppofe .come froiiii:the weftern ioaft 6f America, take their iHgfaiK by Qalifbmia.and tte'coaft no^ward of itj 'whcn^ there is a griat difference of tfimate at "-afmall didatke from theiSay v and ;beihg: earlier upon this wingy aikd fiyisigat the rater of fixty miles lan hour; they :fhoot into k frozbn climate upc>n the Bayy bo-i fore they are aWarti ^ but finding 'KD foody Tetr^iit: back to the wiarmer climate dleycanie frdm. - .• iF'it fbould be urged, that chdffe^ecfe whrch are fedii /d early. -to the north^rdi may fly fromi tha inland northward, icand ihappento iighc upon: ditr ftiore/ncrrth;of':iiCbcm:hill^. awJr fo^be OTft''feen tjhere: v' I anfwerj j Ihtt if vitimaft ht dgft to accident^ ] they> might * bs< iedfiiy >li^ht^ wpon t?he fhore to the foiithwanSi .and fo,tbe; firft: feen at: CAurdiiM atlwayBt5bfertcd^toi3e masde aJoing (hoitec and- never ifuom'thji inland: cqawtry diraftly to^tho Ihore. ^ SiAO^ therefore, alfi other '. flights ^fiigeef*' aare ifeBu . comin^^frdm^ thb .fouthistafcd in thb' fpring^* and'retwrnifig' to :chS tiorohward'in autaimn^ -awf thiii iffigHti wl4ch'?rk^.'feen"fiTtaa:itie'nonJtlvard 6§ clufiofi hmrf natigtffy thatnitcijki(fc:cameifrdm« dif^ai^c coufttiyyVfliid'a ^idfbrent'ifeai-coaft^ihioib nrobalily^ tatbf 'wiftwwrd v Y^hJch-havl^ a miid» ^b.a'ox * . ". V warmer ■ ■ • I "^!^7r'':wiw «5P?ws^"'nTr'WP^ "MP" I { S8 ) warricr climate on account of an open fea, the flight is talccn earJjr^ but obftrufted by coming too iuddenly into a frozen climate. This flight may poflibly be ^n ide ' along the fhore of the noith- wcftpaflage: however^ thcfirftfuppofition ftands very ftrongly fupportcd, that the continent to the northward of Chun \ill is very narrow, and the vcflern fea not ftr diftant from the Bay, ': I SHALL next endeavour to fhew the probability ©f entering Hudfon*s-Bay much earlier than is -done annually by 'the Company's fhips. The ice from the north part of the Bay drives through Hudfon's- flraits into the ocean; and the Compan^y's jhips generally enter the ftraits in the beginning of July. At Yorkrfort and ChurchiU-river I have obfervcd that the ice did not break off ^ofe at the ihore, but gradually; the firft field leaving the Ihore-icc two or three miles broad, the fecond lefs, and fo on till it was cleared away. Thefe feveral fields of ice drive through the ftraits ; but as they go off at intervals, one field may be driven through before the next enters from the Bay: confequently the ftrait is fomctimes pretty clear of iccvr';"*): hrrr?!m As the ftraits then are never frozen over, nor always unnavigablc, even when there is much ice in the Bay ; I imagine that a fafe paflage may be often found in the beginning of June : for as the ice en- ters tlie ftrait at intervals., according as it breaks off, and as the wind and curient drive it out of the Bay ; fo the wind may keep the ice back at ^his fcalcn as well as any other. Befidcs, the ice at the bottom cf the Bay, and the north and weft ice, will not ijavc had time to reach the ftrait j but after June ;ill the Bay- ice commjonly reaches it. The begin- ning of June therefore fecms to be the liVeiicft time in which to expc^ v»ho W«.*,P,(,"uWJHWHIJt ' ( 6t ) who come to Churchill-faaoryjto condudl'him up the country, upon the offer of fome inconfiderftble reward, and making one of teheir chiefs ca^cakrof the undertaking. Nor is it necefTaiy th^ he^fhonld M.;.derfl:and the language, as the lin^ift, 'Wh6 might be of the party, could communicate ■ every thing to the Indians that it was proper for them to know. . By this means the copper* minci a^ leaft wouM be diTcovered, and probably the > diftance of the weflern ocean, and the reality of a pi^ge be> tween that and the Bay. -rr- r-.:. -:v/ smaW'-^ TiTHE fame advantages might be as efFe to Tay, how miich beivcr they cxpefted in ex- change for thcle articles. The governor told i*s, that he had fent a copy of the letter to England % and added, that if i the Company confented to fuch a treaty, we fhould get no furs but what came through the hands of the French, who would foon have huts all the way down Nelfon-river, Ths linguifts intormed me, that they have had a defcription of the French fadory at the head of Nelfon-river from different Indians, who all a- greed in the principal circumftances, and re- markably in this, that the French have a large boat rr floop upon the lake, Thefe people formerly would have been glad to have had the Englifh ac- company theni up the rivers ; and were once very foUicitous to engage us to go up, that we might he.id them againtt the French Indians : but they are now very eafy and filcnt upon that fubjedt : the French by kind offices and a liberality in dealing, which we think of no confequence, have obtained fo much influence over almoft all the natives, that many of them are actually turned fadors for the French at our fettlcments for heavy goods. This the Indians openly acknov/ledged to the lingHift in the year 1 746, juft before I left York-fort/ But it is now time to fay fomething of >hc fifli- «ries ; the wretched condition of which45r not owing to any natural defedb, but merely to negligence or defign in thofe who pretend a right to the country and Jtc produftions. Tmf Efkimaux, who are the profefled fifners, ufed to inhabit the country on the eaft-main be- tween the ftrajts <,.:d the bottom of the Bay : but they arc fmce driven away to the northward by the other Indians, who are rendered much fuperior to them, on ffcopnt of the fupply of arms and am- jtjunition which they receive from the Englifh : fo that t trad^ of land oi more than three huhdretl to 11 11 ( 64 ) miles extent from nohh to fouth, lies almoft wafte, ^ ^yithout trade and without inhabitants. Churchill- river was much frequented by the Eficimaux before we fettled there, the point on which the fort is built being called Elkimaux- point. Upon dig- ging for the fort many traces were difcovered of their abode here, fuch as the pit in which they fecured theii* provifions, pieces, of (lone- pots, fpears, ar- rows, &c. This point they kept fome time after they were driven from the adjacent country, be- caufe as it lies far in the open iea, they could dif- cover the diftant approaches of their enemies, and repair in time to their canoes, in the management of which they are peculiarly dexterous : but they were at length forced to go farther northward, to Cape-Efliimaux and Whale-cove; and are now to- tally difpofieflfed of this retreat, by our making a fcttlement here, and drawing down the northern up* land Indians to trade, whom alfo we havp fupplicd with arms. '^ **■" * *"»•***• -■"'^'> •■■■i ■'^ .i/«>fit a-j* »? ;.-*.''.* Thus have we confented to the depopulation of both the eaft and weft coafts of the Bay, by fufferT ing the inhabitants, perhaps the mod ufeful of all the natives, to be banilhed to Hudfon's-ftraits on one fide, and to Whale-cove on the other. But a people do noteafily lofe their charaderiftic virtues : that art and induftry for which the Efkimaux are diftinguilhed, they ftill retain even in a ftate of flight and difperfion ; and ihofe that are fcattered about the ftraits, kill whales, fca horfes, feals, bears, &c. not only for common fubfiftence, but for trade, which they are very eager to carry on with our Ihips, as often as they go by in their pafiage to the Bay. But our fhips give them little encouragement ; nor js it the deiign of the Company, that the fifheries -Ihould be improved. : j 2-.fio3'ic nc , ^n , ■ ,.A SLOOP is indeed fometimes fent to Whale- cove rfor a tew days in a feaion, and fometimes not feat ' a.t tkll. The people, therefore, having no depen- ciance ( 65 ) dance upon our coming to trade with them, take very little care to provide a fupply larger than is neceffary for their own (libfiftence. In thofe years in which the floop was not lent to Whale-cove, viz. 1745, 1746, and 1747, all the whale- f^nn that the Company brought to England was procured in the ftraits : the firft year ' 303 pounds, the fecond 13 14 pounds, and the third 226 pounds i in all 1843 pounds, as appears from the account of their public fales. But in the feven preceeding years, when the floop was fent to Whale-cove, the account of their fales ftands thus; 1738, finn 207 pounds; 1739* firm 518 pounds; 1740, finn 630 pounds, oil 123 gallons; 1741, finn 149 pounds; 1742, finn 679 pounds, oil one ton at £ iS : 13: o; 1743, finn 496 pounds, oil and blubber 5 tons 234 gallons at jf 14 : 8 : o fgr ton \ 1 744, finn 392 pounds, oil and blubber 3 tons 218 gallons at ;£ 10: i : o per ton. So that ' upon an average the trade in finn thofe years in which the floop was fent to Whale- cove, does not equal the trade when the floop was not fent : therefore the greater part tnufl: have been procured in the ftraits, which, as 1 faid before, is don? eurforily as the Ihips pafs into the Bay. But if fo much can be gained without any efforts, what muft tiie produce be from a profefled de- fign and vigorous endeavour to bring thefe fiflieries to perfedbion ? The previous fl:ep to this, is the re-eftablifli- ment of the Eflcimaux in the quiet poffcffion of their properties and lives ; fuffering them to ex- tend at pleafure towards the bottom of the Bay, where they would find a milder climate and better country : and this appears very eafy to be effected, by making a fettlement to the fouthward ' the ftraits, which abounds with wood and good harbours; and takiiag care to inform the Indian^ oon he , ^( 66 ) caft-main, that the Efkimaux are deliroiis tohve at peace with them, that they will not interfere in their furr- trade, and that they are friends to the Englilh and under their protedion, who, if hof- tilities are continued, will fupply them with arms and ammunition for their defence: which impar- tial diftribution of kindnefs and good offices would efFeftually diflipate that malignity we have eiven birth to by the oppofite conduct, to the deftrudlion of both people, and the ruin of the trade. And if the fame pacific meafures were taken alfo on the weftern-coaft, and fettle- ments made fouthward of Whale cove, for the protedion and encouragement of thofe £fki- maux who lie fcattered thereabout, the founda- tion of a moft extenfive fifliery would be efFedlu- ally laid. These laft Elkimaux fubfift in winter upon the flock they raife in fummer, which is fuppofcd to be oil, blubber, and the like : and yet the feafbn of the whale-filhery feldom lafts above nine weeks ; in which time they muft kill a prodigious quantity to be able not only to lay up a (lore for a long winter, but to make a referye of many tons of oil for the Company's annual floop. And if this poor people can in their one-man feai-fldn canoes, with fuch tackling as their little flciJl enables them to make of ivory, wood, and leather, kill fo many whales in fo fhort a time, and in fo fmali a part of the Bay ; there is no fixing bounds to the profufion, if a filhery was carried on at all the rivers under proper diredlion and encourageriiCnt, and the natives furniflied with harpoons, nets, hooks,' and other tackling made in England, and prompted befides to ex- ert their utmoll art and induftry by a kind and generous treatment. Ii,^^''\-.- N--^-rt*itJ:v*f=^iv:i ■^H) ( 67 ) The circumference of the Bay is at leaft 2500 miles, with fo many rivers and inlets all round, that a confiderable river or inlet may be allowed to every hundred miles. In the three rivers where I refided, as much oil 6cc. might be pro- cured as would be fufficient to load 1 50 tons of Ihipping annually : confequently, by the fame computation, {he whole Bay would employ 1250 tons ; and in a Ihort time, I dare fay, many hun- dred more. But the firft trial muft be made by thofe who are poflefled of judgment, fpirit, and integrity, or 110 plan, however excellent, would infure fuccefs. I HAVE attempted to form a plan as well for the improvement of the inland- trade as of the fifheries, and would have inferted them in this ac- count, if fome prudential reafons did not reftrain me ; one is that the Company might poflibly be tempted to Ihpt up thofe avenues which 1 fhould point out : but I am ready to give all the private information in my power to any, who I am con- vinced are willing to fend out Ihips, and take other lincere fteps for the advancement of the trade of this country ; and I think I can de- demonftrate, that fhips need not return the fecond voyage from Hudfon*s-Bay with a fmall or unprofitable cargo. .. ' ^ \ . V « If it fhould be objefted, that fince the wefterly rivers in the Bay are not clear of ice till the be- gining , of June, and the fifhery is over by the middle of Auguft, the fcafon would lall only ten weeks, which would be too Ihort to kill whales enough to defray the expencc •, I anfwer firft, that the fifheries of Greenland and Davy's- ftraits do not laft longer •, and fecond ly, that the expence in a great meafure might be faved, if as the Bay-fifhery does not begin till the Davy's- ftraits filhery is over, the fame fhips were employ .,' . . "^F 2 " " " " ea (68 ) cd in both. If »: be farther objedcd, that (hips cannot get into the Bay by the beginning of June, and theieforc a great expence would be incurred, by fo many Englilhmen being obliged ko winter there; I anfwer farther, that few Englifhmeh need be kept in the Bay, fince the natives may be hired upon very reafonable terms to attend the Vrhole time of the filhery. The home Indians even now, kill geefc for the Company for very low wages, and a much great number offer themfelves for this fervice than can be employed, and the feafon of killing geefc is over a week before the fifliery- feafon comes on. Indeed thefc home Indians are tender, dull and inactive *, but they need only be employed in the Bfhery while in its infant flate ; for upon making peace between them and the Elkimaux, thofe native fifliers would carry on the whole bufinefs alone, without any alTiftance from the home Indians, or even from the Englilh who need only aft as fupervifors. But fhould it be at laR objedled, that the Company long before this would have fet fuch a fifhery on foot, if it was near fo beneficial as is now reprefented ; the anfwer may be eafily drawn from their whole condud for many years paft, and the mean and ungenerous motives that have influenced it. Indeed it is to be feared, that all remonftrances, intreaties and perfuafions for the opening a paflfage to this extenfive field of trade, will prove iri- effefbual, till they are addrefTed to the LegiQature, who by purchafmg the right the Company pretend to have to the Bay and all the countries round it, would foon fee how well they have aded un- der the faith of their allegiance to the crown, who granted them a charter only as truftees for the public. Such a purchafe, made even upon the Company's own eftimation of their profits, would I think be as beneficial a one as ever was made (69) made by a Britifh parliament: for befides tit fifli- cries and fur- trade, and their being capable of inconceivable improvement, there are the ftrong- eil appearances of rich mines in various parts of the country. I have fecn pieces of Ihining ore which were brought from Knight's- hill about thirty miles caft-by-fouth from Churchill-river. And it appeared upon the evidence before the Committee, that ore has been brought to the fouthern fadlories, of which buckles were made ; that there is a valuable lead-mine upon the eaft- main, th? ore of which was produced j and that native cinnabar was found upon the coaft be- tween Churchill and Nellbn- rivers, from which quickfilver was extracted and a fpecimen of it fent oyer to the Company, ^here are alfo the ftrongeft probabilities of there being a rich cop- per-mine north-weft of Churchill-river j I have feen feveral pieces of this ore*, the Indians of thofe parts wear them by way of ornament about their neclcs and wrifts } and a man who was pre- fent at making the Settlement upon Churchill- river informed me, that the Indians had icc- chizzels, and other implements made of this cop- per, and that the peo nfe of the faftory called them the Copper-Indians by way of diftini ion, as by their own account they came from tha* part of the country where the mine is fituated. But notwithftanding the cogency of fuch a variety of proofs, the Company have fet it at defiance, and made not the leaft fincere and efFedual effort to pulh the difcovery of thefe mines. Nay, for ^he fake of invalidating the evidences fcr the copper- mine, their friends have even ventured to auert, that the copper brought d^'^a by the Indians was not the produce of i-. r ine, but broken pieces of hrafs guns bei; r; ng to a Danifli wreck which they found upc:. fome coaft j nor ' ^3 ' ^^^' IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // i <* ■^ 1.0 I.I I '^'^ Ui§2B |2.5 ■50 *^^ Ri^^B £^ 1^ 12-0 •UUu IIIIIM 1.4 P 7a vl %. 7/ ^ J^ji % /A # ^ '/ Photographic Sciences Corporation »a W!ST MAIN ^fRIIT WiaSTiR.N.Y. 14580 (716) «72-4S03 ^ ( 7<3 ) Confiderlng that tho' the brafs of which cannon" is made be indeed copper compounded with lapis calaminaris, all the hampienng, or any other method that the Indians were capable of taking, could never reduce it again to pure copper. The circumftances mentioned in the papers produced by the Conipany before the Commit- tee of the honourable houfe of Commons in the year 1749, come next to be confidered : but as thofe papers are minutely, ftated and examined in the Appen'dix, I Ihall here only make a few curfpry and general remarks, and then con- clude with a fhort review of the Company's whole condu6t. In looking over the lift of the Company's papers and letters pfefixed to the report of the Committee, I was furprized to find that of all the letters written while I was in the country, one only was inferteci, dated 1 733. The inferting others, I imagine, would have cxpofed fome parts of their management that gre not fit for the public eye; the dread of which it is likely forced them to plead hard againft producing either original pa- pers or original entries, and to beg that their Secretary might be permitted to extrad and copy fuch ^s they fhould feledt for that purpofe. . The addreffing their orders to the governor and council js a matter of mere fornii, for the coun- cil is feldom confulted ; being named chiefly for the fake of diftinguifhing thofe who belong to the governor's mefs. The governor is abfolutc, and not to be diverted from folldwihg the dic- tates of his own will, for which he has the fanc- tion of the Company : I have myfelf heard the ilirgeon, who is one of the council, charge him with not ftanding by the general letter and order -, when he rephed, with the u^fiioft con- -■■ -V' tempt, zyii^u^ len con- (71) teropt, *' Do vou think I have no other orders "but what ;^fe there ?" -- q* s.^-u^^ ivv,vt^r .. In one of their letters to John Bridgar, dated May 15th, 1682, they order him to make a fettlement on the river of Port-Nelfon\ they alfo addrefs feveral letters to the governor and council at Port-Nelfon •, but the anfwers to thefc letters are all dated from Tork-fort^ which is ereded not upon Nelfon-ri'Ver but upon Hayeses, The Company could not be ignorant of its fitua- tion; and therefore by talking fo afFedbedly of Port-Nelfon it is probable they hoped to lead the Committee into a belief, that they had built a fort upon Nelfon- river. I am the more confirmed in this, as, after my return to Londojti, I found in the print-fhops a newly-pubJifbed chart of Hayes's and Nelfon-rivers, with a fort half way between them, narhed Port-Nelfon fort'; and to fupport this diipofition, the Company, upon being charged with criminal negligence in not fecuring the poffeffion of fo fine a river as Nelfon, faid in their vindication, that Port-Nelfon fort (/. e. York-fort) defended f hih ^-ivers, which how- ever was not in their power to prove. About the fame time there was hanging up in the Royal-ex- change a paper annexed to a draught dorie by captain Smith, in which it was aflerted, that it was falfe that north- weft winds made the higheft tides at Churchill- river: this alfo was an impofi-' tidn i for I had kept a journal of the winds and tides, and know that to be a faxfl which the au- thor of the paper has the confidence to deny. Thefe things would almoft juftify a fufpicion, that none of the papers produced by the Company are genuine-, that there is a private intercourfe between them and the Bay-governors j and that (70' they give plaufible inftru&ions to ainufe the pub- lic, but lend orders diredlly the reverfe to prevent the execution. The papers relating to licnry Kelfey, arc thorougliiy examined in the Appendix-, but it is worLh obferving here, that by the ac- count of this man, which has been invariably handed down and confidently believed among the fervants in the Bay *, it appeals that either Gey fir. >.