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I ?#*,.-»" i""-*J»'V*.' ■ «^ *•■■ J-'^fiffTi. 
 
 HISTORY 
 
 or 
 
 THE OREGON TERRITORY 
 
 AND BRITISH NORTH-AMERICAN 
 FUK TRADE ; 
 
 AN ACCOUNT 
 
 OF THE HABITS AND CUSTOMS OF TUR PRISCIFAL NATIFK 
 TRIBBS OS THE XORTBKRN CO\Tl.\KXT 
 
 BY JOHN DUNN, 
 
 l*TB 0» TBI HJDMn'l BAY COWPAWT; IIOHT TBABi A RMIOP.NTIN TBI 
 
 COPMIRT 
 
 LONDON: 
 EDWARDS AND HiroHES, AVE MARIA LANE. 
 
 1844. 
 
 mam>mmK*>»^msi''!^mmmmm 
 
 easssrxTXKta. , 
 

 1. ALDnED, Printer, 10, Red-lion Court, Fleet Street. 
 
 I 
 
 <S9o 
 
 ./ ' 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 I SHALL not encumber the reader with a tedious detail 
 of my motives m publishing this work ; or of its seheuie 
 and plan. This is a kind of egotism, and currying favour 
 with the reader, alreauy carried to great excess. But I 
 slial) state a few facts — due to myself to give, and to 
 the reader to know. 
 
 Having been articled to the Hudson's Bay Company, 
 I left my father's home in London, in their ship, the 
 Ganymede, for their fettleraents on the Pacific. It is 
 nee<lless for me to give any account of our outward 
 voyage (though I met with some strange adventures) to 
 the Sandwich Islands — at which we stopped for a short 
 time ; and thence to the Columbia river. Having arrived 
 at the western head-quarters of the Company — Fort Van- 
 couver ; on the northern shore of the river, ninety miles 
 from its mouth— I was placed in the fort, in the situ- 
 ation of assistant store-kee{)er. After remaining in 
 the fort nearly a year, I was commissioned to proceed 
 northward, in the company's ships, on trading and explo- 
 ring expeditions ; threading, in our various courses, the 
 whole of the vast labyrinth of gulphs, sounds, straits, 
 bays, and inlets, that interlace the whole of the Pacific 
 fiuore, for many hundred miles inland, and along many 
 degrees of latitude. Here I was in the character of 
 trader and interpreter ; and assisted at the erection of 
 several fort.s, in various parts of the country, never before 
 occupieU. I then returned to the Columbia ; and was placed, 
 
 
iv 
 
 tor some time, ill charge of Fort Georgo, near the mouth 
 of the river — now an outpost attached to Vancouver — the 
 funioub Astoria, ho much vatmted of by tlie Americans, as 
 their scttlcincnt ; from which they <mee threatened, to 
 use Wuaiiiugton Irving's plirase, to " pweep tlic Pacific ;'* 
 arui spread their internal trade tlinmgh the Canadas, 
 and the Polar Circles ; and banish the Ttritishers as 
 trader?, if not as residents, from the whole northern 
 continent — a boa.sti"ul ihreat, whicfi they have signally 
 failed to execute. They made, however, every en- 
 deavour to realise this most ardent wish of their hearts, 
 but have been completely foiled. In place of being the 
 expellers, they are themselves, in a great measure, the 
 expelled — the result of their own iiTegular mode of deal- 
 ing, and cupidity ; which have roused against them the 
 distrust, indignation, and hatred of the natives. 
 
 Having spent ci;.'ht years in the Company's service, I 
 as induced, by my father, who had otlier projects in 
 for me, to return home. 
 
 On my return, altliough I was, from my knowledge of 
 those Americans that tradiid on the coast, or had squatted 
 in the south-western part of Oregon, or have lately been 
 employed by the company as trappers, prepared to hear 
 »»ny monstrous assumptions of rigiit set forth by the 
 American populace, througii their loco foco organs of the 
 press, I did not expect that the iTspectable portion of the 
 press — much less that their functionaries, and miinsters of 
 state, even up to the President — would echo the opinions 
 of the rabbh* that controls the legislature. But, to my 
 surprise, I found that the subject was viewed by :hem 
 through the democratic spectacles. 
 
