.^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) 1.0 1.1 1.25 ViKt Wis ? ■- IIIIIM 1.8 u i 1.6 V] <^ /^ .1^ > .i..%vy 7 >^ <'V'''^ Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. MSSO (716) 872-4503 ■<^ CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques A Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques The Inxtiiuta has attempted to obtain the best original copy itvailable for filming. Features of this copy which mtty be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method ot filming, are checked below. 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Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre filmAs A des taux de rAduction dIffArents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul clichA, il est fllmA A partir de Tangle supArleur gauche, de gauche A droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'Images nAcessalre. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mAthode. irrata to pelure, n d n 32X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 Cc^yv*. Udo -'J^a^/c)> ^<^'r> -? IN THE SHADOW OF THE ARCTIC. BY WILLIAM W. FOX. I ir/ Away to the north of us — so far away, in fact, that we seldom think of it save as the icy gateway to the undiscovered country round the pole — lies Canada's " Great Lone Sea." A thousand miles long by more than half that in breadth, its icy waters for ever fret against the uncharted shores to which in the long ago poor Henry Hudson gave his name. Somewhere along those rock- bound shores he rests together with his son. A mutinous crew turned them adrift in a small boat, and that was the last was ever heard of the great explorer. Perhaps away down in the blue waters off Cape Wolsten- holme his bones are lying to-day, but the probability is that after being cast adrift he made for shore and per- ished among the rocks from exposure and starvation. But his name lives permanently attached to the great inland sea of America. A more inhospitable country one can scarce imagine. Bleak, bare and barren around almost its entire coast, the home of the Eskimo and a trading ground for the adventurous Hudson's Bay Company, it is seldom visited by white men. Inland — that is to the south and west — one finds a few wandering bands of red men, while along the shores the Eskimo makes his home — and such a home. Yet he loves it, and thinks, as we do, that the wide world over there is no place like his. " The shivering tenant of the frigid zone Proudly procTaims tlie happiest clime his own. The naked negro panting on the line. Boasts of his golden sands and palmy wine." A stranded whale makes a whole community of Eskimo happy for a winter, and with plenty of blubber he sleeps his time away in his comfort- able snow hut. But death has been busy among the Eskimo of late years, and many a deserted village along the straits of Hudsoa tells plainer than words that the grim reaper hfus gather- ed a rich harvest. That the Eskimo of Hudson's Bay and straits are dying out is a fact that cannot be gainsaid. Dozens of deserted villages and a di- minished number trading with the Hudson's Bay Company are the strong- est evidences of this. What it is that is causing the mortality among them is something we know nothing of, al- though various surmises have been hazarded as to the cause. In 1884-5 public attention was di- rected to Hudson's Bay as a shorter and therefore a cheaper route from *,he wheat fields of the Canadian North- west to the markets of Europe. The question was discussed in every settle- ment from Winnipeg to Vancouver. Then it was spoken of in parliament, and finally the Government decided to send out an expedition to Hudson's Bay and Straits to report as to their navigability. Commander Gordon, R. N., was selected to command the expedition : the actual working of the ship was given to Captain Sopp, an old and tried Arctic navigator, from Hali- fax, N.S. Some S 16,000 was paid by the Government for the use of the sealing ship Neptune, belonging to the Job Brothers, St. Johns, Newfoundland. This vessel had been used a few months before on the Greely relief expedi- tion, and although a steamer, and the second largest of the sealing fleet, her steam was merely auxiliary to her sails. On July 14th, 188-t, she arrived in Halifax harbour, where she was fitted out with everything necessary for a prolonged stay in the icy seas in the far north. Eight days later she sailed. PROVINCIAL ARCHIVES Of. 6. fi. 3^ THE CANADIAN MAGAZINE. An we stood on the quarter-deck and navigation, except at Cape Wolsten steamed slowly down the harbor, a German man-of-war dipped her flag to us, while the Hags on Government buildings and vessels saluted us in the same way. Without going into details regard- ing the ship or the crew, it is well to say that the voyage occupied between four and five months. There was a holme. The run to Marble Island was made under favorable conditions, as regards wind and weather. But the further north we steered, the more sluggish the compass became, and for hours at a time we steered by the stars. " Keep that bright 'un about a foot oflTthe main yard an' to leeward," was an order that varied hour after spice of danger about it, enough of it- hour for a couple of nights. Of course self to make it interesting, while the scenery, so difierent from what any but one of us had ever seen before, proved an attraction to all of us. It was not a mere pleasul-e excursion, such for in- stance as the Alaska trip has become, but one which, while not devoid of danger, was something very few had ever taken before, save for commercial purposes. Ours was the first steamer that ever entered Hudson's Bay. The voyage up "Lonely Labrador" was dreary enough — . not a sail gladdened the eye, but instead we encountered ice- bergs by the score, and sometimes it required a good deal of atten- tion to keep far enough away from them to avoid accidents. But how grand they looked, these messengers from the north, in their glittering glory of pin- the steersman knew what was requir- eiit the ijlorv of York has departed, ani> fifty houses, some of them shut up, but a'l in a i^ood state of repair. Tlie ;freat buildinf», or storehouse, is a Hne structure. It is in the foru» of a rec- tanj^le, witli a court yard in the centre. The front of this is 21(i feet loni; and tl'.ree storeys hii,'h, the remainder lieinjj; two. Within ont; can lind evi rythiii!.,' from a needle to an anclior. (luns and kettles, and clothinjf and pro- visions, in endless variety, are to be had there, and the strangest part of all, at a reasonable price, so far, at least, as necessaries are concerned. Mut beads, mirrors and such like Iti.xuries, have a high price placed upon them. •I Indian, on entering with his win- n nd we Rock- d blue ittract ose on |ne the was Iriking |arcely when uck a for a was wait hould crew r and ,s ser- Imned well the fthe own, [, and |ange, up in o the oose, ig it oked I instead of thirty clerks tliere are now oniy two re(^uirod to do the work of the post. At one time it was the great distiibuting centre for the vast country to the north-west and south of it. But the Viuilding of the (,/an- adian PaciHc llailway has altered all that, and to-day the stores for tho Saskatchewan and the country to the north-west are distributed from Win- nipeg. The old fort, which stood nearer the mouth of the river, was the one !iid he believed the boy would ulti- mately get better. This hospital was neat and dean, and whitewashed in- side anil out. It had accommodation for nine ))atients. It would be hard to say whether or not tliL' Indian village a few hundred yards further up the bank of the river had more children or ilojjs amoniist the po|)ulation. Certain it is that there were hundieds of canines. They growl- ed and showed their teeth at every turn, and one had constantly to be on his guard to prevent them sneaking up behind and perhaps nipping his calves to show their appreciation of his visit. The Indian village is a straggling collection of huts made of logs and mud. Although theCompany's doctor had over and over again tried to make the inhabitants keep their dwellings passably clean, lie at last had given it iip as a bad job. They seemed to love the dirt and bad odors, and strange to say, despite it all, ap- jieared to thrive. The smell of decay- ing fish and Hsh offal wafted to us on tht; breeze told of our near approach to the village, before we could even see the houses. They were built amongst a lot of scrub brush, enough of which had been cleared away to make room for the dwellings. The v/omen appeared shy and went to hide themselves at our approach. Not so the yoinigsters, who rolled in the grass and sand and paid no more at- tention to us than if we had lived with them all their lives. Canoes new and old lay around everywhere, with here and there a small net spread on the roof or stretched between a couple of trees. A peep into one of the houses was enough to satisfy our curiosity regarding the domestic habits of the inmates. The door of the house stood invitingly open and we entered. A small window with just one pane of glass in it half liglited the interior, which was filthy in the extreme. There was no such luxury as a board Hoor — nothing but the bare ground. At one end was a fire-place made of stones and mud from the river. A fire smouldered on the hearth, above which hung a small iron \^oi half full of luke- warm watei'. In one corner beside the fire-|)lace and raised perhaps a foot from the ground was a rough frame- work of small poles which constituted the sleeping portion of the dwelling. It was covered with dried grass and a few blankets. Near by, fastened against the wall was a small table on which stood a couple of tin plates, three tin cups and a knife. Next to it in the corner stood a " trade " gun and an axe. The.se constituted the sole furniture of the cabin, and could easily have been packed in a small canoe. Had there been enough light we would have found the place festooned with cobwebs. It was a counterpart of other dwellings in the little village. The half-breed ser- vants of the Company who have their quarters in the factory are of course more comfortably housed, but the half-breeds who live with the Indians are no better otf than their bors. On the outside of the stockade is a neat little church for the use of the Indians. It has a spire and a bell, and will seat between three and four hundred worshippers. Beyond the palisades also is the powder magazine, a stron<' stone structure without a particle of iron in its composition. neigh- AV THE SHADOW OF THE ARCTIC. 