^.-i' ■i'i .•sk-i* rn <«.) •ryvi-'rvt'} ♦ Th* account IreceivedofHenrykelfey from the fervantein the Bay. is in genftralthis : HeniyKdtfey, aUttlcboy* afedto ti^e great delight in the Company of the natives, andinlecming their language, for which, and Tome unlucky tricks that hoys of {pit\t are always guilty of, the governor wouM often correA him with great fererity. He reiented this deeply ; and when he was advanced a little in years and ftrength, he took an opportunity of going off with fome diltant Indians, to whom he had endeared himfelf by a long acquaintance and mtpy littje offices of kindnefs A YBAR or two after, the governor received by in Indian a piece of birch-rind folded up, and written upon with char- coal. This was a letter from Kelfey ; in which he intreat- ed the governor to pardon him for running away, and to fuffer him to return with favour and encouragement. Ac- Cordinsly he came down with a party of Indians, dreiTed after their mann^er, and attended by a wife, who wanted to follow him into the fa£lory. The governor pppofed this; but upon Kelfey's teHine him in EngliHi, that he would n6t go in himfelf if his wife was not fufFered to go in, he knew him, and let them both enter. Many circumAances pf his travels were related : that the Indians once left him afleep ; and while he flept, his gun was burnt by the fire's fpreadinc in the mofs, . which he afterwards itocked again wi^ his knife : that he and an Indian were one day farprized by two grizzled bears, having but jnft time to take fhclter, the Indian in fL tree, and Kelfey among fome high willows ; the bears making directly to the tree, Kelfey fired and killed one of them J the other, obferving from whence the fire came, ran towards the place ; but not finding his prey, return- ed to the tree, which he had juft reached when hjp dropped y Kelfey 's fecond fire. This aftion obtained him the name cf A1ifs-top-a(hifh, or Little Giant. When Kelfty was afterwards made governor of Ybrk-fort, I was told that he wrote a vocabulary of the Indian Ian- gua<:,e, and that the Company had ordered it ip be fuppreffed. t c pufc- prevent y, are 5 but iic ac- 'ariably among t either Gcyer, ervantsin ed to trice ning their ; hoyts of ncorreA md when took an to whom nd nuuiy Lii Indian mh char- intreat- and to nt. Ac- dreiTed ranted to fed this; vould tt6t he knew es of his afleep ; preadine with his rized by slter, the willows ; nd killed the fire return- dropped he name brk-fort, ian Ian- refied. . \ ( 73 ) ,. * Geyer, wnd was gbvernor in his time, ha$ grofsly impofed upon the Compahy, or the Company up- on the public. Geyer pretends, that he fent out Kelfey to make difcoveries; and a jottrhar of his is produced j dated July i^Qij before he had even the common requifites or paper pens and ink to make one ; for it is not till the September following, that Geyer fays he had received, not a. joumaly but a letter from him, (which letter we may fairly llippofe to be that written With char- coal upon a piece of birch-rind) and in re- turn imtiimanew cominiffion and a fuppfy of tbofe things he wrote for 5 including among thefti, no doubt, the neceffary materials for writing, which enabled him to keep the fame identicat journal of 1691, under the date of tha following ^ear. But referring the reader to the 'Appen- dix, I Ihall only add, that, from many circiim- ftances mentioned in this journal, 1 no more be- Jieve that it is Kelfey*s than it is mine. There is one particular, that with aiiy man who knows enough of the appearances of the ground in Hudfon*s-Bay to have made therti a rule to travel by, muft be fufficient to difcredit the whole. It is faid, 20th July. — Setting forward qgain^ had not gone above nine miles, but came on the track of Indians, which had paffed four days before^ having feen their old tents. And again, nth September — Now fetting forward, about noon came up with the track, and followed it^ and, in the evening, came to with them. Diftance 16 miles. From hence the writer of the journal would have it believed, that it is a very eafy and common thing, even in fummer when no help can be gained from the fnow, to difcover the track of a particular fet of people, at many miles diftance, and after the lapfe of three or four days. In the Hr(t inftance, the difHculty is at- tempted ( 74 ) tempted Ifp be folved by adding, having fien their tents : but in the other, the way is left naked, with not a fmgle token to guide them; yet after travelling from morn till noon they came by in-, flin(5t upon the track, and followed it. Now would any one in his fenfes believe that man who fhould fay, that, after fpending fix hours in a long purfuit, he had found out a particular iracky where fcarcely any track is to be difcerned ? Admitting that the grafs was long, and continued fo for many miles together, which it does not here, would he be able to follow this track from noon till evenings unlefs it was much beaten ? and if it was much beaten, how fhould he know that his friend had lately pafled it ? But Kelfey knew the Indians tratk, and that they only had made it •, computing, I fuppofe, the number of men, the weight of their bodies, the fize of their feet, and the angle of each ftep ; tho* the ap^ pearances would have been eiaftly the fame, and his opinion the fame, if a herd of deer or buffaloes had gone that way. In winter, inideed, when the fnow lies thick upon the ground, fuch an aflertion as this might gain fomc little credit j yet often as I have traverfed the ground in Hudfon's-bay, I would not undertake to follow any track but a beaten one, as the leaft wind is able effedtually to diffipate all traces of the firft foot-fteps. " * The Company find the profits arifing from that inconfiderable part of the pi:oduce of tnis country which they have pipnopoiized, fo enormoys, that, while they are refolved to be undifturbed in the poffeffiop, they can have no motive to increaffe them, but are rather induced to prevent this, as an evil thai would endanger the lofs of the whole. From hence, perhaps, prjceeds that vigorous exertion of their art and power to keep all their ferv^nts, except the chief fa(5tors and the captains of *./VM<-.: itA .«•« ' in tne (75 ) ' of their fhlps, totally ignorant both of the country and trade : hence their treatment of the natives j which fo far from aiming at inftruding their minds, and reforming their manners, is made up of cruelty to their persons, impofitions upon their ignorance or their njccefllty, and a fomentation of afpiritofdifcord among them that in time muft deftroy them all: hence alio their averfion to all difcoveries and improvements, cloaked under the fpecious pretence, that they have already done all that men could do, for the advantage of fo barren a foil, and fo bad a climate: and hence their ftupid inattention, not only to the jntereft of Britain, but even of their own immediate fucceffors •, filently and tamely fuffering the French to make fuch incroachments, as muft fpeedily end in the total alienation of this vaft fource of wealth and power. The abfolute authority over all other fervants, which is invefted in the governor, who is indulged in the moft malicious gratification of his own private refentments, and diredted to exercife the fevereft crucides upon every man who feems defirous to pry into the Company's affairs, to culti- vate a fr|endfhip with the natives, or to difco/er the country 5 and thefilentallowancealfoof his-grofs impofitions upon the natives, particularly in that iniquitous "fpecies of traffic the over-plus trade, could only take place from the neceffity of trufting fomebody, and the dangerous evidence which thefe men, when trufted, are capable of giving upon any inquiry into the Company's management. A bricklayer at York-fort, with whom I was weU acquainted, being defirous to perfed; himfelf in writing, once inadvertently took down from the place where it was fixed, a well- written bill of orders, in order to copy it. This was deemed fo Jipinous an offence, that the poor bricklayer was ( 76 ) immediately fent home incapacitated U>r all future employment in the Company's fcrvicc; and the captain who had charge or htm, took care in their pafTage to England, to get him preffed on board a man of war. 'Ai-r-^. ( The inftances of negleft and abufe of the natives are fo grofs, that they would fcarcely g^n credit, even among civilized barbarians, who nevet heard of the mild precepts of Chriftianity. Befides the fa^s already mentioned, the following one was well attefted by the fervants in the Bay, and was alio produced in evidence before the Committee: An Indian boy at Moofe-fadory, being taught to read and write, through the humanity and indulgence of a governor there, wrote over to the Company for leave to come to England, in order that he migh( be baptized; but upon the receipt of this requeft, which any men who had the lead fenfe of religion, and the lead regard for the fpiritual happinefs of a fellow creature, would with joy have complied with ; an order was fent to the governor to take the boy's books from him, and turn him out of the factory, with an exprefs prohibition againft any Indians being in(tru6bed for the future. This was the fource of much afflidion to the poor boy, who died foon after, with a penitence and devotion that would have done honour to his mafters.* But from whence can fuch prepofterous and unnatural behaviour take its riie, unlefs from the apprehenfion, that if the natives were properly inftruded and made conr verts to Chriftianity, they would all claim the privileges of Britiih fubjeds, and apply to Britain to be fupported in them ? The Company, therefore, to prevent their fuffering a remote evil as traders, have violated their indifpenfible duty as men and Chriftians ; have even facrificed their own iervants to their fear, andjeft the natives fhould bejnftruded and reformed, have hitherto negleded the fending over a clergy- man {77) clergy-man tokecpup a fcnfc of religion at any of their fa6lories. Why are the Efkimaux fuifered to be driven from their native refidence, and the fhore of the Bay to be left defolate, but for the fake of dif- couraging all attempts to eftablifh a fifhery ? Or why are animofities and divifions cherilhed among the upland Indians, but to keep the fur-trade with- in a certain value, that none may be tempted to engage in it to the Company's difadvantage? They have made it plain from their own account of Kelfey, that an Englifhman can travel the country as well as a Frenchman; and that an Englifhman has it in hrs power to reconcile the differences among the natives, and engage them in a mutual endeavour, to encreafe the number ot pelts and furs for the fupply of the faftories. And there can be no plaufible objection to the taking the fame mealures now, except the diftance of the fadories, and the interruptions from the French: but the firib may be removed by making a fettlement at the head of Nelfon-river, and other rivers fit for the purpofe; and the fecond, by dealing with the natives only upon the the fame equitable terms, that the French deal with them. The Company have advantages of traffic fuperior to the French, being able to fupply the natives with many heavy goods, which thic French, on account of their diflance and the want of a water-carriage, cannot fupply them with; the fame generous and friendly behaviour towards them, therefore, which the French fhew, mufl give the Company a fuperiority of advantage upon the whole. Through this abufe, and negled of the natives, the iburce oi all important and ufeful difcovertes is ef&dtually ftopped. But the Company proceeding upon the fame felfifh principle, have conltantly dif- couraged alldifcoveries and improvements ; haveufed theiriervantsill forfhewingtheleaiidillant inclination w» to ■( 78 ) to become acquainted with the country and the people^ and have looked with an evil eye upon every defign formed in Britain for this purpofe, and exerted their utmoft efforts to defeat it. Is it not aftoni- fliing and paft: credit, that tho' they had a fadory before the year i688 within fix miles of the mouth of Nelfon-river, which h the fineft river in the country for trade, and have been rn conftant poffeffion ever fince the peace of Utrecht, they had not in the year 1744 difcovered whether a Ihip could go in and out with fafcty. As it is the cuftom in the Bay to reprefent every thing in the worft light, it was confidently afferted, that there was no fafe entrance, till captain Fowler and I made the attempt in 1 745, and found a very fine one. It is not thirty years ago that a (hip was loft off Hayes's- river, for want of knowing that there was a good harbour and fafe entrance at Nelfon; yet, neceffary as this difcovery was, if captain Fowler had not been in the country, 1 queftion whether I iHould huve had intereft enough with the governor to borrow a boat, and obtain leave to make it. It was alfo confidently aflerted, that there was rto timber upon Nelfon- river j but when I went up and viewed the banks and creeks, I found timber in great quantites, and very good. Among the many obftrudions that they pretend lie in the way of all attempts of this kind, they never fail to urge the fcverity of the climate, and the danger that life itfelf is expofed to from it at certain feafons. But in the coldeft part of winter, I have lain many a night in the open air, with' only a fence to the windward made with branches of trees, and a fire upon the ground ; and fometimes by the veering of the wind, both fence and fire have been rendered totally ufelefs : and yet I can honeftly fay, that I was never ill half an hour all the time I ftaid in the country. If it be faid, that ■#•• '( 79 ) • ^ . » M/ I'll t. {■» c :; It . < * ' ' ' .'I • I.) ' .. i • .♦'V refolution only is wanting in the people at tlie Bay, let them be Ihamed out of (o much effeminacy by a neighbouring example : the Danes have been in- defatigable in fetding the ccuntry in Davys's ftraits, which though it lies in a much higher latitude than the mod notherly part of Hudfen*s-bay, they think well worth poffefllng and improving. But of how much greater value wpuld they cfteem the poffeflion of the country which wc abandpi\ through weaknefs, or fomething worfe. This plea, however, of feverity of climate, the Company would be deprived of, if they were obliged to account for their not fettling Moofe and Albany rivers, and others to the fouthward of the Bay, for they cannot pretend that the climate here, which is but in 51 : 28. is not very habitable; or that the land is not fertile enough to yield to the induftrioiis a comfortable fubfiflence. In this inftance, they muft be reduced to acknowlege, at leaft every intelligent man will be ready to do it for them, that a private company has no niotivtf to make fettlements, fmce an exclufive trade and monopoly with no more fettlements than are barely neceffary, muft be infinitely more profitable to the pofleffors, than fettling the whole country, and enjoy- ing the produce in common with people who would claim the privileges of Britifh lubjedbs. The Company not only fit down contented at the edge of a frozen fea, when they have it in their power to fettle in a warm climate and fertile country, but fuffer the French to come behind them, and carry off the beft of the trade : yet with a fourth part of the trouble and expence that the French are at in making thefe encroachments, it is in the power of the Company, from the many fine rivers of which they have the abfolute pof- fleflion, to ftop their progrefs and recover to Britain all that is loft of the trade and country. * ' But (80) Bq( tljefc rivers, for eighty years .p^fl:, have on'y been made ufe of, for catchinc a tew fifh fpr oc- cafional fubfiftence, floating down timber for fire- wood, and bringing a few Indians once a year with thofe furs that arc too heavy or too bad to be carried to Canada, and fome intelligence of the dangerous expeditions of the French. It is univerfally believed at the * Bay, iand I myfelf believe it, as much as I do that there is a King of France, that the French will foon be in pof- feflion of our rivers^, and claim the whole coun- try and trade as their property : and then, furely, it will appear, how very confcicntiouQy the Com- pany have made ufe of a royal grant to anfwer the valuable ends for which it was granted. ^ How dangerous is fecurity when built updn the condudt of felfifh men ! The aft for confirming the Company's charter expired above fifty years 3go f i tney have not had (he alTurance to apply fpr > i * On the 28th of this laft February, i7;2, one Domioic Man- ners> a German, who came from Hudfon*s-bay w^th the lall Ihips, informed me, that the French had got to fuch a head, that they were coming down (o attack Prince of Wales's-fort, and were aftually within a few days journey of it, when the Indians perfaaded them to return by the account they gave of the jftrcngth of the place. This, he f^id, yv^ cynfid^ptly believed at all the forts. '\- ' , ' r f It being alleged in the Committee, that the Company's charter was confirmed by aft of parliament, the Lords and Commons journals were infpefted; m which it appearied, that in 1 690 the Company, I'enfible that th&y had no legal title to their monopoly, petitioned the Commons for a bill to confirm their charter, upon account of the great loffes they had fuftained frbm the French, and their having no right to reftrain Englifh interlopers. Accordingly a bjll for a p«a*- j)etual confirmation was brought into the houfe.; but upon a petition againft the bill from the furriers, and afterwards from the northern colonies of America, fome of which came too late to be heard, at the third readmg a rider was prb- pofed to make it temporary j and upon a divifion, whether ibr ikvea ot ten years, = was carried for the l^ter j but the ;.,...,., »... Lords '( 8i ') for a renewal » and yet have been mean enough to keep the ablblute poflcfllon of what they knew was become the property of the nation. This could only be done by little artifices unworthy the character of men \ and accordingly, the trade has been contradlcd, the country not only unfet- tled and concealed^ but induftrioufly vilified, and charts have been prohibited left the navigation iliould be found fafe and eafy. In the mean time tl.. French are quietly permitted to extend their trade and factories within land to fuch a length, as muft end in the total alienation of this country, if the Le^iilature does, not quicjily Interpofe to fave it.--. ■■;■-■- >i;i *■■■•- t, ..^^ ..^.i — .-s ^^.-^ -t-fr*-'} tr>f9 •»•> Upon the whole t The countries furrounding Hudfon's-bay and ftraits have a fca-coaft of a- bove two thoufand miles extent, from 52 dcg. 30, to more than 6^ deg. north latitude ; great part of which is in the fame latitude as Britain. Upon this fea-coaft are many broad and deep rivers, the fources of wh:ch are at feveral hundred miles diftance ibuth, foutheaft, and fouth-weft of the Bay. Some of thefe rivers are navigable as far to the fouthward as 45 deg. thro' many fpacious lakes encompafied by populous nations. The country abounds with beaver, martins, foxes, and other animals, whofe furs are of great price ; and with elks, and moofe, and innumerable herds of deer and buffaloes : the foil is fertile and the cli^ mate temperate, fit for the produce^ of all kindi Lords returning it amended, by infcfting fevcn years inftead of ten, the Commons agreed to the amendment and paflcd the bill. The Commons, however, to prevent their being fm-pri7.ed into fuch an a£l for the future, came to a refplution, which was made a Handing order of the Houfe, that no pe'- tit.o'n ftiould be received for coniirming any charter, unlefs iht , tiiaiicr ^;\:lf' was anncxijd xy. thp P«tjitioA. ..,,*.,.. 