 At the opening of Congress, in 1843, the President, 
 without any previous provocation to the declaration ; but 
 from the desire, if not the necessity, to'> characteristic of 
 American [)re8idents and governments, of pandering to 
 the passions and feelings of the multitude from whom 
 they derive their periodical being — volunteered the an- 
 nouncement to the whole world, that the whole territ<.irv 
 
is Aiiiferican, uiid that American it will be preserved and 
 nmiiitaiiud. But this is not merely tiie averment <if the 
 President ; but the whole current of a nioDt vehement 
 debute runs in 8U[)i)ort of this frmidulent assertion of a 
 claim. Say;* thti President ; — 
 
 " The territory of the United States, commonly called 
 the Or(>;ron territory, lying on the Pacific 0<!ean, north of 
 the 4'2n(l degree of latitude, to a portion of which Great 
 Britain lays claim, begins to attract the attention of our 
 fello'Y-citizens ; and the tide of nopulation which ha& re- 
 claitjied what was lately an unbroken wilderness in more 
 coutiguou.* ri!gious, .s j>reparing to flow over those v«wt 
 districts which stretch from the Rocky Mountains to the 
 Pacilic Ocean." 
 
 I published, in The Times, and other leading periodi- 
 cals, on the app»;arance of this document, an exposition 
 of the true facts of tlie case. My statement became the 
 subject of many articles ; an ' the British peoph^ awoke 
 to a true knowledge of thei • ii;terests, which the Ameri- 
 cans wished to wrest from them. I showed, that np to 
 1814, they nevei claimed more than the right of joint 
 occupancy — that after the Florida treaty, they toc^k a 
 bolder tone, and claimed exclusive right — that in 1827, 
 they never ventured to claim beyond the 49th degree. 
 But now they take a bolder tone still ; and, on the gamb- 
 ling i)rinciple of " all or notliing," claim up to the Russian 
 fro.itier. 
 
 As there was no work lately published by an English- 
 man descriptive of the country, and the relative position 
 of pai-ties : and -vs the books already published hy Jlyirig 
 American travellers, who had picked up their accounts 
 piecemeal, in ditferent parts, are strongly tinged by i»reju- 
 dice ; I imagined that a true and dispassionate account of 
 the wlu)le country would tend to place the question on its 
 proper ba.sis. T thought then — and this tliought was 
 strengthened by some judicious friends, Avho had seen 
 the several sta.cments that I published, and had examined 
 my rough tog-book — that if I had gi\en a fair and 
 
 ti^-fc£'^'.^,°it.'-'^ •*?"'■:" 
 
VI 
 
 <U8}>ii.sHiuiiHte view of thf Oregun territory ; und u( tho 
 relutivi' positiun, and sociul pretcntiuurt of the coutending 
 partioH ; the BritiHli ptiblii.;, being awakened to the Aub- 
 jeet, would bo enabled to come to a sound judgment on 
 the whfde que.Htion. 
 
 Thougli 1 have not given th« whole amount of my 
 notcB, I am |M.'r8uaded tliut this b<H«k will c«>nvey a fairer, 
 and more conocntiated impres.sion, than aU the American 
 factious bookd that have been hitherto ])ubli8hed on tho 
 subject. 
 
 It ia true that tlu8 book occasionally portruyn Home 
 dark features in the American character : but let the 
 read(T clearly observe, that in depicting the American 
 character, I ((uote American authority ; and that in show- 
 ing the weakness of their jiretensions to tlie country, I 
 quote historical and diplomatical facts — facts not question- 
 able by the Americans themselves. 
 
 In brief, and in simple truth, my obje<'t is to give the 
 British public an honest, and, as to leading character- 
 istics, a full, account of the Oregon country. 1 had ano- 
 ther object ii) view, which was, to give an account of the 
 British North-American Fur Trade — of which there has 
 been no consecutive account hitherto given. 
 
 I have given a skeleton map of the Oregon country, 
 and of the whole coast ; contenting myself with the gene- 
 ral position of the most important places, as a help to the 
 reader ; without pretending to enter into the minuteness 
 of a full chart or map. 
 
C () N T E N T S. 
 
 Chap. I.— Uiacovery of North America by U)e Knglish — Im- 
 portance of the Fur Trade — French Canadian Fur 
 Traders— Coureurs diMi Uoin, or Ilangeri of the Woods 1 
 
 Chap. Il.—IIndson's Hay Company— its incorporation, and 
 its privileges S 
 
 Chap. III. — British-Canadian Fur '"rade — Establishment of 
 the North-West Company — its or;;anisation and opera- 
 tions — rivalry between it and the Hudson's Day Com- 
 pany 14 
 
 Chap. IV.— Establishment of the Hudson's liay Company's 
 settlement, under Lord Selkirk, at Red Uiver — destruc- 
 tion of it by the North- West Company . . .38 
 
 Chap. V, — Trappers, or beaver hunters — \'oyageurs,or boat- 
 men 47 
 
 Chap. VI.— Description of the present settlement at Red 
 River— hunting the Buffalo 63 
 