41 a 10 1- a he ur a Ml. The hinges are copper, the lock on the door copper, the roof copper, and the woodwork is fastened together with copper nails. Near the magazine is the irrave- yard. One grave close to the entrance is conspicuous, being surrounded with a neat, well-kept railing. There is, in connection with the chuich, a school-house, where the mis- sionary. Rev. Mr. Winter, jiresides as teacher over a hundreil dusky pupils. From what I could see, I believe the missionary has more comfortable quar- ters than anyone except the chief factor. Out of sight of the factory every- thing has the same desolate, lonely ap- pearance as any other spot along the coast, with this exception, however, that there are a few scrub tirs to be found here in sheltered nooks. All the fuel for the factory is brought from many miles up the river. We left York Avith the el)b tide, all the inhabitants turning out to say fare- well and give us a " God speed " on our voyage. Between three and four p.m., accompanied by the chief factor and the ofKcers and ladies, we repaired to the boat landing. The last fare- wells were spoken, and then shaking hands with our kind entertainers, we entered the boat, set our sail, and were soon out in the middle of the river. As we sailed away, the white ensign — a particular honor — was hoist- ed on the flag staff, a salute of tive guns was tired from the howitzers, and then all on shore cheered. We replied as best we could, waved our caps, and, a few minutes later, turned a liend in the river and lost sight of our friends. We soon reached the ship, the wind being favorable, and weighing anchor, steamed hundreds of miles across Hudson's Bav to Dili's' Islands, where Heiny Hudson, the discoverer of the bay, was cast adrift by his nmtinous crew and never heard of more. Entering the strait, more ice was encountered, and, during a short stop waiting for the ice to clear, we killed three polar bears and a walrus. The latter animals are very plentiful in these w^aters, and as the carcass of one of these monsters is worth from seventy to one hundred dollars, the Hudson's Bay Company encourage the Eskimo to hunt thetn whenever opportunity otters. In fact the Company sends a small sloop up the coast every year to collect the hides, oil and tusks from the natives. Although Hudson's Bay belongs to the Dominion of Canada, our Govern- ment has done little or nothing to de- velop its wonderful resources. What- ever has been accomplished up to tlie present, has been done by foreign enter- prise and capital. Some years ago Capt. Spicer, a shrewd Connecticut man, es- tablished a fishing and trading station in the strait near the Middle Savage Islands, from which he has reaped a rich harvest. At Ungava Bay, the Hud- son's Bay Company has an extensive fishing establishment, and annually sends to England one or two ship-loads of salmon. At Churchill, as well as at two posts on the East Main cojist, the white whale or porpoise is caught in shoals. Mo fewer than 170 were caught at one tide in the river at Churchill a few months previous to our visit. These animals enter the river with the Hood tide and leave it with the ebb. When a shoal is seen approaching, the natives drive them towards a cove that is dry at low water. The animals en- ter and then a net is stretched across the entrance. Here a noise is kept up, and the porpoises, fearing to break through, are found high and dry at the ebl tide and easily dispatched. The Company has a large establish- ment at Churchill for trying out the oil, and I think I am within the mark when I say that their revenue from porpoisvi oil alone amounts to over $100,000 annually. In the straits cod are found at the proper season in unlimited (quantities. I saw three of our sailors take, one t^i^UVi^LlAL AuLiuvlJ Ot 3.i:^ 43 THE CANADIAN MAGAZINE. afternoon at Cape Chudleigh, four hundred cod within an hour and a-half. Then there is the whale fishery, in which, with one exception, I believe, Americans are engaged. Heretofore it has been very remunerative, and there is no reason why it should not continue so for many years to come. Leaving the waters for the rocky shores, one finds all sorts af northern game in abundance. I have seen thousands of ptarmigan on the rocks of Resolution Island, as well as at other points. Swans, geese, ducks, curlew, plover, snipe, and other wild fowl are found in countless thousands, and during the four or five months we were there we had so much game that at last we grew so tired of it that we turned to " salt horse " as a delicious change. Reindeer pass up and down the coun- try in immense herds and furnish a staple article of food at many posts of the Hudson's Bay Company. Their tongues are exported to England, where they command a high priee. In fact, they are very often hunted for their tongues alone. A party of hunt- ers meeting with a band of reindeer kill as many as they can. From these they take such skins and meat as they require, together with all the tongues. I asked the ofticer at Churchill if he did not think such slaughter would soon exterminate the reindeer. He laughed and said, " I have been here more than twenty years, and there are more deer now than ever before." The same thing, it will be remem- bered, used to be said regarding the buffalo. To the sportsman who can afford it, and who is sufficiently enthusiastic, a trip to Hudson's strait, will well re- pay the time and money spent on it. During the spring, polar bears are plentiful all along the shores. But they are ugly customers. I have seen l)olar and grizzly bears, and I would just as soon not meet one as the other. Possibly the average grizzly may bo a little heavier than his brother, " the tiger of the ice," as he has aptly been termed. But if the latter is a trifie smaller, he makes up in agility for what he lacks in weight. I took part one afternoon at Diggs' Islands in the killing of three of these monstere, the heaviest of which weighed something over 800 pounds. One of the hind paws, when stuffed, measured eighteen inches long bv ten inches broad ! During the short summer the cli- mate is passibly pleasant, although on some parts of the coast snow fiurries may occur at almost any time of the year. But a couple of months could be passed very pleasantly at Ungava Bay, and a return made to civilization in time to escape the winter, which, as may be imagined, is really arctic in its severity.