4 of { «2 ) of grain, and for raifing (locks of tame cattle; and the coaft abounds with black and white whales, feals, fea horfes, and various kinds of fmall fifli : there are aHb many valuable mine^ and minerals, and a vaft track of land to the fouth- well ftill to be difcovered and improved. The trade of thefe cxtcnfive countries,' cqiia! almoft to a fourth part of Europe, is monopolized by the Hudlon's-bay Company under the pre- tended fandion of a charter, and confined to a fmall capital and an annual export of lefs than five thoufand pounds. The Company have only four fmall fadories and two fmall houfes, in which they do not employ one hundred and fifty f^uropeans ; and but three or four veffels, under two hun- dred tons burden each. The fadories arc fituated at the mouths of rivers upon a frozen fea ; whilft the inland countries, which are plea- fant, fruitful, and temperate, are fuffcred to lie Si ufeiefs and unprofitable wafte. The trade con- fifts only of thofe furs which the natives bring down in their birch- canoes, fcarce large enough to contain two men with an inconfiderable cargo: and as this abufed people receive little or nothing in exchange for their furs on account of the ex- travagant ftandard by which Britifh goods arc rated, they bring down no more than will pur- chafe them common neceflaries, and now and then a few trifling toys ; being either reftrained from taking many furs, or induced to leave them to rot at home, from the want of a fure and ad- vantageous market. . .^i . ^-^ -»* DuRit^G the long tinfte jti which the Comptiny have been in poffeifion, they have not once at- tempted to civilize the manners or inform the un- derftandings of the natives j neither inftrudlcd tl^em in the great principles and duties of piety, nor in the common arts of fecular life, how to navi- ( 83 ) navigate the rivers and lakes with better vcffel^^ how to improve their hunting and fifhing, how to raife and propagate tame cattle, or draw fleds in winter as is praftifed in Rullia. Nor have they ever encouraged their own fervants to navigate the rivers, and carry up goods for the fupply of the natives at home; nor allowed any Britilh fubjeds to fettle, plant, and trade here, as is ufual in other proprietary colonies. On the contrary, fo very infenfibic are the Company to the wel- fare of Britain, that they not only connive at the trade which the French are carrying on about the Bay, but ufe every artifice to prevent the knowledge of the fad. Indeed the French fup- port this trade at great labour and expence 5 yet, on account of the exorbitant price which the Company fix upon their goods, they are able to underfell them, and, in confequence, to carry off the choiceft and moft valuable furs. And hav- ing thus an undifturbed and improving pofTef- fion, they will foon claim a right to the whole country and its productions, as they have already done at Penobfcot, St. Croix, and Chignedo. Are thefe countries and feas then perpetually to be locked up from Britain by a charter which is no longer fupported by aft of parliament ? Is this vaft continent, the due improvement of which would bring immenfe wealth to the nation, to lie uncultivated and unknown •, or to be dif- covered, fettled, and improved, only by the French ? This, indeed, feems to be the alterna- tive cholcn by the Company, who either will keep to themfelves an irconfiderable piirt, or fuffer the French to be in pofleflion of the whole. But as an extended commerce and a for- midable marine, are now the great points aimed at by all the kingdoms and dates in the neigh- bourhood of Britain, it is more than ever become G 2 her it t^' M ' '( 84 ) htt wifdom and her duty, not only to Tectire tlie poflcflions fhe already has, but to lay hold of every opportunity to multiply and enlarge them. This and this alone, will enable her to maintain the balance of Europe, and to preferve herfeif from becoming one day a tributary dependent upon fome more a6bive and vigilant power. If what I have fuggefted in thele (heets proves in the lead degree inftrumental towards fecuring the poQefllon, and bringing on the univerfai fettlement and culture of the countries about Hudfon's-bay^ it will gratify my highcft expecftations. With this view alone I have laid thefe fa6ts and obfervations before the public^ hoping that the eyes of my country will oe opened, before lb large a propor* tion ot her bed interefts as a trading nation are for ever buried from her fight. w ...■ V fl*-. jHiijiswi^H. •4 •:>iirji-;^' >r o '* ';'j,Ut~.'J' '; ; J »,j.^ >»»J. A.\ , If-'* • hr* ^ r t J?. /• iV 7 5. -^^'-^^^^^^s^^ct ,.i ^^■^a J.V ' 'f: ^ «.N*Vf r:!-?*, .v{.i.-jrniK;; -.,it ^li i->'^^vH-) -tw > JK'ii * ■ >si i '. i J<./ .Ail4-- ■ tUi > HVn«M f H twv i ' i^ .r.m > "^l. i^jufyvi- ?S '^■L.«je'iii.'^.? r I . .>.. .^. «. ^. «, * ^ . «. « A ■ J I I .... "I ■*■.»•• » . . 1 , . . . t « - . c 1 ; , ; . 1 t • T \^i U L,^ X....*' D i Y .^'i^ V:. <:5 ■v'^'^r; $\ o r? -r-^ -i i p -k. «'■.. ', \ ■K"'- ?; ^ i"« ^ 'i rd; noqsf ?. 3^ . I j _ Is * ji M :';;Vv' . "! i'" /:. 'j T^' (J ..> i../t J Yt>.jiJ;Jv1'a a :> ,i H a 1 '/ /:X^ -;">■) fine t^,i.lH 5:1^ ojiii -■iiuf':,i g7 LtiiiUjq^^., •••*,' /. ■''. \5 •': Juv>:k r'^'lnm- '' )■ ■.;.:.:- 10 ftw;:;:ii,. I '■»«,. X rhlO k ' -■ -. r J "' -■\' ' XU n^ i . UV ^'4' j;; ;Li.. t. . fr^ 9« '^ fl**k i 3 ) r. ' .■ ■ » ••^ I a. , Ik-', f^ r ( _*^ •> V .f. ••. I A P P E N D IX. Tl; '(xr^ •.;rj* ffi^" ll>'>i.:-'"!-VT iiuvf'! - ^-'X ■.'{ il'-...>'fNu Mfi E R I. ""'■-':-:'i.'J:J i'<'<-^ --lij j-i;)oJ i.i ?t.;-J ],.;rl erf//- , rf':r;:i f;:::; fiontaining a Jl;)ort Account of the Difcovery of Hudfon's-Bay, and of the Britifh Proceedings there Jince the Grant of the Hudfon's-Bay Charter,, 6cc. t- jUfff^t JOHN and Sebaftian Ca"bot failed from Bri- ftol, and difcovered Newfoundland, or Prinia Vifta, in 1 4.94 ; and Sebaftian failed agairk, at the ejcpence of King Henry VII, in May 1497, in queft of a north- weft paflage to India. lie proceeaed as far north as 67 deg. 30 min. xeurqed to 56 deg. and failed along the coaft from thence to 38 deg. being the firft who difcovered Che continent of America •, Columbus at that tirac {lavtng only difcovered the Weft-India iflands. CAPTAiif Davys in the years 1585, €58^, and 1587, difcovered the ftrait which is called after him, as far as 73 deg. north; and the coaft from thence along th^^ entrance of Hudfon's-ftrait, whigh made way for Hudfon':$, difcovery*, and from thence the coaft to 55 deg. meeting with a fine harbour aod inlet in 56 deg. nwo leagues wide, with a i^Fong tide, where he cxpedted a pa0ag?, ai d wh^re he alfo faw and caught a great jaumber of fin? fifh. ,.,... »j:.ai. .... ; a ^ Hudson 11 SI: (4) Hudson failed in April 1610, and difcovered all the ftrait, and the eaft and fouth coaft of the Bay called after him, and wintered there : but upon his return he was fet adrift by his men, and never heard of afterwards. Sir Thomas Button failed in i6i4, wintering in a river in 57 deg. 20 rnin. which he named Nelfon-river, after his mafter who died there : he difcovered all the weft-rfide of that, and ButtonVBay, from Nelfon-river to Ne Ultra in 6^ deg. and Gary's Swan's-neft. Bylot and Bafline, who had been in both the former voyages, in 161 5 difcovered t\\t north-wef|f part of the ftraits, to Cape-comfort in 65 deg. and Baffine in 161 6 failed to the bay in 78 deg. which is called after him. The cap'tains James and Fox failed in 1631. James difcovered all the fouth-eaft, fouth, and fouth- weft fides of the Bay, from Nelfon-river fouthward, and wintered in Charleton ifland -, and Fox difcovered all the weft of the Bay, from Cape Henrietta Maria in t}^ di^g. to the Welcome in 64 deg. 30 rnin. and the c^ft of Cary's Swan's neft, beyond Cape Comfort,^ tO lord V/efton's Portland in 66 deg. 47 min. where the coaft rounded away to the fouth-eaft, ending in a bay. So that the whole Strait, Bay, and Labrador coaft, were difcovered by the Engliih, without any competitors, except Munck, who was fent by the King of Denmark in 161 9, when he wintered in Churchill, or Sealrriver j but I ra- ther think in Churchill-river, a brafs gun being taken up there fome years after Hudfon and But- ton had difcovered the Strait and Bay. - - : No farther difcovery was made by fea, of whibh there is any journal or record, except De Fonte-'s account of the Boftoo ftiip under Shapley in 1640 5 till captain Gillam's, who failed with RattifTon and JDe Groifeleiz, in 1668. Thefe Frenchmen, being in Canada, in the country of the Oiitaouas, near the upper ifcovered .ft of the but upon md never failed in 20 ^lin. s mafter fttfide of er to Ne t. Bylot 5 former 3rth-weHf I 78 deg. IS James :d all the the Bay, tcred in the weft ^ B5 «i^g- the (B^ft nfort,^ tP n. where , ending ky, and Engliih, :k, who , when 3ut I ra- n being md But- '; rric~': >f which Font&'s n 1 640 ; (Ton and n, being near the upper ( 5 ) upper lakci and hearing of Hudfon's'^Bay, formed a fcheme to poffefs it : but meeting with no en- couragement in Canada, where a company was formed, who had got a monopoly of the fur- trade ; and having no fund of their own to carry on the projedt, they went to Bofton, ana from thence to London, where they were liftened to with plea- iure, and feveral perfons of rank, and wealth, joined in fitting out the Nonfuch ketch, under the command of captain Zechariah Gillam, who lived in New-England, and probably had failed north- wards fiom thence, and was acquainted with thofe northern feas 5 and Rattiflbn and De Groifeleiz accompanied him. By Gillam*s journal, he failed from Gravefend the 3d of June 1668; on the 4th of Auguft he faw Refolution ifle, at the entrance of the Strait j hy the 19th he got to Diggs's ifle, at the entrance of the Bay, without mentioning any difficulty from the ice 5 on the 31ft anchored at an iflana in the Bay, near the eaft-main, in $7 deg. 49 min. i on the 4th of September got in with the eaft-main, in 55 deg. 30 min. and by the 25th, to a bay near 51 deg, 20 min, and by the 29th to a river then called Nemifco, as running from Ne- mifco-lake, but called by them Rupert's river, where they wintered j it had eight foot water on the bar, and two fathom and a half within, and was about a mile broad 5 they were frozen up the 9th of December, and the cold was almoft over in April; in June it was very hot, when they prepared to fail for England, .^v., , ,j .' . I HAVE been the more particular in abridging this journal, becaufe ic has been faid in fome printed accounts of the Hudfon's<-Bay affairs, that after entering and failing thro* the Straits, he had failed up to 78 deg. in BaffineVbay, and then re- turned and wintered in Rupert's-river > which is si a 3 falfe ( M falfe ftate of the fa6t. But from thefe falic ac- counts, feveral charts, fince publifhed, have traced an opening north of Nottingham and Salifbury ides, and eaft of Carv's Swan's-neft, into Baffine*s- bay ; and captain Middieton adopts this, having inferted it in his new chart, as an undifcovered llrait, to fupport his frozen ftrait ', which ha^ no other foundation but thofe falfc accounts given of Gillam*s vgyage. r,*".^ • - ^ . ; ■ The adventurers, upon their V"*tifh in 1^69,. with prince Rupert and feveral Ot.ier great men at their head, applied and obtained an unlimited charter for ever, of all the land around and beyond the Bay, which was to be called Rupert's land v together with an exchifive trade, in order to make fettlements,, as in other American colonies ; and to extend the Britifli trade, and find out a paflage to the weftern ocean 5, which charter bears date the 2d of May 1670; and Charles Bayly, Efq; wai fent over governor that year,, in order to begin * fettlemcnt, and nx a fadory, which accordingly was fixed at RupertVriver in 51 deg. 20 min. where RattifTon, De Groifeleiz and Gillam,* who went with Bayly, wintered before. A little to the northward is a river called Petre-river, and to the fouthward another called Frenchman's-river, and more to the fouthward a third and large river, called Nodway-riverj which was five miles over to the tails. In 1674, after confwltation, they prbpofed removing to Monfebi» or Moofe river, in 51 deg. 28 min. where, a:s its was farther from Canada,, they expeftcd a better trade ; aecord- ingly the governor lailed to difcover it, and from thence failed to Schatat^^aitn, afterwards called Al- bany river, in 5^2-degr and from thenee alfo by Vincr^s, rflahd to-Gajie Hefltietta Maria,' in 55 deg. going afhore at the*'tiVer Equarri, in about 53 deg. -In "1 673, a jeftrit, » native of England, was • ■ v "• fent failc ac- Vv- traced Salifbury Baffine*s- having ifcovered ^hich ha^ accounts ^n 1669,, reat mca inlimited d beyond •t's land 'r to make les -, and a paffage date the ^fq; wai D begin * :ordingly 20 min. am,* who tie to the id to the iver, and •ge river, iles over 3n, they ofe river, ber from acrcord- and from ailed Al- alfo by ^ 5^ ^eg. ibout 53 ind, was fent (?) fent from Canada over land to difcover the coun- try, and our fituation, under pretence of friend- fhip ; bringing with him fbme letters t<;> captain De Groifeleiz from his friends there, which gave the governor a fufpicion of his correfponding with the French, to our prejudice. By the printed . account of the proceedings in the Bay, William Lyddal arrived from England, as governor the 17th of September 1674, in the Prince Rupert, accompanied by the Shaftfbury captain Shepherd. But by the papers produced by the Company, - before , the Conimittee of the honourable houfe of commons in 1749* it appears, that Bayly was governor in 1676, at which time they wrote to him to fend up men into the coun- try to make difcoveries 5 and by a letter from him to the Company in 1678, he was then alfo a governor ; but whether he was appointed at Moofe or Albany, whenl.yddal was governor at RupertV river, doth not appear, as no place is mentioned in the letters. Lyddal was afterwards fucceeded by Nixon j in whofe time they thought of moving to Aibany-riverj and made Charleton ifland the rendezvous of their Ihips, and a kind of ftorehoufc for their goods. Some time after the Company difmilTed Rattiffon and Pe Groifeleiz from their iervice, upott which they returned to the French in Canada. MoN^IEVH Oe la Poterie^ in his hiftory of New France, iays^ that Jean Bourdon, who was out in the year 1,656,, was the firft Frenchman who was ip Hudibn's-Bayi having failed round from Cana- da, in a bark of 30 tons, by the Labrador-coaft, and HudfoiSi's Straits, 7 or 800 leagues -, altho* it was only, %^Q le^ues by land from Quebec: that he tjten made an alliance with the natives, and they hearing of a ftrange nation in their neigh- bourhood, fent .to Quebec in 1661, tQ begin a t ii a 4 trade, ( 8 ) trade, arid to defire a miffionary might be fcnt to them ; and accordingly one was ordered, but the Indians, upon their return, repenting of what they had done, refufed to conduft them, fo they went back to Canada : yet he fays they fent again in J 66 3, and prayed the governor to fend them fome French, and he fent one Couture, who proceeded to the Bay, and erefted a crofs upon an eminence, and fct up the French arms engraven in copper, taking poffefTion of thefe countries for the king of France. This is the foundation of all the claim the French pretend to have to the Bay, which had fo long and fo often before been difcovered, and poflefled for whole winters together by the fubjedls of Britain J and hence RattilTon and De Groifeleiz thought of going to England to take poflef- fion of the Bay for the Englifh : but when thefe men were difmifled the Company's fervice, he fays they repented of having engaged in it, and obtained their pardon in France ; and upon their return to Canada, they prevailed with the French Company there to join them, and to fit oiit a bark to take poffeflion of Nelfon-river, which the Englifh Company had not at that time fettled. Whilst De Groifeleiz and Rattiflbn were fail- ing round ii)' their bark in 1682, the Englifh Company at' the fame time refolved to poflefs Nelfon-river, and appointed John Bridgar gover* nor, who was to fix a faftory there by the advice of captain Gillam ; which letter, as given in to the Committee, was dated the 15th of May 1682. But before either of them got there, Benjamin Gillam, fon to captain Gillam, had from New- England made a lodgment there ; but was not left by the fhip above fourteen days, before Rattiifen and De Groifeleiz arrived. The Englifh had fixed at the mouth of Nelfon-river -, and the French had entered St. Therefa, or Hay*s's-river, •r ■ the ( 5 ) the other branch of Nelfon, on the fouth fide of the ifland •, and ten days after Bridgar arrived, but was ordered away by De GroifelciZj who had got pofleflion of the river : however Bridgar ftayed, and made a fettlement on the Nelfon branch, feven leagues from the entrance of the ri- ver. The French and he continued good friends till February, when the French I'urprized them, and put the men on board a rotten fhip, and fenc them down to the bottom of the Bay •, but carried Bridgar and Gillam prifoners to Canada ; leaving De Groifeieiz*s fon, Chouart, and five men, to keep poffeflion of Fort Bourbon. This is the ac- count given by the Englifli : but there are two more accounts given by the French, different from each other, and from this ; one by monfieur Jeremie, who afterwards was governor of Fort Bourbon ; and the other by De la Poterie ; both which I Ihall give in their own words. Monsieur Jeremie fays, that De Groifeleiz hearing of Hudfon's-Bay from the Outaouas, up- on his return to Canada, engaged fome merchants^ and fitted out a bark, and failed to St. Therefa, or Hayes's-river where he wintered. During the winter fome of his people hunting upon the ice, found that there were fome Europeans at the en- trance of Nelfon-river, and informing the governor, he went and found fix Englifhmen almoft fl:arved with hunger, who fubmitted to him, telling him they were left by a Boflon fliip, which had been forced to fea. After this fome favages told him, that there were other Englifhmen fixed feven leagues up Nelfon-river, upon which he went one feafting night, when they had been drinking freely, and furprized arid took eighty, tho* he had but fourteen with him. The following year he left his fort Chouart, with five men, to keep the fort, and returned to Canada ; but being difgufted at his "'''B * ■ employers. 'T^ -.^IW' ( 10 ) employers, who had charged him with concealing part o\ his cargo, he lent his brother-in-law, Rat- tiflbn, into France to complain j but his remon- IVances not being regarded, he reconciled himfelf to the Engliih, and went to England, from whence he returned to the Bay, t^ .relieve hi$ nephew, and give up the poflcflion. « Monsieur De la Poterie fays, that Dc Groife- Iciz and Rattifibn having formed a fcheme to ^offefs Hudfon*s-Bay, went to Bofton, and from thence to London •, and afterwards, by the aid of the Engliih Company, ereded factories on Ru- pert's, Moofe, and Albany rivers. By the time that this was known in France, and Mr. Colbert was fent to Defcheneau, intendant of Canada, in May 1678, to conteft the poffeflion with the En^lifl?, De Groifeleiz and Rattifibn had repented ot the expedition, and having obtained their pardon from the French court, returned to Canada, wl^erethe French formed a Company for the Bay, and fitted out two fmall veflels under their command, who went to St. Therefa river, and built a little fort : a veffcl from Bofton came three days after with ten men, which they received as friends, permitting them to go to Bourbon, or Nelfon-river : and four days after that a Ihip arrived from London, the crew of whom offering to land, were oppofed by the fort, and in the conteft, the ice cutting the cables, the ftiip was loft with fourteen of the men -, the reft implored the fuccour of the fort, which they in pity granted, and gave them a bark to carry them to the bottom of the Bay. Dc Groifeleiz and Rattiflbn, leaving eight men in the fort, took the interlopers to Quebec, who were re- leafed by the governor -, and they being difgufted with their aflbciates returned to, France, when lord Prefton was there embaffador from England, who engaged Rattifibn to go again to London, and give icealing /, Rat- remon- himfelf , from icve his Groife- icme to id from z aid of on Rii- me that jert was in May in^lifh, ot the pn from Ijiere.the id fitted id, who fort : a vith ten mitting r : and ^ondon, oppofed cutting of the the fort, n a bark De [1 in the were re- lifgufted when England, ion, and give (it:) give up the fort his nephew Chouart commandwl to the EngHlh Company, which he accordingly did. At the feme time the French Company had fent from Canada two little fhlps under Montignie, who when he came to St. Therefa, was furpized to find it in pofiefllon of the Engliih ; he was therefore obliged to winter ki a little river near it called Gargoufle, and return next year with a bad trade to Quebec. The Compajly having fuf- fered the loft of 100,0*00 Hvres, petitioned the French Kitvg to redrefs thent, who on the 20th of May 1684,' gave them St. Therefa, 6t Hayes's- river, in property. Which of thefe three accounts is genuine, is left to the reader to determine. In this period of time the Englilh Company fent captain John Abraham with (lores, who find- ing Bridgar g6ne, flayed there, and was made jgovemor in 1684. In 1683 governor Nixon was recalled, and I^enry Sargeant was made governor of Albany : they then had a fa<£lory o i Mayes*s- ifland, neaf Moofe-river^ and had found a river on the eaft main, which they called Ifon*jglafs- river, where they alfo fixed a faflory, expefting great riches frotii a mine they had difcovered, but it turned to no accJount. In 1685 they had five ftftories, Albany. Hayes, Rupert, Nelfon, and Severn, and werb iri a fldurifhiilg condition; but in 1686, the chevalier De Troyes in time of peace^ went from Canada by land, and took Rupert's, Hayes*s, and Albany fadtoiries ^ at which time Tho- imas Phipps was made governor at Nelfon-river. Monfieur D'Iberville in 1690 attempted to take York fort, ^hth Geyer ^as governor, but failed tof fuccefs; however he obliged the Englilh to de- fert New-Severn fadory. In 1693, the Company, hy the affiftante of the Crown, retook Aftany, Moofe, and Ru{)crt fadlories, and Knight was ap- pointed goverher of Albany. In 1694 the French again W^-i 61,(1 nt t iz) again recovered, them 5 but in 1695, by the afliP- ttance of two of the King's Ihips, the Bonavcnture and Seaford, they were again recovered from the French, and Knight again reftored to his govern- ment. In the year 1694, when Geyer was ftill governor, D'Iberville took York-fort: he fet fail with two Ihips the Poli and Charente, carrying with JiLm 120 men from Canada: he arrived at the fort the 24th of September, and took it the 14th of Ofto'ier, and wintered there, leaving Mr. Foreft governor, the 2o:h of July 1695. The next year, 1696, it was retaken by the Englilh, with four fhips, and the garrifon carried prifoners to Eng- land, among whom was Monfieur Jeremie, where they remained four months. After their return to France, a fquadron of five fhips was fitted out, confifting or the Pelican of 50 guns, the Palmier of 40, the Waip, the Profound, and the Violant : theiewere put under the command of D*Iberville, at Newfoundland; and inHudfon's-ftraits were met by the Hamplhire, and two Hudfon's-Bay fhips, the Deering and Hudfon's-Bay, which De la Pote- rie fays were of 56, 36, and 32 guns. An engage- ment enfued with the Profound, but without any efFe6^, being feparated by the ice. Four of the French afterwards took fhelter in Daiiilh, or Churchill-river, the Palmier having lofl her rud- der in hard weather ; but the Pelican, commanded by Monfieur D'Ibervilk, arrived at the entrance of Hayes*s-river the 3d of September, and next morn- ing the three Englifh fhips arrived. The Pelican had fent her fhallop on fhore, but weighed and fought the three fhips, and by fome unlucky acci- dent the Hampfhire overfet, upon which the two other fhips fleered off*, but he came up with, and took the Hudfon's-Bay : all on board the Hamp- lliire perifhed, as the Pelican had no boat to relieve them. A ftorm fucceeding that night, the Peli- can . or rud- lorn- [elican and acci- k two and lamp- :lieve Peli- can can w^s driven afliore, and loft, with part of her cr^w ; as was alfo the Hudfon's-Bay : but D'lber- ville, with the greater part of his crew, getting fafe to Ihore, upon the arrival of the other Ihips from Danifli-river, belieged and took York-fort ; and after wintering, returned in the Profound : and as there was no timber upon the river fit to make a rudder for the Palmier, before his departure, he appointed Mr. Serigny governor, and Mr. Jeremie lieutenant, who was afterwards made governor in 1 708 i the French poiTefling it from that time to the peace of Utrecht, when Jeremie delivered it up to the Company in 17 14. Baily was governor, and Henry Kelfey deputy in 1697, when York fort was taken by the French : fo that from that time to 17 14, the Company had only Albany-fort, carrying qn an inconfiderable trade, until thpy were reftored to York-fort by the treaty of Utrecht. After they had regained thepoileilionQfYork fort, in the year 171 8 they built a wooden fort at Churchill-river, which they called Prince of Wales's fort ; and in 1 730 built another at Moofe-river *, and about the fame time a fmall houfe, to contain eight or ten men, at Slude-river on the eaft main -, and about eight or ten years ago Henley-houfe, 150 miles up Albany-river, for eight men, as a check to the Indians who carried on a trade with the French. The merchants of Great-Biitain, in the begin- ning of the year j 749, having pedtioncd the Houfe of Commons to enquire into the ftate and condi- tion of the trade and countries adjoining to Hud- fon*s-Bay, and the right the Hudfon's-Bay Com- pany had by their charter to an exclufive trade; ^nd alfo, in what manner the trade to that place might be beft extended and improved; the matter pf the jc|:itiQn was referred tg a Cpmmittee, who i !. required I ( H) Inquired the Company to lay feveral books and papers before them, and particularly to inform them what encouragement they had given for the making difcoveries of the country up the rivers about th& Bay, and what difcoveries had been made ; -as alfo what fhlps they had fent, and en- couragement given, for finding out apaffage to the weftern and fouthern American ocean. Iq compliance with this, the Company produced fe- vcm cojMes of paragraphs of letters and inftruc- tions, to ihew what they had done fince the grant •f their charter, as well by fea as by land, in order to difcover the north- weft paflage, which they fai4 w^ all the fteps they had taken for making the difcovery i to which copies they referred. In or4er to ftatc the condu^ of the Company from the beginning, and fhew the fpirit that has prevailed among them at different periods for pro- moting trade and difcoveries by fea and land, I ftiftU take notice of their papers in the order of time, and not according to their own numerical ue lifeful difcoveries had been made along the fea coaft at the bottom of the Bay, yet the Company did not produce any particulars of fuch difcoveries ; and indeed as no factories were eftablifhed but Ru- pert's, they being only preparing to fix at Moofe and Albany, very few ufeful diSoveries could be made within land at that time, except fuch as re- lated to the foil and climate, when the Nodways were their enemies upon the eaft-main, and the French were fpiriting up the favages near Canada againft them in that corner of the Bay. The next article produced, is a paragraph of a letter to John Bridgar, upon appointing him go- vernor at Fort Nelfon, dated May 15, 16825 wherein after faying, that on account of his abi- lities they had thought fit to chufe him to make a fettlement in Fort Nelfon-river, they add ; In the frft place, upon your arrival there, you are, with the advice of captain Gillam, to chufe out the moft con- venient place for building a houfe and fort, for your fafety and accommodation ; which when you have well done, you are to ufe your diligence to penetrate into the country, to make what difcoveries you can ; and to get an acquaintance and commerce with the Indians thereabouts, which we hope in time may turn to ac-^ fount J and anfwer the great charge we fhdl and may '•■'•••••■ ' . ii ( «6) ieat in making thisjettlement, ButBridgar was taken »5rifoner by the French under De Groifel^iz, and carried away with Gillam ; therefore nothing could then be done towards making difcoveries. The next paragraph produced (for the Com- pany would not trull the Committee with whole letters, for fear of difcovering the fecrets of their management) is addrefled to Henry Sargeant, whom they had appointed governor of Albany, then their prime fatStory, dated April 27th. 1683. Tou are to chufe out from amongfi our fervanis fuch as are hejl qualified with ftrength of body t and the couu' try language^ to travel and to penetrate into the country^ to draw down the Indians by fair and gentle means to trade with us. The Company had not yet given themfelves up to felfilh views : prerogative alio ran high at this time, exclufive monopolies were not enquired into, and the charter was deemed a fuffi- cient title to their trade ; they could therefore fafely Venturis to encourage their fervants to learn the feveral Indian languages, and to cultivate an acr quaintance, and make friendfhips with the people. But this policy has been exploded fince the peace of Utrecht •, the Indian tongue being now con- fined to an interpreter, and all familiarity and intercourfe with the natives forbidden, under the penalty of forfeiture of wagesj and bodily correc-r tion. Mr. Sargeant anfwers this from Cnarleton- ifland, 13th pf September, 1683, that ifland be-» ing the place th!?n appointed for the rendezvous of their Ihips and trade : / fhall not be negkStful as^ foon as 1 find any man capable and willing for to fend up the country with the Indians, to endeavour to pene- trate into what the country will and may produce^ and' in doing their utmoft in bringing down the Indians^ to cur fa^ory \ but your honours fhould giv^ good^ encouragement to thofe who undertake fuch es^traor-. /-m. taken , and COuW Com^ whole [ their •geant> Ibany, 1683. fucbas )e coun- 'ountry^ *ieans ta : given mo ran ere not a fuffi- :e fafely am the an acr people, pe.ace w con- ity ancl ider the correc-f irleton- land ben vous of 'Mful as. to fend to penC' roduccy Indians \n gooi Xtraorr i 17 ) Aary fervice^ or elfe I fear theVe will hi but few that will embrace fuch employment. The next abftradb iS to Mr. Sargeant, dated May 22, 1685, twenty months after the receipt of his. We perceive our fervants are unwilling to travel up into the country by reafon of danger, and want of encouragement. The danger we judge is not more now than formerly ; and for their encouragement we fhall plentifully reward them, when we find they de- ferve it, by hinging down Indians to our factories, of which you may affure them. And then they name four perfons whom they think quahfied to go up into the country. Sargeant anfwers this from Charleton- ifland, Auguft 24, 1685. Mr. Sandiord does not actept the terms your honours propoft, but rather chujes to go home: neither he ^ nor any of your fervants, will travel up the country, altho* your honours have greatly dejirediti andlpreffed it upon thofe propofals you have hinted. At, this time the French in Canada had re- ceived orders from France to difpoffefs us of our fadories in the Bay, which they w^ere preparing to efFed. But for the four or five preceding years they had been paving the way to this, by gaining over the Indians^ and promoting divifions betwixt them and the Englifh : this was fufficient to deter the.Yervants from travelling up the country, where they would endanger their lives without any prof- peft of advantage, but what depended upon bare promifes of rewarding them when they brought down Indians to trade. But donfidering the little chance there was for this, and that they were' not permitted to trade upon their own account, the en- couragement propofed was not equivalent to the ha- zard. Yet how different are thefe inftrudions from thofe which the policy of the Company has induced them to iffUe fince. Then their fervants were in- vited) preffed, and encouraged to go up the rivers into the inland country, in order to make difco- .— b veries, I i veries, eftablifh a friendfliip vrhh. the Indians, arid bring them down to trade with us. But now if a fetvant betrays the lead inclination to do this, he is difcouraged, ill treated, and often fent home as a dangerous man, more bufy and inquifitive than is conliftent with the intereft of the Company, and of their governors in the Bay. The year following, 1686, the French took all our faftorics at the bot- tom of the Bay, and kept them till 1693, when they were retaken by the Englilh, who loft them again in 1 694, and recovered them a fecond time in 1695 : in this interval the Company held no- thing but York-fort and New-Severn, to which two fadtories only they could fend inftru£kions, till they were difpoffeffed by D'Iberville of New-Se- vern in 1690, and of York -tort in 1694. The next paragraph produced by the Company is addrefled to governor Geyer and Council at Port Nelfon, 2d of June 1688. fV^e direSi that the boy, Henry Kelfey, be fent to Churchill-rhery with Tho- mas Savage ; becaufe we are informed he is a very aSlive lad^ delighting much in Indians company^ being never better pleafed than when he is travelling among fi them, never thelefs would mt have him too foon truft'- id amongft thofe unknown natives^ without a pledge from the Indians \ cautioning our men likewife that they be not too fecure when they fhall come to a treaty with any number of thefe people^ who have a difiin- guifhing character of being more treacherous than awf Either Indians in the country. It does not appear that this was executed. Nelfon-faftory had been only fixed in 1 684, after Bridgar was carried off, and Chouart had given it up to the Company \ and Churchill or Daniih-river was not then fettled : how it came therefore by the name of Churchill- river is only to be guefled at, as Lord Churchill in 1688 had made no great figure, tho' he and his fifter were favourites with King James. However, ( *9 ) ts the Company have produced no anfwer to this letter, I fhall drop all tarther obfervation upon it. Their next inftrudlion iS alio to governor Geyei* and Council at Port Nelfon, dated 2 2d of May, 1690. if any two of" three of our fervants fhall Jhew their forivardnefs to go upon Hew difcoveries^ we require you to encourage the u::der taking, and upon their good fuccefi, to allow them fuch advance of wages or gratuity for their pains i as you in your difcretiort fhall find convenient', which we will, upon your intimation of it to us, allow and approve of Tho* the Company yet kept up the fpirit for making dif- coveriesj it is to be obfervedj that the encourage- ment which they here propofe is very trifling j no- thing was to be given the men before they went, ^nd nothing when they retiirnedj unlefs they were fuccefsfulj. and then it was left in the power of the governor. Geyer anfwers this letter from York- fort the 8th of September^ the fame year 1690, immediately after he received it. This fummer i fent up Henry Kelfey (who chearfully undertook the journey) up into the country of the Affma-poets^ with the captain of that nation, to call, encourage"^ and invite the remoter Indians to a trade with us^ and am iri great hopes of a plentiful increafe of trade from that natioH. By the Company's letter ia 1688, only two years before, Kelfey was then deemed but a boy, and ordered to be fent to Churchill j which was not complied with, though without any reafon given for that negledt by the governor, or for his fending him a quite contrary way without orders from the Company. In twa years, however, he could not be much altered from abbyi and therefore, ais I fhall afterwards have occafion ta take particular notice of Kelfey's jour- nal, I^fliall only now obferve, that the account of his firfti going, as handed down by the Company's b 2 fervants / ( 20 ) fcrvants in the Bay ever Hncc, is moft probably the truth •, namely, that Geyer did not lend him up, but that having feverely corre(5ied him for feme milbehaviour, the boy refented it, and being very intimate vdth the Indians, took the opportu- nity of runn' g away along with them : lb that Geyer, finding the Company defirous of fending up upon difcoveries, made a merit of Kelfey's go- ing up v faying that he had fent him up, before he received their orders : and this will be farther con- firmed from the other letters and the anfwers about it, and from Kelfey's journal. The Company in their anfwer to this, dated the 2xft of May 1691 to Geyer and Council, fay, Jre glad you prevailed wttb Henry Kelfey to undertake a journey with the Indians^ to thofe remote parts^ hoping the encouragetnent you bavegivm him, in the advance of his f alary y will in^ Jiigate other young men in the faSiory to follow his example, Tlie Company we fee ftill keep up the fpirit of difcovering the inland countries. Geyer anfwers this from York-fort, the 12th of Sep- tember 169 1. I have received a letter from Henry Kelfey, the young man I fent up Iqfl year with the JJfin^'poets^ which gives me to und^rftand that the Indians are continually at war within lan4y iut have promifed to get what beaver they can, again^ next year j others not before the next fummer comejwelvemonths^ when they promife to come down -, ^«/ K^jfey I ha^t^e ordered to return next year^ with as many Indians m be can^ that being informed of the humour and nature of theje firange people, I may know the. better how to manage them at their arrival. I have fent the faid young man a new commiffion, and neceffary in- firu£lions, with a fupply of thofe things he wrote foTy that be might the better accomplifh the end I fent him for^ and gave him charge to fearckdiiligientlyfor mnes^ mtnerals^ or drugs of what kindfien/^ery and to ., ... . bring ( 21 ) hring famples, of them down with him ; and for other young men qualified to undertake fuch a journey^ when J fie their willingnefs, and find it convenient , I will not fail to give them by his example all fuitable en* fouragement. '*'i:: i. : ::.- ./ "! •■/ ti '. '• : ' ; t G?YEa again writes from York-fort September 9, 169a. Henry Kelfey came down with a good fleet of Indians ; and hath travelled and endeavoured to keep the peace among them according to nty orders. The Company aofwer the 17th of June 1693; We are glad that Henry Kelfey // fafe returned^ and brought a good fleet of Indians down with him, and hope he has effected that which he was fent about, in keeping the Indians from warring one with another, that they may have more time to look after their trade, and bring a larger quantity of furs and other trade with them to the faSiory •, which you alfo may diffuade them from,when they are with you, by telling them what advantages they may make ; that the more furs they bring, the more goods they will be able to purchafe of jRf, which will enable them to live more comfortably, and keep them from want in time of fear city 5 and that you inculcate into them better morals, than they yet underftand ; that it doth advantage them nothing to kill and dejiroy one another ; that thereby they may fo weaken themfelves, that the wild ravenous beafts may grow too numerous for them, and deftroy thofe that.furvive-, bejides, if fair means 'oHll not prevail, you may tell them, if they war and deJlroy one another, thofe that are the occajion of it, whoever they are, you will not fell them any more guns, powder, orfhot, which will expofe them to their enemies, who will have the mafler of them, and quite deftroy them from the earth, them and their wives and children, which muft workfome terror in them \ and that you are fent thither to make peace amongft them -, and that on the other fide, if they do live peaceably andquietfy without war, you will let them have any thing you have for b 3 Afcir ( 22 ) their fupport, and be kind to them all, and fupply ibem with all necejjaries^ let their number be ever fo great. Thefe and other arguments you may ufe to them, as they occur to your mind and memory. ■ • This letter is written ^^ith a truly chriflian and Britifh fpirjt. But there was no opportunity for executing thefe generous purpofe;, till after th^ peace of Utrecht •, the French having taken York- fort the following year, and kept pofleflion of it for above twenty years together, except the year 1695. In the mean time, as the Company had only Albany- factory, and were furrounded on every fide by the French, their trade declined very much ; and th? chief among them, defpairing of ever feeing their aflfairs in a flourilhing condition again, left the management to a kind ot unchange- able Cpnimittee, who introduced a new policy, and adied upon niaxims entirely felfilh. I SH.AI.L now confide^ Kelfcy's journal j but before \ abftra^ it, I cannot but take notice that X$^ Company in the title of N". XXVII, call it a JQ,ur^al tf/ Henry Kel fey in the years 1691 and i6(^^, fent.by the hhAdSonh-l&^.y Company to make difco^Mi^h excepting only a few trifling variations in the expreffion, chieflj^ \jx the l^rft paragraphs, and the addrefs at the end; th^.fifft ^onclud^ng, 5ir, I r^inain your mofi obedient (23 ) a^d faithful fervant^ as if diredled to the gover- nor J and the fccond, / reji^ honourable majlersy your moft obedient^ and faithful fervant^ at command^ ■ as to the Company. But the Company, furely, could not hope that the Committee would read only the titles of the papers that were laid before them, and fo take it for granted that Kelfey had made two journals ; one in 1691 in compliance with the governor, and the other in 1 692 in obe- dience to the Company. It is alfo to be obferved, that at the time the Company gave orders that two or three of their fervants fhould be fent up to make difcovcries, the bill for an act to confirth fheir charter was before the Commons, which confirmation they expe£^^d would be perpetual. Geyer fays, he few' Kelfey up with the Arnse- pocits, in 1690, along with their captain^ to encou- rage and invite the remote Indians to trade with $hem •, yet by Kelfey's journal he had not attempted this till a year after he firft fet out, beginning only the 5th of July 1691, after the governor had lent him, as he himielf fays, frefh infiruifions and a new commijiony and had fupplied him with proper prefents fo make to the Naywatamee-Poets. The fub- ftance of his journal is, that he got his fupplies the 5fh of July 1691 5 fent the Stone-Indians ten days before him and fet out from Deering's-point (where the Indians always aflenible when they go down to trade) to feek /i&^ Stone-Indians, and after overtaking ihem, travelled with them and Nayhaythaway-iw- diansy to the country of the Naywatamee-Poets, and was fifty-nine days in his journey^ including the refi- ing days. He went firfi by water feventy-one miles from Deering's-point, and then laid up his canoes^ and went by land three hundred and fifteen miles through a woody country v and then forty -fix through a plain open country y having only feen one river in his journey y fhallow^ but a hundred yards ova \ and b 4 after ( 24 ) ofur crojftng ponds^ woods^ and champain lands, fir eighty -one miles more, which abounded with buffaloes atfd beavers, he returned back fifty-faur miles, where he met the Nay watamee- Poets, and. made the proper prefents to their chief, telling him, that ht came to make peace betwixt him and the Nayhaythaway-Tn- dians and Stone-Indians, and to invite them to come to the factory with their furs, which he promifed to comply with next Jpring, and to meet him at Deer- ing*s« point ; but he did not come, becaufe the "^dy- h^ythzway- Indians had killed three of his people in the winter, and he was afraid they would have intercepted him on his return home, however he promifed to go down the following year \ adding, that the beaver in their country are innumerable, and would certainly come down every year. According to this journal, Kelfey did not go by land and water above five hundred Englifh miles in two months i and as it does not appear that he had any compafs with him to know upon what point he travelledi he probably did not go in all a hundred and twenty leagues in a ftrait line from Deering*8-point, and perhapsN much lefs ; for if Kelfey only computed thefe miles he would take care not to make them lefs than they were. By this we may judge of the Indians rate of travelHng, which including their days of reft, can very little exceed eight miles a day : Kelfey did not travel rnore than five hundred miles in 59 days, and yet in all that time he had but three days rain, and no fnow, froft, or fleet, before the 12th of September, when he clofed his journal. But to return: if Kelfey was fent in 1690 by the governor to make difcoveries andobfervations, it is vefy ftrange, that he kept no journal of this expedition : but he did not" even think of beginning a journaj till after he s;ot his fupplies and ticvr commifllon in July 1 69 1 ; Wov frppfi the i2tb of September 1691 to June : •• 1692, ( 25 ) 1692, when he returned with a fleet of Indians, did he keep any journal, or make any oblervations that we know of, but what are in the journal of his two months expedition in 1691. We muft there- fore admit the truth of the account handed down by the fervants in the Bay, that he was not fent by the governor, but ran away with the Indians upon being corredted ; that when he wrote to the gover- nor for pardon and leave to return, telling him at ahe fame time, what fervice he could do among the Indians, upon giving them proper prefents, he had neither pen, ink, nor paper, but wrote with char- coal on ^ piece of birch-rind 5 and that Geyer find- ing the Companv defirous of making difcoveriea upon the profrjct of obtaining a perpetual confirm- ation of their charter, he in 1 691 fent Kelfey in- ftruftions, with goods to give in prefents, and paper pens and ink to make obfervations, which lafted him no longer than the 12 th of September in the fame year : for if Kelfey continued his journal and obfervations down to September 1692, the time of his return to the fort, we muft con- clude that the Company have thought proper to fupprefs them, left the making public fuch authen- tic teftimonies of a temperate climate, fertile foil, and a trade capable of vaft extenfion, fhould bring too fevere a reproach upon the prefent manage- ment. There are only three letters more contained in N*'. XXVII relative to inland difcoveries after this period ; for the French being in pofleflion of York- fort till the conclufion of the peace at Utrecht, the Company could only fend inftruftions to Albany. The firft is to John Fullerton at Albany-fort, dated fo jate as the 26th of May, 1708. We order you jo foon as it has ^leafed God that you are arrived fafe in the country to fend word amongft the natives^ to give them- notice that you are there with a corjiderahle 'I ... cargo (26 ) €arg9 of goods of all forts for their fupply., and to encourage them to come with their commodities as much as you can to trade with you. The fecond is to captain Anthony Beal, at Albany-fort, dated the 29th of May 1711, containing the yery fame words, which need not be repeated. I fhall only obferve here, that if orders to inform the natives that they had goods at the factories to trade with them, can be taken for orders to make difcoveries, the Company may pafs what they pleafe upon the Public. The third and laft letter about inland-difcpve- ries, as it is dated bu" thirty- three years ago, may be allowed to be written by the prefent Commit- tee of the Company, if it can be of any fervice to them : it is directed toMr. Richard Stanton, oi' chief, at Prince of Wales's-fort, 4th of June, 1719. Ton having one Richard Norton our apprentice under your command^ whom we are informed by captain Knight has endured great hardjhip in travelling with the IndianSy and has been very a^ive and diligent in endeavouring to make peace amongjl them^ we being always dejirous to encourage diligent and faithful fer^ vants, upon application of his mother in his behalf y have ordered him a gratuity of fifteen pounds. What proof of inland-difcoveries this letter could afford the Committee, I cannot comprehend. If Norton made any upon his being fent by Knight to the northward, to inform the natives that there were goods at Churchill -river to trade with them, or to learn from the northern Indians whereabout the copper mine was, (as is mentioned in captain Car- ruthers's evidence, which I Ihall hereafter confider, he being the perfon who carried him to Churchilf, and put him into a canoe with two northern In- dians to difcovcr to the northward \) he either kept no journal of fuch difcoveries, or the Company they have concealed it from the Comiriittce : it . . appear^ It ( 27 ) appears however by Brawn's evidence, that NotT ton owned to him that ht was at the copper mine. After this trifle of a letter they only fay, What farther relates to the difcoveries inland is contained in the papers already delivered in to the Committee, pur" fuant to their order ^ concerning ^ichzLtdi Norton. Since w.hi '1 time is has hen cuftomary for the chief favors to g. e prefents to the leading Indians, to in- vite the far dijiant natives down to trade at the fac' toriesy and to make peace amongfi any of the Indians they Jhall find at enmity, ■:y^' Here is a plain declaration, that fince the year a 1719 they have never taken the leaft ftep towards malcing inland difcoveries 5 nor does their care, or their judgment, at leaft, about the means oi im- proving their trade, appear from hence in a more advantageous light : the making prefents to the leading Indians, who come to the faftory, is rather calculated x:> keep the diftant Indians away ; for ic W evidently the intereft of thefe people to keep the trade to themlelves, and not divide it with others perhaps their enemies, to whom they are rendered fuperior by the arms and ammunition which they procure from ;he Company. ~^ '^"^' ^.rvu^i t>^^ * HE papers referred to about Norton are the let- ters in N*^. XXVI, confifting of five from Norton to the Company from 1724 to 1741, and of fix from the Company to him, all relative to the trade at Churchill and to the northward. The firft letter in 1724, and the anfwer 1725, are about A leading upland Indian, who brought a ftrange Indian to the faSfory, telling them he hadfuppliedhim with tobacco and goods to carry him home again •, upon which Norton fupplied the leading Indian with other goods to carry him home. Norton adds. That he returned the fol- lowing yar, and upon being afked after the ftrange Indian, he faid, he had heard nothing of him, and Vias afraid that in returning to his own country he '' * had (C 28 ) had fallen into the hands of his enemies and was d^e- firoyed. But it is morc probable^ that this leading Indian either killed him himfelf to get his own goods back again, or, as he had gained his point; by .procuring goods from Norton upon his ac- count, perfuaded him to come no more. Norton',s next letter in lyg^y.and the ^nfwer in 1734, are nothing to the piirpoie, be only fetting forth his fer- vices, ' and they . acknowledging them* In the Com- pajjy'^ lettei* to him in May 1738, they defire him to encourage the Northern-Indians i?»*. '-• ' ... . . \. • :>* s . ' , { ' • • knowledging mi ( 29 ) ■kmwledging the r'eceipt of f-he fiodp^-s jotirnlal^ and that the trade was , final], but might imrenfe if the Jloop went out earlier. T'hey difapprove of ii^s Joying the Jloop qfide upon account of the war^ :cofi$rdr^ 49 their orders, being defirous-of making new dijc&ueries^ and improving the trade, with J he Indians tMs fre- quent thofe parts ; and dire£l him tlf fend- jop^ elks and deers boms, -He anfwet-s in Augwfti - ihatt be will comply with theiy crden in fending the Jloop an* nud'y to the .northward, Thefeare th(? important papers they refer to ill fartfeext- extract from numbers XVI. and XX, vviucii relate to thp fame iubje(5t, confidering the papers in each according to the refpediye d(ates. N'*. XVI isentitkd. Copies of inJiru£lions given by the Hudfon's-Bay Company /<7jfmr officers abroad, Jb far ios they relate to the difcovery 0/"^! north- weft paffage- And N*'. XX> Copies of orders given by, //&^ Hud- fon's-Bay Company to fundry pi^rfon^, fo far as they relate to the difcovery of <» north-weft paifage. This laft i^ an abftra6t. aJfi as to tbtht d ibi th- ian i boats M comts fuch eafi aH we (31 ) ii)e order you to proceed upon your intended voyage to the latitude of 64 deg, and endeavour to find out the Straits of Anian, and to make what difcoveries you poffibly can, and to obtain all forts of trade and commerce for fuch com- modtties as fballbe for the Company's advantage^ &c. Before I animadvert upon thefc inftruftions rt will be proper to recite fome other paragraphs of letters from N**. XVI, whicb, as they were t^^ricten within two or three years of the time of the above voyage, may have fome connexion with it \ parti- cularly the inftruftions about Scroggs, who was fup- pofed to be fent to know wha*: was become of the (hip and floop. The firft in that number is a para- graph of a letter to captain Henry Kelfey and coun- cil at York-fort, June ift, 1720. fVe alfo order you to fend us copies of all thofe Journals /l><7/ have been kept by youriclf and others, and what difcoveries have been made in the voyages to the northward ; alfa what number of people^ and what fort yon have met with ; and what quantity of whales have been feen, or what other fort of fifh are in the fe parts ; likewife from whence the flood comes ^ and from what point of the compafs^ and how much the tides have flowed up and down. I muft here obferve, that if Kelfey went upon the difcovery of a north-weft paflage, as the title of N"*^. XVI implies, he doubtlcfs kept a jour- nal of the expedition, and bbeyed the orders of the Company to lend them a copy of his journal : but as the Company have thought proper not to lay any journal before the Committee, the evident con- clufion is, cither that they have fecreted it, or that there never was a journal, nor any attempt made by Kelfey to find a paflage. The next paragraph is direrfed to Kelfey, dated May 26, 1721, princi- pally relating to Scroggs, to whom they alfo ad- drefs a letter of the fame date in N^. XX, in which he is only ordered to faily and keep company with the other fbips till his arrival at York-fort, and to give up bis I ■';. "''•1 i: 1)1 I |if JWWJJi I ^ MiflHfci ■»!]■- WVMVW-IOPVnvm!^ .( 32 ) if;; f£ 300 credit ; nor be pable oj being of the committee, who has not £ 600 ftock or credit; and fo proportionably inail other things, according to the charter. — ^ iiuft be owned, tlv\c ■ninii.: lome 20. ( 45 ) ibmc of their reafons for trebling tlicir ftock are unexceptionably good, particularly thofe of nuA^ in^ it more diffulive amongft all bis majeftys frh-^ jtciSy and more and more a national intierelt ; and the having as much more in their warehoufes as their original ftock, provided it was X6 be ad- ded to their ilock in trade to increafe their annual exports. But how they could urge the profpcdt of their gains upon the year's trade, or the money funk in building their factories, or their future demand upon the French, as additions to their ftock, is not quite fo comprehenfible : nor is it eafy to account, how their loffes by the French ihould, upon fofmall a capital 2,s£, 10,500, amount to £, 100,000, (or;f 150,600, as was fet forth in their petition to parliament, as an inducement to pafs an ad for a perpetual confirmation of their charter-,) for their whole lofs was confined, to the fmall factories at Rupert, Moofe, and Al- bany, which could not amount to the tenth part of that fum ; unlefs they included in the eftimate, the gain they might have made upon their trade in the time they were out of poITeflion. Neither can I fee, when no new fubfcriptions were taken in, how the trebling their ftock could make it msre diffufive amongft the reft of his majefty*s ftib- jtEls, which was the only good national reafon for taking this ftep. As the whole was nominal, it could be of no real benefit to the proprietors, nor to the nation, unlefs they had determined to treble their annual exports : it can therefore only be fuppofed, that having juft obtained an ad to confirm their charter for feven years, they thought it prudent to make a ftiow of doing fomething to increafe their trade, that they might be entituled to a rejiewal when that ad expired •, an expeda- tion, by the way, not very fubftantially founded, as the ad was alteied by the Lords, from ten years, for ( 4« ) Ibr whidH term it had paflcd the Commons, id feven years; and as the Commons, having been almo^ fiirprized into a confirmation of their char- ter for ever, upon their granting it only for a few years, entered a (landing order, that no petitiort ihould be received for confirming any charter* unlefs the charter itfelf was annexed to the peti- tion. But it is evident j that the chief motive for trebling their ftock was, that their dividends would appear fmaller upon a large nominal capi- tal, thaji upon a real fmall capital •, the only good reafoh for trebling their ftock, the making it mart affiijive amongft bis majeftfs fubjeSs^ and mort and mere a national intereft, having never taken place 5 for the ftock is not fet up to public fale, but confined to about ninety members, as appears by their lift of proprietors produced before the Committee. ^ :>•»;/ .. : , : :;^. * ,. ? No. XXII, contains rcafons and refolutions for the Hudfon's-Bay Company again trebling their ftock in 1720. At a committee, 29th Auguft, 1720. ^be conmitUe^ purfuant to the order of the general €ourti b^irng taken into conjideration the mofi proper method for r&tfing money for enlarging and extending the Company's trade to Hudfon's-Bay and Bufs-ifland ; and for the more effectual putting in execution the powers and privileges granted them by their charter^ do, make the folloiving refolutions, viz. ^bdt according to the befi account and calculation that can be made of the quick and dead ftock and lands^ the fame may be computed to amount to 3^94,500, at a moderate computation. That the joint or capital ftock of this Company he enlarged to ;£ 378,000, and divided into 3780 fhares of £ 100 each-, and that the prefent ftock ibeing £ 31,500, or 315 Jhares, be made and reckoned ^^S. fhareSi and valued ft ;£ 100 each fhare, vohich r>" i.' ' ( 47 ') which amtnints to £ 94,500, and to he tkat and difcharged of all the payments to be made for enlOf^j- ing the flock /o ^^ 378,000. That the fum of £ 2a3,500 he raifed by the prefent mmhers^ and to be engrafted on the prefent fidck, valuing each fhare at £ 100, to compleat the faid £ 378,000* ^hat each member for every £ 100 by him fuifcrihedy fhall be entituled to one fhare in the Company's floch That the times of payment he as follows^ viz. £1^ per cent, paid the 7th of September next y £16 per cent, on the 6th of December next \ and fh my £ 10 per cent, every three months^ till the ^hoteis paid in. That a proper inftrument he prepared fof thefe purpofes, and the Company's feal affixed thereto % and that fuch of the prefent members as are willing tnay fuhfcribe^ obliging themfelves to advance akd raife fuch fums as they fhall fet down againfi thei^ refpediive names. That no member fhall be capable ef being governor^ or of the committee^ who has not in his own name and right £ 1 800, or 1^ fhafes in the flock', and 0/ giving a vott in any eleSiioW^ e^ any general courts who has not £ 900, or 9 Ih&res'V;? the flock', which refolulions were unanimoufly agreed to, and ordered to be laid before the general eottrt the next day^ — which the court next day con* firmed^ "^^ At a genera! court 23d December^ 1720.-^ The governor acquainted the court, that by reafoh of the prefent fcarcity of money and deadnefs of credit, the committee did not think it a propet time to proceed upon the fubfcription agreed to in Auguft lajl; and then ordered the fecretary to read the opi- nion of the committee of this day^ viz. — Refahed that it is the opinion of the committee, that the faid fubfcription he vacated ; and that the Compatvfs feal be taken off from the faid inftrument. — And> That each fubfcriber fhall have £. 3*0 ftock for each . £ I® rvi.' ( 48 ) if. 10 hy, him paid in, — which refilutions ware a* greedto by this court, -i ^ A:'a-, v. ^' .i.Vd, In thefe refolution? of^ trebling their ftock, the only reafons alleged for it were, the enlarging and extending their trade to Hudfon*s-Bay and Bufs- ifland : fo that the tinanimous opinion at this time was, that their trade might be enlarged and ex- tended by increafing their capital and ftock in trade ; , and that at ieaft {, 94*500 might be an- nually employed in trade ; for that fum was de- signed adlually to have been raifed, over and a- ix>ve the prefent (lock in trade. But all the lat6 allegations of the Company before the Committee, tended to (hew, that the trade could not be ex- tended or increafed \ and that they had done their vtmoil for this, by exporting annually goods to the value of three or four thoufand pounds. If this had been the * cafe alfo in 1720, and the Company neither intended nor had it in their power to extend the trade, the new fubfcription taken from their own members muft have been deligned as a bubble, to draw in others who v/ere pot proprietors j by which each member would gain in cafh ;£ 200 per cent, and the Company adhially have ^^ 94,500 paid in ca(h, which, ac- cording to their own declaration, could not have been employed in trade. To explain this ; the Company, before they took in the new fubfcrip- tio[?> trebled their nominal ftock by a grofs com- putation of their dead and living (lock, lands« &c. which had in like manner been done before in 1690, by a computation produced, from £ 10,500 to 31,500 i but now, without any com- putation produced, to {, 949500 : this nominal ftock they were to increafe to £ 378,000, by add- ing a fubfcription from their own members of jC 283,500 to be made in payments of ,£ 10 per cent every three months, till the whole was raifed. Now .:; ( 49 ) Now if this ^10 per cent was to be pdld upon their newly trebled capital of ;£ 94,500* j^'9450 would have been paid in every three months, and the whole fubfcription of £ 283, 500 completed in (tvcn years • and a halt: but if only ;£ 3 1 50 was to !■ e paid m every thrte months upon their former capital of ;^ 3 1,500, then twenty- two years and a half would have: been neceflary to complete the whole fum j which could not an- fwer the end propofed, of extending and improv- ing their trade in any reafonable time : and yr;t it appears from their increafcd capital in No. XVIII, that the £ 10 per cent paid in amounted to no more than >£ 3150 j for tlitj* at the general court the members were allowed £ 30 ftock for each £ ro they had paid in, their capital was increafcd only from £ 94,560 to ;£ 103,500, produced befoi'e the Committee as the prefent capital. How then was the fiim of £283^50^, to be raife(^ in feven years and a half i Why prbbabiy thus,*-**every member was allowed a fliare of £ 30 ilock for every £ id he paid i^y and confcqlient- ly jf 300 for jC 100. Now by bringing this £ ibo fhare to market, he would 'have have got £ 3C0, and'thc purchafer have ftood pofTeffed of three fhares ia the Company's (lock gf £160 each, i Sb that by the time rthe whole was corh- pleted^ the original members ivbUid have receivM ^ ^ 8 9,000 for their own ufe, land the Gom- .pany ;C 94,500 to be employed in trade; or in any way they pleafedj and i this defign fecms only to f^ hive been fruilrated by the fudden fall of . foudl-fea and other ftocks, which deprived them -ofipufchaferi: however, ^they fufceeded forfar ' as; to raife their nominal ^ fcock from £ SiVsob to •;f 1103^500. It js fcarce worth hien^idning, that -^ne of the refolutions paiTed in this Committee ot Augttft 25th 1720, by which- cvei*y-mah who ■■^h ' d ■■■■:^ - ha^;^ -^' (so) has not nine {hares of ;C loo each, is deprived of his right to vote at any ciedion or in any general court, is a manifeft violation of their charter j which exprefly fays, that each member fhall have one vote for every £ lOO he has in flock, and fo pro- portionably for more or Jefs j ten perfons having only £ 10 each in a joint (lock, to have one vote amongfl them. By the flandard of their trade in No. XIX, we may fee how vaft a price is charged to the na- tives upon the goods given them in exchange for their furs, which are all valued by the beaver fkin as the flandard. Thus for a quart of Eng- lifh fpirits which the Company export at fix- pence, and before they fell it to the natives mix it with one third water, which reduces it to four- pence ; they take a beaver fkin, which has been fold at the Company's fale, at a medium of ten years f, for fix fhillings three farthings the pound weight, and a beaver fkin generally weighs a pound and half; fo that they get nine fhillings and one pen- ny for four pence, which is^ 2700 per cent profit. Upon other articles not fo material they do not gain above £ 500 or £ 600 per cent : but in exchange for martins the profit is double of that upon beaver ; for they value three martins only as one beaver, and thofe, at a medium of ten years, have fold for fix fhillings a fkin. It appears alfo from the flandard, that one third more is charged upon many articles at Nelfon and Churchill-fadories, than at Moofe and Albany j thofe fa<5lories being farther from the French, who till within thefe few years had not intercepted the trade there j and not content even with this extravagant pro- fit, the faftors are allowed to fell their goods confiderably above the flandard, which is called + See N«. XXIV. /•>' » y- '-J the port at cent p near;^ But thi except laid Of fecured and im to one find it i of coun due en( the con In th rated at the hea( prietor, none n( that is n and two thofe coi the Con by way ( her dea paymen follicitec fend ou ■■;:s.j-i i'J the . , ( 51 ) riie profit upon the overplus" trade : yet' with all this advance upon their goods, the profit of the Company is reduced, by the expence of management, Ihipping, faftories, officers and Servants, to a Httle more than (, 200 per cent. For by a medium of ten years trade, (N*. ' XXIV.) their fales amount annually to ;f 27,354 : 5 : 5 ^ ; and their expences, N". XXIIl, to )f 19,417: 8: 6: their nett profit therefore, at the fame medium, amounts to ^ 7936 : 16 : 1 1 1 ; which upon ;£ 3674 : 3 : 14, their annual ex- port at the fame medium, is about ;f 216 per cent profit upon the annual (lock in trade, and near {,y\^ upon the nominal capital of £ 103,950. But this expence would be confiderably le&cned, except in the article of freight, if the trade was laid open, the countries fettled, and pofleflions fecured without charge ; whilft both the exports and imports would be vaftly increafed, perhaps to one hundred times the prefent value, as Wc find it is in other colonies ; and here is a fcope of country fufficient, by proper cultivation and due encouragement to the natives, to fupporc the computation. '•'-' In the lift of fubfcribers in N". VIII, which are rated at about ninety, the King's hame is placed ac the head ; but the King was not originally a pro- prietor, merely as King, and conlequently can be none now without having been a purchafer : all that is rcferved by the charter for him, is two elks and two black beavers, as often as he (hall land in thofe countries. However, within thefe twenty years, the Company have made three or four payments, by way of douceur, to her late Majefty, and fince her death to his prefent Majefty : tho' the firft payment was not made till Mr. Dobb.<; had firft follicited them, and afterwards the admiralty, to fend out fhips for the dif<;pvery of a north- weft / d 2 v^nv paflage \ a.",- >' ( S' ) pafTage •, when being apprchenfive that the legality of their charter might be brought into queltion, they thought it prudent to endeavour to fecure an in- tcreft in the government : they therefore attended Sir Robert Walpoie, and informed him that there v/as an arrear due from them to the late queen Mary, amounting to feveral thoufand ponnds, which they apprehended the prefent queen was entitled to, as no part of it had been paid to queen Anne; alleging that queen Mary was a proprietor ; in virtue, I fuppofe, of her rclation- Ihip to Prince Rupert, who was an original pro- prietor. Accordingly, a fum, at the rate of two or three hundred pounds per annum profit upon the trade, was paid to Sir Robert upon his Majefty*s account ; and while he contin^ied in the treafury, another fmall fum was paid . upon the fame account-, and fmce that time two other fmall fums, which the treafury was obliged to re- ceive iniplicitJy •, for the Company excyfed thcm- feives from producing their books upon this oc- cafion, tho* urged to do it as the only authentic proof, that his Majetty was entitled to any fhare, and that the fum paid was the exafta- mount of ir. The cireumftances of which be- hayipur evidently ihe\yi with what view they made, this facrifice; and with what view they rvpv/ p>iGe the King's name at jthe hcaid of the lift or proprietors i.Jittle reflecting, that if at any time their monopoly-.. and charter Ihpuld jc proved illegal, and jnjwrious tp, ihe; trade of Britain, his Majefty would be induced to jfkreenr theqi by any iunender that, i| in their power tp-, make* '., ;■ ■-:'■:.. r;' ■J'v was fufpeded, $nd upon godd foundation^ I':;- that' the Comaifiittee of the Gompany,, which isj edef^ltve by the icharter^- bad -made tjhenafelves ^Ibiuie: ;aad lun^hMngeablcu.: bjt! cngrQiHog the ■;v^! tP.iJi^.'l ■: J greater ■H: excel had dbqi power (Si) greater part of the fleck i fo that no genera! court could oblige them to produce their books, nor call them to an account even for the grofleft mifmanagement. At the requeft, there- fore, of the petitioners, it was moved, that the Company fhould be ordered to give in a lift of their proprietors, diftinguilhing how many fhaies each ix^rfon poffcfled of the ilock, that . it might appear in how few hands the bulk of it lay: but this being ftrongly oppofed, from a perfuafion that a compliance with it would expofe the fecrets of the Company, and that it was a, matter of mere curiofity and of no importance to the public, who held the flock •, and the peti- tioners apprehending, that debating thefe points would too much retard the principal bufinefs, this motion was withdrawn-, and alfd another* motion made to oblige the Cpmpany-t-tQ lodge their original books : by which laft ftep*' ;all.' th^ evidence that coijld be brought againft .^hepa^ was limited to rhbfe who either were or had been their feryants . w others, having beep at the Bay except, tl^e people, of the dilcbvery-lhrps,, whQ had ho means of judging how affairs, were a.d- ^niniflered therel ' / ,' J, .l, .. ,„ U .' ■ In. N". II the Compsny give_ a . lift qT jo^ne veflels, which they j:recend they had htted out upon the difcovery- ot a riorth-wcfl pafTiige ; but; by their inftrudlions alreaidy.dted, >t appears, thai there were only five fent v.pon that expcdition< two with . Knight, two witti Napper, ^ and/ one withScroggs. Of the four others here mentioned^ two were the Profperous-flopp linder Wenify Kelfey, and thi? Succefs Johin. Hancock ;. the firft failed from York-fort, June 19th, and the other from Churchill, July 2d, 17 19, and both return- ed the loth of Augufl:. Thefe had no inftruitions about the pafluge -, their bufmefs was only to try d 3 to , ( 54 ) to bring down the northern Indians to trade at Churchill, where the Company the year before Jiad fixed a fadory; and Norton was fent by land for. the fame purpofe, and to enquire about the mine : for it is not probable that they would fend out Kelfey ctrA Hancock the fame year with Knight, unlefs they had given them inllrudions to difcover in concert with him, which they did not. The lad two were the fame (loop under Kelfey, who failed 26th June, 1721, upon the fame account as before, and returned the 2d of September j and with her, her old confort the Succefs then under Napper, who was loft four days after in the ice near Churchill. So tha- thele additional floops feem to be inferted only to make an oftentatious and falfe fhew of their great zeal for the difcovery of a north- weft palTage. N°. XXV contains >r^^rj ^hen hy the Hud- fon^S'Bay Company to their prefent chief fadors in the Bay, fo far as they relate to the government of the fadlories. I HAVE little to obferve upon thefe orders, and believe that they may be proper enough for the ff curity of their forts in time of war, confider- ing how very weak they are, and what a fmall number of men there is to defend them. There is one piece of an inftruftion indeed that does them honour, which they firft mention in their etter to Ifbefter at Albany in 1745, and repeat it to him in 1 746, and alfo to Pelgrim at Prince of Wales*s-fort in 1747, and to Newton at York- fort in 1748, recommending fobriety to them and tbeit fervantSy that they may be capable of making a vigorous defence if attacked, But there is a paragraph addreflfed to captain John Newton perfonally, annexed to the inftruftions fent jointly fo Ijiini ^4 cguncil, 5th May, 1748, which con- tains ( 55 ) tains a very extraordinary evidence of tke refor- ,■ mation of the Company's Committee j and is the firft inllance, fince the peace of Utrecht, of their (hewing any concern for the reHgious welfare of their fervants. ], * \, , , , , London, 5th May, 1748. Captain John Newton, Si', ' '-■ ' ■■ : .■.:'': : JjIS'TLTy having repofed fuch a confidence as to . „^ place you at the head of our beji fa^fory^ we \ expeH that all our fervants under your command^ wHU h y^^^^ example^ be encouraged to a religious ohfervance of the hordes day^ to virtue and fohriety\ and that by your moderation^ they may meet with ,, fucb treatment^ as may make them love as well as fear youy which will conduce much to your eafe^ and our interefl ', in full hopes of which we commit you to . the divine prote^ion. Here feem to be the dawnings of a chriftian fpirit i and had it ever appeared before, and its ex- cellent di(5fcates been fincerely followed, the caufes of complaint againft the Company would have , been confiderably leflened : but never to have fent over a clergyman to any of their faftories,,, nor fhewn the lead concern for the religion and ,. morality of their fervants, was furely capital. I ^ would not willingly leflen the merit of the cxhor- . tation laft quoted ; but for the fake of trtith it . muft be obferved, that it was not fent over till;, after feveral hearings againft the Company, be- fore his Ma^efty's attorney and follicitor- general, upon a rererence made to them by the Lords of his Majefty's moft honourable privy council, of the merits of a petition from the Committee of the d 4 ' fub- .((-►. I y.'ir ( 5f>') fubfcrlbcrs for difcovering a north-weft paflTagc; in v/hich' their barbarity to the natives and their lervants, was proved by fundry affidavits, having never attempted to civiUzethe one, or lent over a clergyman tor the inftrudion of the other, nor kept up the leaft. appearance of religion in any faaory in the Bay : y^t I do not pretend to afllgn theie circumftances of danger as the motive of this new concern for the fpiritual welfare of their people ; nor of the following direflions fent at the fame time tp Mr. I/befter and CQUncil ai; Pnnce of WalefcVfcrt, viz. — z^dy^^Jswehave.. itothin^ more at hs.irt then the prefevjation dfet^-- fa6fcrin^^ ihe ficurity of cur people, and the ifi' crtafe of 'ot{r trdde, tbcrcfore zvs dinSi that Jiothbtg ma^ hi o^titlcd, tbnt ntay Jtre7t?then the formet^^ find e^jtend the' Utter % to "ivbich end we firstly or dei\^^ that all ptMhle encouragement he given to thenH- ^ th}Si\iffirMii^^ thera civilly ^ and dealing jufify} wHhtWm' M kll occhfions j and ive recofniHend it id ' ' you to ufe our fervants urfder ydur totnmdhd in 'ftich^^- manner^ (hat they may ejim as yxell as Jear you^ If inftfuQiona'likc'^ thefe pf6(ieed froitl' tm com- >, pundtfon "^hd|^i^' juil abhorrence df ''their fofrtley-^ miit6t;idp^,' jiart of the enci /aimed ^at'bj^ th^' prbcfefadiri^k'dWihft'tl^cm is obtained ; and Ihbiild ! they ble fd mrt^hate as to furvive ^he Chirac rf}lf.; toj 'W bfbu^hr againft them, by' the rncrchi:nt$'J arid' 'fri^^yfictLirei's of Great Britain^ and find intereft';' enou;^h't!o5idepp6lfe{rion of thei^ charter and irivalil'- '] abl^'iiiynbibly jl'r hope tli(*y will give no room f oi* ' tli £te!fcaIfloiJ''W''-i^ceiil\jre, that is d'ue ohJf-^o'^ the' cWSa^y '^f'^thp^'Dnncc 'of ' nvpocrues -; Wde4lV^h m--^tbe devil' a monk rin^ould he) :'''^hydeyifyii^i'pcn--^thc debit a monk was he. V ' Ti^Esi'aie all i\\t i^apers of confeqv.f^nce lai4 ' by the Cotrtpahy berorelt^tbiiimittee. There ori iy remains '\6'tt ' Corin'dci-e^nu XJpoN Mr. Sparling's being exa'mined abotii' fliins and pelts, he produced a deer's Jkht from Hud-^ i6n*i'^^Y full of holes y and faid there was not one injeiji tbat/wd's not fo\ ht when killed at one^ fehfohof thiyecif the defect *tdeis-not apparent ^ till the f wiri afejfi^d Hit oil 'y adding, that /i?^ Virginia deer-^ JKins (are fnuch more valuable. — He faid, that ermine^ and fquirrel-Jkins frQm Hi)dfon's-Bay t^ere mtworrB^ pitying cupomfor -, the laft fiuir^-fkins being fold for a^ fhrfhing h jiece^ after pay tni^ a halfpenny duty : thathel k'ddhbUght iid^thnines from the^ny of along timey thif' b\^toihihf'jf^im'Sib&nz. To prove thi^ he produced^ t^fi\^ine^:f^'Sfti^the^ one the heft ^ the^oiherf the wd'yjf 'he'cdiifd pick cut ,df ,tf parcel^ and ofte^ frini Mt6i)-^'itnd faid that thk Siberia. ermnSsl fbld frcii cue flrdliri^ to o,ne fkilling and'fiH'- pence eath : he then produced two Siberia fquirrel' Jkins-f a>id tivo fom tbs Bay. *— He faid tarther, that (^ 58 )- that he had annual accounts from Rochelle of what furs the French import edy zckich all came there; and that tkey imported three or four hun- dred martins annually^ and with them a fmall quantity of Hudfun*s-Bay furs, — This is the fub- ftance of his evidence. It had been ftrongly urged againft the Com- pany, that they did not endeavour to encreafc and extend their fur-trade as they ought ; that the French carried away many of their rich furs from the inland at the heads of their fettlements; that by not fending up perfons to trade upon the rivers and lal^es, great numbers of deer and buffalo (kins were lolt, the natives having no conveyance for them down the rivers but fmall birchrcanoes \ and that a great many other kinds of furs might be. had, if the natives were not difcouraged from taking them, on account of the high price of the. Company's goods, fuch at white hares, ermines, and fquirrels. Mr. Spar- ling's teftimony was intended to invalidate this charge i and with that view he produced the deer, ermine, and fquirrel-fkins. The deer-fkin he produced was, probably the vileft he could pick our, full of holes, and killr ed at an improper feafon; for deet-fkins, like other pelts and furs, have their feafon, At one time of the year they are troubled with an in- fe^ that eats holes in their fkins, a diforder called the warbles, of which, however, they are perfeftly cured before winter \ but if the deer arc killed at this feafon, the flcins muft unavoid- ably have holes in them \ and is that a reafon . why the natives (hould not be encouraged to kill them at a proper feafon, by allowing a juft, pri ce for good fkins ? Had the natives any rea- fon to expedt that their care would be rewarded, they would never kill deer out of feafon, unlefs , V ; ' ^ .^ ., hunger if the ( 59 ) hunger obliged them i and if they were civilized, they would r^ife tame cattle for their fubfiftence, and hunt only for profit. It is notorious, that as good decr-flcins have been brought from Hud- lon*s-Bay, as from other parts of America ; and the Company in their inftrudions to Norton, have exprefly ordered him to fend over deer as well as moofe and elk-flcins, which they would not have done but from a knowledge of their value. It appears from the Company's own account of their fales in N°. X, that deer-fkins, accord- ing as they were taken in feafon or not, have fold f^om two fhillings to four (hillings and nine- pence per fkin ; and, at a medium of ten years, at two fhillings and eleven-pence halfpenny : but at a medium of ten years, the number brought over annually was but three hundred forty-fix; when, if trade had been extended up the rivers i^nd lakes, they might probably have impprte4 two or three hundred thoufand annually, which if killed in feafon, and properly drefied by the Indians, would have fold for ten fhillings per ikin. Mr. Sparling next produced two ermines from the Bay extremely bad, and one from Si- beria extremely good ; fo good, that a Rufila liierchant who examined it, faid, that he had a prefent of choice ermines lately fent him from Hullla, and in the whole parcel, which might be prefumed were not bad, there was not a fkin better ^han that. The two Am.acan ermines were pre- tended to be the befl and worft of a parcel; but then it was a parcel that contained none but bad jkins killed out of feafon, for they were ill colour- ed, ftpall, and almoft without fur. The ermines, like the hares and partridges in cold countries, turn white in winter, except the tips of their ears and tails i aa4 if taken ovit of feafon before : '■■■ -"tW- C «« ) : they recover their colour, or the young ones, arc fiiU' gr6t^d, they rtiuft nccefTarily be fmall, ill coloured^ and bate of fur. The fame may be faid of fquirrcls, with regard to fize^ and good- ficfs of fur : and thofe bad ermines and fquirrels arc conftantly killed by the Company's ferVarits and home Indians at improper feafons, who have no encouragement to kill them in the right feafon -, and they are fent over at random, in fmall' par- cels. Tor the fake of what they may accident- ally produce. But tofhew how fir his great zeal; has; carried him bfeyond the point which it wa^' neceflary for him to keep in view,' in' ord^rtO' pfdei^e a cbnfiftiiincy between his own , and' the^ G6mJ5anyV account of this matter •, we iieed bri- ly look into N°. X, which fpecifies ,the ptkt df ftrt^ at their lales, and into N"^ XX!V;,''wfii^h^ ip(?dfiHes t!he number , as well as price'; ■ anfd^ itf wifl'^-apjicar that in ten years fale there 'waV only 6n)6'iinic\e of feventeen ermines, whicH (Ad^ii. dhc Ihilling and five-pence per flcin', ashi^ a^ Ac btfft' Siberia ermines, which ^Sparlffig h^M acknowledges fell generally from- one JhitHn^^t^ one JhilUng and fix-fence \ and ytt' ihffe ^h'jtqt. iJDorth paying ctiftom' for ^ ' ^ ■ ' ."^ 1 • YfTE 'next article he produced of the'xbnrchf^ of his budget; was fquirrels, v^\c\i at the lafi file he fays fold for a farfhlng d' ptecel 'and paid ^ halfpenny duty. But from the l^rtie' 'papbi^^ it appears, that in a^ courfe of ten ye^rs Tale fquit-* rei-fkins were fold for five years, vi?. 2^6 ik 1 742 at 4 ^ -1 each, 127 in 1 7^4 It /id ^ each,. 2070 in 1745 at td^y 540 in' fj^o at^ 2bjf the .whole : and 500 in 1 747 at 1 1 i. 6 d ihid whole :' fo that there were two fales in which; Iquirrei ikins, when probably in full feafon, fbli at 4^^ each', one fale, when more out 6f feafonjj at I dly and twb f&ksy '^■'rheti quite Out of feafon;* or ■( 6i ) of ill laved, at about a halfpcniiy eadi, /. i. for double the 'price that Sparling upon his evidence rated them at; which however is fomething more modeft than the price fijted by Lutkihi and Lewis, who in their refpe(5tive affidavit^ had afferted, that thty were not worth a pen Ay a dozen. But if furs are thus^ blown i^pion at market, only becaufe they are killed out of feafon, or ill faved, muft therefore no encourage- ment be given to kill them in ftafon, arid to fave them well j when by fuch prudent careV as the Company themfelves have demonftrated^ they would produce eight times the value ? 3' The laft part of his evidence I fhall ■ take notice of, if that which -relates to tthe Canada /arj, arid the /^ HudforiVbay /»^i imported with them. He has ^ it feems^ regukr ac^ esuntF from Rochelte, of the annual in/if orts \ dnA ihe amount bf martins imported are hut three or four hundred annually^ dmongfi which are a f&w^ but ^ery few, HudfonVbay /«>*j. [ I cannot exaltly recolfcdt this part of his evidence as he delivered it J but am afraid it has fuffered, either thra" an error of the prefs, or of the perfon who to(>k it down ; fince it is notorious that the French carry on a great fur- trade from Canada, and deal fo largely Jrt martins, that if he hadfaid thirs- ty or forty thoufand, he had fallen far fhort bf the truth J nay' three dr four hundred packsi of one hundred or two hundred in ia pack ^^6uld not perhaps haVe exceeded it. ' The Cotnpany thcmfelves ini fome years have imported near twenty thdufand m^rnns; and as the f^'rehch^ who; value only one at a beaver, giVe thre^ times the' price that the Company give,' whd Value thi^e at a beaver, we may reafonabi]|' conclude,' that the French procure three times the number- «hat the Company procure •, -for the ;v^; Indians m III li'ii ( 62 ) Iildians know how to fell therr goads to th« beft advantage. I SHALL only add two remarks *, firft, that the Company were right to reft their evidence here, and not expofe themfelvcs by any more vain attempts to invalidate that which was brought againft them ; as no evidence after this would have borne even the hearing. And fecond- ly, that if the evidence brought againft them had not had the facred fupport of truth itfelf, it was in the Company's power, from the num^ ber of captains and fervants ftill in their pay, over whofe fouls as well as bodiies they have the abfblute command, to have deteded not only falfhood but error*, whereas the petitioners could only procure a few of their fervants^ whofe integrity flood oppofed to the diftrefs of poverty, and the power or wealth,, and whofe in^ tegrity notwithftanding carried them through with inconteilable authority. ;. v :. :i^\. I SHALL now proceed to fum up the material part of the evidence produced againil the Com^ pany, relative to their mifcondud, and to the country, climate, trade, fifheries, and navigation of the Bay. First, it appears, that the countries about the Bay are capable of great improvement ; that: the lands fouthward and weftward of the Bay^ are in good climates, equal in theb feveral latitudes to thofe in Afia and Europe, and that the climate improves farther within land, the fpring being earlier and the winter (horter \ that by Kelfey*s journal produced by the Company, and by Joieph de la France's which they have not controverted, the country abounds with woods, champains, plains, ponds, rivers and lakes, feveral; hundred leagues weft from the Bay *, that the land is cover- ed with beaver, buffaloes, d^er, martins, and <^ther ( 63 ) Other valuable Furs ; and the rivers and lakes are full of ilurgeon and other excellent fifh. It ap- pears alfo, that thefe fine rivers are naviga- ble every where with canoes, and in moft placea with larger veflels, having but inconfiderable falls, up which canoes can be towed againft the ftream, and that the lakes are navigable by larger veflels.— That upon thefe rivers and about the lakes, arc many nations or tribes of docible and humane Indians, willing to be indruded, and eager to engage in trade. — That the lands are capable of tillage, affording good pafture for horfes and cattle in the fummer, and good hay for their fubfiflence in winter. — That at Churchill the moft northerly fadory, horfes and cows have been kept in wbter, thb' greatly expofed to the froft and cold.-— That all forts of garden fluff flourifh at the fadbories, and where barley and oats have been fown, they come to perfec- tion : at Moofe-fadtory at the bottom of the Bay, fown wheat has ftood the winter frofts, and grown very well the fummer following % tho* the cold and froft is greater, and continues longer here than within land : black-cherries alio plant- ed here have grown and borne fruit, as would other trees if propagated-— That the rivers upon the Bay, abound with white whales and other valu- able fifh; and the fea to northward, with black whales, fea-hories, feals, and white bears, which afford whale- finn, oil, ivory, and (kins; theweft- ern coaft being no way mountainous, as in Davys's and Hudfon's-ftrait. — And that the feas and navi- gation are notdangerous; there being few inftance^ of the lofs of ihips in the Bay, or in the paffage thither. i.-> :,.;;-.' -ni :o^':t:: •■■ Secondly, it appears, that notwithftanding ^le unfpoakable advantages to be obtained by planting and fectlingthefe countries, the climates oi^ which are not ^ ( 64 ) 'flOt wbrfe than Sweden, Denmark* RiifTia, Pd«» Jaftd^ and north Germany j yet the Company have' not made, nor encouraged to be made, any one fettlement or colony*, having only four fmall fadlories, in which they keep about one hundred and thirty fervants, and two fmall houfcs with only eight men in each, which is all the fortt they have provided to keep the poflellion, and protect the trade of a country, equal to one third of Europe.— That they have not in fifty years fent above one pdrfon to make difcoveries within land, which was Norton, who by Brown's evidence had been at the copper- mine, tho* his journal was not produced to the Committee j butnbnetoimakie friendfhips and alliances with the natives^ dif- couraging even their fcrvancs from ^ing' tip into the inland to trade, tho* for their own benefit; nor even to preventthe natives from trading iwith the French, tho* diey are fenfible of their per- petual incroachments, and that they dp"' carry away the ticheft furs**^That nottviU^iiainding there are iiiconteftablt evidences of rich qopper and lead mines, and even of cinnabar, out of which mercury has beeii extracSted •, yet no encou- ragement has been given, or attempts^ made, to fea^rch after thefti with a viewtq their improve- ment.'i— -T>hat th& annual exportsf of ilie Coifipany 4avc not' ej^ceeded foui* thoufaliid! pounds* jiahd dn tims'-of peac6 'their- navigation fela& been con- iiiied 't6 three Ihips of 1 56 or aoo tonsi, v^ith ?two OP three. imaU floopB ftationedf in the Bay^ tlidC fome years ard ndt lent out of 'harbour.-'-Tiist no meAOS have been ufed to civilize or convet;t the h^riv^s J nor even a ckrgymah feht oveJr to inftrudt and take care of the fouls of tl^ir owh firvants j on the conti^ary, ' ihej ieaVnifi^ the India* language, jr k eeping up^ any ^ 5tc^hibic^d'tj|}de^p€nalf^' - -** of cc "ofl (65 ) of lofs of wages and bodily corre(5tian. — And that none but plaufible and infincere attempts, have been made to find out a pafTage to the wcftern- ocean of America ; tho* the probability of there being fuch a paflfage is more and more ftrengthen- cd from the Jate difcoveiy of bays, inlets, and broken lands, the^ weftern ends of which are not yet difcovered ; and from there having been no rivers yet obferved on the north- weft coaft. And what have the Company and its friends been able to advance, in oppofition to thefe accu- mulated proofs of negligence and folly ? Why no more than this ; — " That if the country and trade could have been improved to the degree that is alleged, mere y by making frefh difcoveries and carrying on an induftrious cultivation, it is not to be fuppofed that the taking fuch prac- " ticable fteps would have been omitted by the " Company, which without doubt is con;ipofed of " men of experience who are wife enough to pur- ** fue their own intereft." This was the funda- mental point with regard to which they ventured to crofs- examine the petitioners witnefles, moft of whom were men of inferior ftations, unqualified to aflign the true reafon, whf the Company have aSiedfo manifeftly cigainfi the intereft of the public, and fo apparently againji their own. But the true reafon is obvious : " They have had no legal right to their exclulive trade fince the year 1698, at which time the a(5t expired that con- firmed their charter only for feven years; if, *' therefore, after this period, the leaft evidence " had been fuflfered to tranfpire, that the climate " of Hudfon's-bay is very habitable ; that the foil " is rich and fruitful, fit for growing corn and " raifing ftocks of cattle, and abounds alfo with '' valuable mines ♦, that the fifheries are capable of great improvement, and the navigation not cc « cc cc C( cc (C cc moro ( 66 ) "more dangerous than in other countries •, that " the traJc may even be extended, by means of a ** navigable paflage, or at lead by a fliort land- " paflage, to tlic wcftern ocean •, and that the Com- " pany from thcfe difcoveries and improvements *' are grown immcnfely rich and powertul :" 1 fay, had fuch proofs of a fine country and beneficial trade (lolen abroad in the world, as they muft un- avoidably have done if proper experiments hac| been made, " the Company knew, that the Legif- *' Jature would have taken the right into its own '* hands ; and fettled the country, and laid the " trade open, for the benefit or Britain :" they have, therefore, contented them/elves with dividing among one hundred perfons^ a large profit upon a fmall capital ; have not only endeavoured to keep the true ftate of the trade and country an impene- trable fecret, hut indujlroujly propagated the word impreflions of them •, and rather then enjoy the incon- cievGble advantages of a general cultivation in com- mon with their fellow- fubjeds, have, even to the hazard of their own feparate interefty expofed iotb country and trade to the incroachments of the French. .. . ' , - 4 ' ..s The French, who arc grafping at univerfaj dominion, watch every opportunity for extending their trade, and fecure all tho.'e countries which A'c abandon. But tamely to fuffer them to dif- poflefs us of this important fource of wealth and power is, befides the lofs, a difgrace not to be borne by Britain ; tho* borne it muft be, if the Company are permitted any longer to facrifice the good of the nation to 'leir own private intereft. The Legiflature only can prevent the one, by put- ting an immediate ftop to the other •, and the Legiflature has but two methods to make choice of; dther, \ ': . • vr^^^'v'- '' ' ''"' ^" • ' -'•, .; v.) ;• ^ ( 67 ) First, to purchale the Company's right to any lands they havq ii legijil title to ; to l?y the trade open with the cuftomary privileges and immunities •, to fi;ttle the rivers and the coafts adjoining with European protcftants, who are now in great num- bers feeking for a place of fhelter, in which they may enjoy their civil and religious liberties with fafety ; and laftly, to civilize the natives, treat them with gentlenefs and humanity, inftrudt them in the knowledge of ufeful arts, and encourage their induftry by allowing them an equitable trade, and thus lay a foundation for their ccnverfion to Chriftianity. Or, Secondly, to confirm the fole property of thefe cxtenfive countries, with all the royalties powers and privileges originally granted by the charter, to the Company for ever. .' ' ^* " " ' , For as by this they would become lords para- mount like the Dutch Company in the Indies, and but barely fubordinate to the Crown of Great Britain j fo by this, and by this only, they will be induced to purfue thofe mcafures that can pro- cure any advantages to the public. .in ,1 Utrum horura mavis, accipe. y'\ r. ^K *.: is -iilU V ■ r -I .'if!. < V cr •!.e *i(» ?' if/ v> >p. :"* *vt ■••v.- I^'TJO.I^J f )!''' . ■jv- * » ' ^ v rr e 2 AP- rmm ( 68 ) '■II. 1 11 1 II APPENDIX. ri Number i*. y4^i efiimate of the expence of building the fione-fort at the entrance of Churchill-river, called Prince of WalesVfort. N PRINCE of Wales's-fort is a fquarc fort svith four baftions. But before I be- gin the eftimate, it may be proper i6 obferve, that as no labourers were fct apart for the building, which always was ftopped as often as any other kind of bufinefs interfered; and as no regular account was kept of thefe frequent interruptions ; it will be difficult to form an efti- mate in any other way, than by taking the quan- tity of work that was done during the three years that I was concerned, and the number of mafons, labourers, and horfes, that were neceifTary to perform that work ; and then ccinputing toe expence of the whole, in proportion to the cj> icncc of this part. Fcur HHH t 6n ;f . /. d. 20: o Four mafons at ;f 25 t per annuii ) each for three years . } ^ Maintenance of ditto at 5 i per 1 , , week each 5 ^5^' Ditto in their paflage out and home, } Hve months J Eleven labourers at * >C 6 per annum ) « . each for three years j ^^ .'. Maintenance of ditto at ^ j per } week each ^ J429: o Ditto in their pafiage out and home 55 : o Four horfes at ;f 1 5 each 60 : o : Charges of ditto in the Ihip * 8:8: Ditto in the country at 6 i per 1 day each for three years ^ '' Three hundred pounds wt. of gun- ? powder for blowing up ftones 5 Utenfils for three years, as carriages, } ^ ropes, blocks, &c. 3 ^' Iron-cr^ vs, great hammers, &c. i:' 15 • o o o J 109: 10: o 15: o: o Total, 1425: 18 : o All thcftonc, limc-ftone, fand, and the wood for burning the lime, was upon the fpot. Moil of the Itone and lime-flone lay within a quarter of a mile's diftancc from the fort, and none at more than half a mile's diftance. The little fmith's and carpenter's work alfo that was done in thefe three years, for neither lead nor iron was ufed in cramping the ftones, was perfoinied hy the Company's common fervants, •f- I was informed, that, after I came aw4iy, mafons were fent over at / 18 per annum each. * Thd'e men arc hiud in the Orkneys. 3 whof (7°) whole charges are not to be brought into the ac- count, till theexpences ol buikiing the houfe with- in the fort are rated. So that the expence of the fort in the firft three years, at a large allowance, does not exceed / 1425 : i8 : o. I carefully ex- amined how muc;i of the wall was built in this time, and found that, at the fame expence, and with the fame number of hands, the rampart might have been finiflied in fix years more, and in a tar better manner ; for great part of whaL was afterwards done has tumbled, but what was then done (lands well. ,^ In thefe three years we built two baftions and the curtain between them about feven feet and a halt high ; and alio laid thf! foundation of another baftion, and built a curtain and halt a curta n, and one face of the baftion about two feet and a half or three feet high ; which made confiderably more than one third of the meafure- mcnt of the whole rampart : trebling, therefore, the firll three years expence, and only dedu6ting the price of four horfes valued at / 60. the charge of the whole rampart could not exceed Ia'^i'J' 14: o- The next part to be eili mated is the parapet. This was at firft built of wood ; but as the wood was fupplied from the old demolifhed fort five miles up the river, and as the carpenter put it up in thirteen weeks, with very little alTiftance, the '!xpence oi it to tl\e Company coi?ld not be very large. In the year 1746, I aftifted in building .the ftone- parapet- •, aiKl tho' I had only two .mafons with me, and much of my own time was taken up ni feJcding proper ftones and in furveying, yet the ).arapet was carried along the iiank of a baftion and curtain in one fumm^ r ; and it the governor had not obllructed the work, but had allowed us a ftated mumber ot labourers, hav- mgii'aii ^^ ( 71 ) having always either too few or too many, wc Ihould have been able to have finiiheJ another flank. • The two mafons could not do mwch to the pa- rapet after I came away^, as they were employed in ereding a battery at Cape- merry on the ether fide of the harbour : at the time, therefore, that it was reprefented, that the building had coft the Company between thirty and forty thoufand pounds, very little more than a fiith part of the parapet was completed, fhe expence of which may be eafily af- certained -, for, if a flank and curtain were made by three mafons, in one fummer and autumn ; furely, four mafons and eleven labourers might do as much in one year -, and the expence of four ma- fons, eleven labourers, and four horfes, with uten- fils for one year, cannot exceed 460 1. A HOUSE v/as built within the fort, the length of which, from out to out, was loi feet 6 inches j the breadth 33 feet-, and the height of the wall 17 feet, making two flories, with a fiat roof co- . vered with lead : but all the materials, except iron, lead, glafs.. and fonie large beams, were procr.red upon the fpot ; and I would ui^dertake to build fuch a houfe there, with the advantage of carrying ma- terials from England in the annual fhip, for 600 1, Three of the baftions l*ad arches for fl:orehoufes 40 feet 3 inches by lO feet •, and in the fourth ba- ft ion was built a ftone- magazine 24 feet long, and 10 feet wide in the clear, with a paflfage to it thro' the gorge of the batlion, 24 feet long, and 4 feet wide. Now comparing the expence of building thefe, with that of the other parts of the fort ; I think, that two thirds of the expence of the firfl: three years would be fufficient •, that is, four mafons, eleven laboureis, and four horfes, &c. for two years, amounting to about 920 1. with 42 1. more for the lead made uic of to cover the m. ^tzine. n [ 7* I I HAVE rated the expences of the mafons and !ar bourers, as if they had been conftantly employed upon the building both winter and fummer; whereas, the building could be carried on only from May to September, and iluring the remain- ing feven months, the people were engaged in other bufinefs for the fervice of the Company, by which they defrayed, at Jeaft, the charge of cheir main- tenance for this interval, v/hich yet I have placed tr» the account of the fort. Indecc. ; the whole cftimaie I have rated every article fo * ^/ ' that an experienced workman, if he was acquauited with the nature of the country, would not compute the total expence at fo much by fome hundred pounds. It appears, therefore, First, That in the year 1749, the Company could not have expended more than jf 6239 : 14:0. And, Secondly, That, as a fifth part of the parapet was tlien finifhed for £ 460, and the reft, confe- quently, might have been done for £ 1840 more, the whole expence of compleating the fort, and all the buildings within it, cannot poflibly exceed £ 8000. . : ; ' '/^- '. • ---^ ]> < 'i ■-.. r s ... > < I < . A ^ i 1. t. • :: .I.T ,t. 1 l>. ^ ■:_:i 1 » > "1 ' 'VI V^'^' -: ".' 'r ■■■)• '-/ ■tut '^'i'V ,ri'^'7f: ' . I . . . . ,->"'■»■ ■ ■ ■ V ■ ■ ' # • i r » ' * 'jt , «^ ' • t •'•• . ' --:'; ; r. 1-A A P P E N- * - ^ ... V ... * j^ 7. . ..... -W .* ^-^ il . f»,^».. '. ,f. ..- ...r Tuefday the i6th, in the morning, Capt. Fowler and I went round Gillam*s ifland j we climbed up the weft end, which is very fteep to look up the river : we imagined, that if we had got up that ftream, and we were very near the head of it when wc turned back, wc might have failed in the long- boat ip [77] boat a great way farther up the river : at thirty min. palt eight, we returned to our tent. After breaktaft we left two men to take care of the boats, and went down the north fhore of the river to ob- ferve the flats at low water. When we were five miles below Flamborough-head, we climbed up to the top of the bank, where we faw the lower end of the middle ground, the top of fome large ftones being above water ; flood at thirty min. paft five this afternoon. From the place where we ftood to thefe ftones on the lower end of the middle ground, and to the outer point of woods on the fouth fliore, it bore E. half N. As we went down the Ihore we faw plainly there was a channel on the north fide, and another on the fouth fide of the middle ground; we thought the channel on the north fide the befl", and it lay clofe to the fliore, within half a cable's length of it ; all the way from two or three miles above the lower end of the high land up to Flamborough-head, and from two or three miles above the foot of the high- land, the channel is in the middle of the river, leading out of the river's mouth. This north fhore lies 42 deg. N. E. and S. W. and is a fand from the height of three quarters flood to low water mark j towards high water mark, clofe under the bank, it is full of large pebble ftones ; there are feveral fmall creeks along this fhore, where we found tenting poles left by the Indians who had lain there to fifli : it thundered and rained much while we were upon this journey. Between Seal-ifland and Flamborough-head, there are large parcels of fine trees growing clofe to the river fide. Fifteen min. paft eight, we got to our tent, having fufFered much from the mulkettos. The Captain and I judging thefe iflands very pro- per to make fettlements upon, the IcflTer ifland being as we apprehended ^n extraordinary fine place for >;.Vk! J f 78 ) for a fort to fecure that river, I made a particular furvey of thefe iilands, as follows j - ^ • Wednesday morning the 17th, furveycd Seal-ifland, and found its length 21 chains or 1386 feet. Its breadth 4 chains or 297 fect^ Its cir- cumference at high water mark 62 chains or 4092 feet. Its perpendicular height 86 feet* Its form refembles a long oval. Its height from low water mark makes an angle of 33 deg. Length of the flope, 2 chains 40 links. We founded the water round the ifland, from 2 to 3 fathom on the N. W. and N. E. fides : the S. W. and S. E. fides lie to the main river, being flioal water near the ifland ; but at half a mile from the ifland the water is deep : between this and the large ifland above it, there is twb fathom and a half and three fathom water, where a veffel may lie fafe both in winter and fummer, and a vefTel of eight or nine feet water may get up fafe to this place. At the N. E. end of Seal-ifland, on the main fliore, is a very fine low bottom, where grow a parcel of as fine trees as 1 have feen in the country, clofe to the river ; we cut our names on the trees in the N. E. end of Seal-ifland. The breadth of the water that parts Seal-ifland from the larger ifland above it is 8 chains or 176 yards -, this larger ifland is about three miles in circumference, the wefl: end being as high as any land thereabouts ; neap tides flow here, about four feet, and fpring tides about eight feet; but the chart of this river will befl: fliew the fituation of thefe iflands. Along the river fide are the fl:ones al- ready mentioned, round as cannon balls, which when broke look like iron. At forty-five min. pafl: eight, almofl: high-water, we made fail to go down the river*, wind S. W. founded from the N. E. corner of Seal-ifland, from three fathom and a Jialf to five feet i from five feet to four fathom and three quarters jufl: above Flamborough-head, then ( 79 ) then eleven feet, then three fathom, then two fa- thom juft below the hea.i -, water fallen half a foot, From the head downwards, the Ihorc lies N. E. by N. and S. W. by S. nearly j the channel lies within half a cable's length of the iliore-, the lealt foundings down this channel were ten feet. I'he water fallen a foot about one mile and a half above the foot of the highlan i on the noith fice ot the river: we flood oh from the fliore near a mUe, founded two fathom, then (tood in and fiioaied gra- dually to nine feet : wc ftood off and on fevcral times, and found the bottom near level •, founded off ihore a mile, found twelve icet wat.^r, then ftood in fhore ; the water fhoaled gradually to nine feet. At Forty- five min. pad ten, we were a little below the foot of the high- land, and ftood acrofs the river -, found the channel in the middle from three fathom to three fathom and a half, half a mile btoad; in the middle of the channel lOur fathom and a half, fofc clay: By working dOwn this chan- nel, towards the river's mouth, we t'Aind it fteep on each fide, vhen we ftood into two fa- thom and a half before put the helm a lee ; ere the boat was ftayed, fhe fliot into ten feet water. When we came pretty far down, feeiuingly without the rivt 's mouth, we ftcod into two fa om and a half on the fouth fide, i ,en lljod to the lorthward till we founded four fathom a;id a hail, then to the fouthward till we founded thice fathom, then to the northward till we founded eight -athom and a half, in the beti or the channel. 1 ne channel is deeper here than farther out; lor as we tame up we crofted the channel three miles without this place, and had only fix fathom. From eight fathom and a half, we ftood to the S, f aft ward al^out three miles, faw a point or ri-ige oi 'tones on the fouth- fide, diftance three quarters o^ n ^nile, founU aits us US 14.0 6" 12.5 ■■■ 2.2 2.0 U il.6 /: V ^# /^ fliotographic Sciences Corporation 23 Wr-T MAIN STRUT WEBSriR.N.Y. MSSO (7^6) $72-4503 < ie C?. f i. ^ c^ perpendicular', and fcems to lie two or three miles from fhore*, but there are flats that dry at low-water all the way to the (hore, fo that a man may walk from thefc ftones to the land : then we flood north- ward; the waterdeepened little in half a mile. When we had ftood a mile northward, we faw ftones dry on the north-fide, diftance three quarters of a mile ; founded three fathom and a half to four fathom, (now we were almoft as far out as when we fteered N. W. a-crofs the channel in going up the river, and had fix fathom) Then we fteered E.S.E. two or three miles. Keeping three fathom, near the fouth flats, towards low- water (it was low- water when we were hereabouts in our progrefs up the river) made a little trip to the northward to deepen our water ; wind at S. W. a frefli gale : hawled up for the ftiip, which we faw very plain in Fivc-fathom- hole, all the way after we nad pafled the point of ftones mentioned above, and got aboard fif- teen min. paft feven in the evening. 1 ■' ! J * . * '"jr.' ■ Li ' "iv '. H 'V*' \:^\fp- fi^iilt '^■^ ■'■ iV A P P E N- k ■ f. I N- ( 8i ) ai (,.%■> ::^-MMh(i,^' •^,-i.,'^\ 'fr, .>y^J»^^'^*i^f r' •• TTf AFP END IX. fe.rt3. Number IV. ^-^^^ '.:'^'>i^-. *■»»' ^vV.4-; ^ fuT'oey of the courfe of Nelfon-river, taken along the fouth Jhore at high- water mark. Each courfe fet by compafsy variation j6", 45', and meafured by a wheel\ with obferva-- ttons. C.A" S^ ::-aW'A-i ^^-^W^'-" ra.>^«i . .„;_ 4;sS?;. Firft courfe W, by N. half N. 74 chains. -* THIS firft courfe begins at Beacon A, on the point of marfli that parts Nelfon and Hayes's- rivers ; and goes to Beacon B that ftands on the marih towards Nelfon-river, (See the chart) Second courfe W. by N. 190 chains, WHAYWEE-creek is 20 chains on this courfe. There are two other fmaii creeks before the courfe ends. At the end is the geefe tent, where the Englifh and Indians in the feafon lie to kill geefe, bearing S. ^. Diftance half a mile. f >, "tbird .«*-•• 'm:' 'V * ( 82 ) Third €ourJe H^, iSo chains. This courfe reaches to a ledge, called at York- fort the ledge of woods, which are generally fmall trees. r.,- >^ ■ ^ - ■*7r^Vf-. Tr-- Fourth courfe W. by S. 430 chains, -- The end of the Indian path from York- fort to Nelfon-river, is at 240 chains up this courfe. Here the Indians quit the woods, and go up by the river fide. In this courfe are patches of timber-trees. WM ^^ft^ courfe W, S. W, 160 chains, ;f Forty chains up this courfe opened Flam- borough-head. Some large trees a little diftant from the river fide. "^^^^^^"^^^^ " r Sixth courfe S,JV,hy W, 240 chainsf^^''' Burn'd wood upon this courfe. Now the place begins to look green again. %t^y«*r i^^^i: f ^ ,. . Seventh courfe S, JV. 270 chains. ^- - A conP.derable quantity of tim'er- trees along this courfe clofe to the river ; at the end of it a creek between two high banks, where are many rabbets ; this creek deep ; I imagine Ihips may winter in it, but being frozen I could not found it. The firft ftream or fall is at Flam - borough- Head. • ^^ ' ; f "**■'■« ' '••' , . <• -.1. , Eighth ccurfe S.W. by W. iio chains. * TiMBER-trees along this courfe, and* fevcral creeks. , a^•^' Ninth courfe W. S. W. 50 chains. Timber- trees and a marfli all this wurfe. # -*' V V-v^ P' Tenth ~ii>*/... < / '^' ^ wt. - i -M't Fourteenth courfe W^ S. tv, 180 chains. ' Runs into a Bay, but the river lyeth W. half S. five miles up from Gillam's-ifland. At the end of this, courfe is a creek, where is a good quantity of timber. . .r^ ^m ,. ;t-i:^mii>r% - .i^t^:\^^-y'.i- ^^i%^ Fifteenth courfe K fP". 210 chains* '^ Tnk third fall or ftream of water* ^^^ .) --■ <' ^ly^^ Sixteenth courfe W. hy N. 560 chains^ At the beginning of this courfe 6n the north ^de juft above a point, is dn ifland as large as Gillam*s. SiJtty chainis higher lire four iflands, three ;ii* of ^,,uw •w .,v< V- ■X. -■■;, - m) ■■ of which lire abreaft of each other, the largeft lie* higher up in a Bay on the fouth fide. Sugar- loaf iiland is the largeft of tlie three abreaft of cadi other. Small creep vpon;*^^^ ^^^^^ iflands. TiURC are two creeks on this courfe, one on the north Cde below the three iflands, the other on the fouth fide in the Bay ovcr-againft thc^reat idand. Seventeenth courfe W. N. ^. 4^0 chains. TftE land is very high ; on this courfe is a creek that the Indians tell us goes quite through to Hayes's-river, where it is called Penny-Cutaway. The Indians are faid to have gone thro* this creek in their canoes from river to river. Eighteenth courfe JV. W, iy W» .390 cbaim. High land and barren ; but in low places by the river- fide there is fine timber, and alio in the creeks. Thefe two laft courfes I did not mea- fure with the wheel, apprehending if I did, I fhould not get back to my tent that night; fo only walked thefe two courfes, fetting &em by compafs. 'riiE next day I infpededthe north fide of the river ; oppofite to Seal-ifland is a low plain, where are fome very fine timber- trees, and near it great ftore of fire-wood. Abreast of Gillam's-ifland on the nordi fide is a creek, in which we found two or three ftumps , of trees that had been cut by Europeans. Three eighths of a mile above Gil lam*s- idand is a fine fmall creek, where is a great number of timber- trees; here we alfo found old ftumps cut by Europeans many years ago : there being fo few of thefe tfe thcfe, I conjcdlured the people had only tented here a few days, There are many trees growing on the north bank from Flamborough-head, and the fame on the fouth bank as far as I went up, which i^ cut down would fall into the water. In all my furvey I did not fee any thing from which I could infer, that there had been iTny (ettlement on this river. ^^':-^^ ■i^> -X- ■^ I , "r X ^..., ttasi. :A-.W ^^i •:^*'|il ,f^ •:if\ fi'i f3 APPEN^ E2 -^'''^fM^ •Jt ■'" ■ ^'* m ''•vvm^ ( «6 ) mm0mmmmmmmmmtmmmM — ail !■■« I , lu ♦.■■ APPENDIX, N U M B R R V. { iti>v /f furvfy fif Seal i»ffi/ Gillam's iflnnds, W)/c/> //> 79 r/^jf. 30 wi/i. 6\ /Sf'. of Flatuboroiigh-hcait ; diftaf\c% thru wiles ^ . ' FI R S T Urttion ftt A \yc\\\i on the fouth fide of thr livfi- dole to high-water nmrk. The S. F.. corner of ScMiflund bpre t6 tleg. N. W. Fhinihoroiigh lufjul unil that corner of Sen! iiland nuule an angle of 86 licg. 30 min. diHanec Ironi Hrll ilaiion ftx furlongs. Skconi* (laiion ftt S. E. corner oF ScRl-ifland. FlajvlnMuugh hcatl bore 74. (leg. 30. rnin. N. E. ir^akm^^; an \\\\\}}^ with firft lUtion of 79 deg. luoM the n Hi Oarlon ro a creck*s nmuth wcft- tit\\\^ oi\ the UHith fide the angle to fecond (lation is J^o tltg. I' ROM lixond Oaiion betwixt the fame creek's nunith and the fnil (luiion the angle was ^a deg» ^k:> min Thibl> ilation at N. E. corner of Seal-ifland, to % point at thr lower end of a bottom of woods, I J{ deg. 30 min. N, E. diftance 3 furlongs ^ chains. Fourth :^-' . ( "7) --^-..-.r •,:.,. Fai'MTM ntttionut S. W. conic r of Sral ifltind, to Reucon A, or (both point of (iilhimSinaivl, 69 cleg, ^o inin. S. W. ilifldiue 4 f'llllon^•l 1 chaln«„ ^'hrfr iktiuni were mmlo in To cold n day, drnt fvcty tittic t touched the htllruiDciit it (hick te my HtigfM. . ^ Thk brcttdth of the wntrr from the north flidre to ScDil idaiul, i lurloiij^N N chiiiiiN. Hhkaotii of water from Scul toGillumN iflrtml 8 chttins i tlip water between Srjil mul (iillrtm**- KUml Ih from t. to \ fathom deep m low water, ttrid the fame froin Sciil iflund to north fliorc : tlic other fido« lie to tlie mnin rivers the lanj^th, hrcadih,'^ circumference, height and Hope 1 Imvc mentioned in N'. ni. The bd\ way up to th<' top of Settl-inandisj the middle of the S. S. K. fide 1 the other Hdes being" very ileep. The welt «nd of Gi Ham's is four or Bvc feet higher timn Seal ifknd 1 it has a dcfccnt from thence to the caflward* over ngainft Seal iiland, where It i« fo low that fpring tides flow over it. Thu acclivity at the top makes the di(lanf« t^ere eighty yafdi more thai> it i\\$ water. f.r, , <& '--i- '' vS.H. * HOv hym'Vf A .* J" " .a '? t jSf" V g 4 , J ^?^' ^ ,'pf .-fk .f* Sit 'ti # %>w . .'# . .1, > «^i f4 1 '« AP- t'l I I (88 ) . .A ■>^ ::^^. \K ? ^ntS ^^J!&T. b'VJiy A P P E N D I X, ft^ iW^V'i" ""^■' :t> ■' '■'->>''■ ",fl N u m; B R R Vl. f. :'0>.:ii^^ v^->*-- ii-> i, ii-j? .;.' fi.' ^ j$urnal of the winds and tides at Churchilf river in Hudfon's-bay^^ for parts of the years 1746 andl 1747. .f^i-v / ■'■>. ■'K.!ti m^i fi'h "O ^;ir i jv^ JD ¥* ^iies height 'i*^'/ti v&x'';" *^ y^^A .i ifj^6,0&oh. I T|l T. A ftrong gale f,:?>; 14^ * l^y ^° remark ., j^>}>^i,*,, JWfw moon. 3 JL ^ N. W. no remark :,,,.. 4 E. by N. a ftrong gale ^ 14 5 N. N. W. a ftrong gale I ^ 6 W. N. W. moderate ; 7 W. by S. ditto No remark till the ^; i6 S. S. W. veerabje 17S. W.by W. ditto 18 N. W. ^^'^'■^' -''-'-'^ 19 N. W. by W, moderate 30 E. a frefh gale 21 N. E. a ftrong gale 22 N. E. by N. a frelhgalc 23 N. E, moderate »4 N. by W. vf ry moderate t?/v f-f. i.-r-tti '-J • 15 V 14 T It) 11 T 12 T 12 ^ 12 12 II T 10 4 ^746, 0^- it* ■*/ ( 89) 1. \\ t z T I T I IT > IT 1 IT I IT Tides height yaiil "iW^ «ii,4* 4f.".'4 ■''/jftf) 10 T 9v did not mind the tide 10 II 4^ II i 12 14 14 i 13 T 14 II JI 9i ■..■^'V'-' 1746, 0^0, 25 S. W. by S. very moderate 26 E. by N. a low tide ^W '***^ 27 E. by N, a ftrong gale :»V' 28 E. did nor mi. ^TP::^^Mi 29 S. by W. moderate ^^ ■ 30N. by W. ditto 31 S. W.byW. ditto I'tn;- November i N. N. W. moderate > ' ^^:20N.N. W. , 21 W.N W. "' ' -i; 22 S. by W. • <23N. W. ^^^24N.W. 'I j 25 N. W. •'' 26N.byE. ^^^27N. 28E. byN. 29 N. N. E. ^d N. N. E. 31N. E. ' Fei. I W: N. W. 2 N. W. 3 N. N. W. 4N.W. 5S. W. / 6 S. by E. \A 't 7 8 10 II 12 »3 14 .15 - 16 *^ '2 V 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 I 2 3 ¥•'*'• J^4ijr. %'■ I S. by W. S. by E. f N. ^ Eafterly. N. N. E. W. S. S. E. S. ■ nlf- S.byW. W. by N. N.W. W. by N. N. N. W. N. W. N. W. N.W. N. W. by W. S/by W. N. W. ^ N. W. M. s. w. N. W. by N. S. N. N. W. N.W. '" W. N. W. ^ W. by N. W. N. W, :-^V-; «'W. / ;^<^ W J N i> $. » j!^:^- M ■;i^ *^ri. ■ '''' '.> ^yi '■■'%i:' ■ .. ^ R% ;,; • S^'>' < •i't ,.-^,; ■mm- Api fi '■ t rtS.S.W. ,:^ I4N.W. i^ S. ■ ' : ^; i6N.W. ^^ 17 N. i8N. N.W. i^N.W. 20 N. W. by W. 22 S. E, .? ^j^;,;| 24 Southerly. 25 N. r- 26 W. N. W. 27 Southerly. 28 Southerly, i . 29 Northerly..,4i^; 30 Eafterly. 31 Eafterly. iN.N. E. 2 Northerly. 3 Northerly. 4 Northerly. 5 Northerly. 6 Southerly. 7 Veryyeerable. 8 N. veerable. 9 S. veerable. 10 N. W.. T I S. vecaable. jN*i 4^ 12 l^rfterly. 13N.N.E. 14 N. N. W. t^^il 17 Northerly. : 18 Southerly. JtM /r* 19 Northerly. 20 Northerly. 21 Northerly. 22 Northerly. 23 Northerly. Y^ 24 N. W. ^^i" f^' •H'^, ±5 Veerable. 27 Eafterly. 28 E. byN. '; 20 N. 30 Northerly. Ma^ I Veer'd all round the compafs. « *|c 9 Veer'd in N. m h^\^.->^ '-^''E. quarter. ■- - ■ **i^.»b_5C^ 3 N. W. by W. 7 4 Northerly. 5 Northerly. 6 Northerly. 7 N. N. E. 8 Northerly. 9 E. by S. :^ loN. N. W. 11 Southerly. 12 Northerly. i-v'- ■•'1 ." .. . *jt .4 ?«^"0 'Ml f ^5 1 3 Northerly. :^: ^^|l 4 Northerly. '5S. ■ ' ■ ' ' ■ il ' .-l ' I ' llA ji ' JlMlfl, w -r N B ^ M^ 15 S 7«^ I 17 18 19 Eafterly. Eafterly. Eafterly Eafterly. Mty »9 N. W by N 7«w 31 ■in 20 N. E by Eft 21 £.N. E. 22 N. E. by N. 23 N. 24 N. 25 Nordierly. 26 E by N. tN;W. 2 N. W. 4S. E. 5 S. W. by S. € N. W. by N. 7N. W. 8 W. N. W. 9 Eafterly. 27 Wcfteriy. F wow 10 W. N W. 28N.W.by W. iiW.S. W. Moderate; the river is broke open, tide 10 feet. ». ;#;., < .ii,. ^'^'^'-Tidfs height June 12 E. afrefli gale -^? ^ 10 ^ 13 N. N. E. ditta ^>E %.t . 14 N. by E. moderate * n^^ i » ff| 15 W. veered much 12 - r-^ 16 W. moderate 11 Eviening tide 10 ^ * 17 S. moderate 10 4- 18 N. by W. afrefhgalc n The tide ebbs out lower fince the river broke open than any other time a-ycar. ^^J^ ^ . 19 S.. moderate 94 20 W. moderate, did not mind the tide's height ' * 2 1 W, N, W. a low tide 22 N. moderate, tide height not obferved 23 W. S. W. moderate ., 9 4 . -^ ^ Th« ♦• i «y' ( H) '* The tide ebbs out now as it generally docs all the year. WINDS. Tides height . ■*;<*-!# 1 , ■^^.;. kf. '^ in feet i. June 24 N. N. W. a brilk gate /''^ 1 1 New moon, 25 N W* by N. ditto Xv 26 Wi moderate n ■^-■:;.r^.;sf'"':X- v-^^^^j.:- Evening tide 1 1 4- Tfv' 27N.W. byN. blows frefli 11 tlS^-: ., 28 N* W. by W. moderate 11 i Evening tide 12 7«^J^ ik9 Southerly, ttioderate 30 N. N. W. a briflc gale 1 Northerly, a briik gale 2 S» W. by S. moderate 3 Northerly, moderate 4 N. E. by E. moderate 5 Eofterly, blows frefh 6 Eafterly, blows hard 7 N. by E. a fre(h gale 8 Weftcrly, moderate i ' 9 W. N. W. moderate 10 Wefterly, ditto 11 Wefterly, moderate 12 13 13 II II 12 II II II 12 II II t T t. t T Evening tide 13 '<• V','*' , -, \ • , ^ ;,* \' * -' w' ■>■;■, ■ - S • ■ 12 12 Northerly, blows frelh 13 N. E. blows hard ' ; i4N. E. moderate „. ;. 15 N. E. by N. a freih gale , ' '■" 16 Southerly, moderate 17 Southerly, ditto ; , ^ '-. 18N. F. hyN. ■' -^^^^^ •'^.' ... ■.^vt3.i J Wefterly."'*^^?:^r*-'^'^ '"'■'•■'. "' ..^^J"- 20W. by S, ^^-^^%^;--'^;V^»::<-^^ . -■• -218. by E. ^-^Yf^^^-'"''''''''-''^-'' ..-.^yA^vr,,^:'. . lam ,' -• mmiw 'hi : • . ( 95 ) I am employed fo much in other bufincfs that I cannot take the particular height of the tides, but they arc moderate. '% ";. rv-, ^ 1 WINDS, -w. •y^ -r 1" ^• 7«/y 22 Northerly. 23 N. E. 24N. E. At this time I was engaged in founding Nel- fon-river. 25 N. E. by E. little wind and veered much. With fuch veerable winds the tides are always low here. 26 Southerly, a fine gal6 - ; 27 Southerly, ditto ' 28 Wefterly, veerable 29 Eafterly, blows frelh v J ., . ' 30 Southerly, moderate ^ ' " • 31 SI W. a fine breeze ^ Auguft I Wefterly, moderate and veerable ». '^ 2 Northerly, blows frefh 3 S. W. a fine breeze and veerable * 4 N. N. W. moderate and veerable 5 Wefterly, moderate and veerable 6 S. W. a fine gale and veerable The Hudfon*s-bay, captain Fowler came into the river. 7 S. W. veerable ' ' I was difcharged out of the fort and went on board the Ihip for England. The nights of the 5th and 6th September 1745, the tide flowed higher than the proper fpringS', the moon feven days old. 20tli Sep- tember 1745, tide flowed 13 feet 7 inches. At this feafon the higheft tides are often five or fix days after the full or change of the moon, occafioncd by hard gales in the N. W. quarter. FINIS,