 Chap. VII. — Remarks on the Company's present principles 
 of dealing ; and the mode of traffic ameng many of the 
 Northern tribes 81 
 
 Chap. VIII.— The Knisteneaux Indians 
 Chap. IX.- The Chipewyan Indians 
 
 88 
 101 
 
 Chap. X. — Mouth of the Columbia — description of the na- 
 tive tribes — their appearance — habits — Extraordiuory 
 cuHtom of compressing the head — Burial of dead — 
 Small-pox- Fever with ague — their mode of doctoring 
 — Fishitig customs — Fort George — Mr. Wyeth and the 
 AmericHH Fifihing Establishment 112 
 
 Chap. XI.— Fort Vancouver — its Farm establishment — Dr. 
 John M'Loughlin— Bachelor's Hall ---Officers' wives— 
 Half-breeds' horsemanship ~ Trapping parties leaving 
 Vancouver — the Canadian cook and boatswain . .141 
 
 V ''/ 
 
Vill 
 
 cuN rr.NTii. 
 
 Chap. Xfl.- Wnppatoo iNlanJ and WnllHinolU HoMl^- 
 luont— Fariiliain'i Narrativp- MiiwionuiieB — Settlern- • 
 KariniuK o|tnratiua«~C:itliuli(' priest — ('apUiii Younff 
 and tho lliuliion n Uuy Company 1 07 
 
 (!h^p. XIII. -(runorul uiitlino of tho Orfjfon Territory .202 
 
 Chap. XIV.— Antoria, or Fort (loorfje— Formation of tho 
 American Fur Trade— (-'aptnin Thorn — Lia tyrannical 
 disposition— the L0H8 of the Tomiuin .218 
 
 Chap. XV.— Extension of the British to the north of tho 
 mouth of the Columhia- Contrast between the Hrilish 
 and Amnricun mode of tradinjj — Cope Flattery — Native 
 tribes — Tho country — Hettlemeuts at Na8(|ually and 
 CowlitKo — Frazer's River— Gulf of Georgia— Vancou- 
 ver's Island— The Coi|uiUh and Newettee tribea — their 
 customs — discovery of a mine of coal . .227 
 
 Chap. XVI.— F'ort M'Loughlin — Voyajje from it ali alonjf 
 the intricate inlets or canals. — Various tribes— their 
 appearance, and customs — their reli/(iouB ceremonies 
 — Extraordinary RuporHtition of cannibal fanaticism— 
 Masquerades —Point Day — Interior canals — Sebassa 
 tribe — their customs — old wom«'n with slit lips— Kid- 
 nappinf^ of iliivps 262 
 
 Chap. XVII. — Fort Simpson — the surrounding country ; 
 and the various tribes— Indian revenge — Queen Char- 
 lotte's Island— (^ustoms of the tribe— Indian ingenuity 
 — loss of the schooner Vancouver 278 
 
 Chap. XVIII.— Relative claims of (rreat Britain and Ame- 
 rica to the Oregon Territory considered .... 296 
 
 Chap. XIX.— Flat-heads — their strong devotional feeling — 
 DIack-feet — Religious belief — Snakes — Piutes — Strange 
 probationary rites — Conduct of the Americans, as at- 
 tested by American writers 31 1 
 
 Chap. XX.— Fort Hall— Trappers— Buffalo— Shooting the 
 rapids — Passagt; from the United States across the Rocky 
 Mountains 33:) 
 
 Chap. XXI.— Missionarios 349 
 
<''^M>^t(^ 
 
i 
 
 
 «?'Si 
 
 •MMa 
 
HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL ACCOUNT 
 
 OP THX 
 
 OREGON TERRITORY, 
 
 AND or THE 
 
 BRITISH NORTH-AMERICAN FUR TRADE, 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Discovery of North America by the English — Importance of 
 the Fur Trade— French Canadian Fur Traders— ^Cou- 
 reura des Bois, or Hangers of the Woods. 
 
 The discovery of America by Columbus, and the 
 great acquisitions resulting from it to Spain, soon 
 awoke a spirit of adventure in England : and an 
 Expedition was fitted out from Bristol under the 
 command of Cabot, a merchant there, under the 
 patronage of Henry VII., in 1497. This Expe- 
 dition discovered Newfoundland, and sailed along 
 the continent from the coast of Labrador to that 
 of Virginia. Thus England was the second nation 
 that visited the New World ; and the nation, the 
 extent and importance of whose possessions have 
 ever been only second to those of any other state 
 — Spain, formerly, and the Republic of America 
 
9 
 
 at present. Her possessions she has always made 
 every eflfort to maintain ; and there never was a 
 time when she was more imperatively called on to 
 maintain her territories and her commerce in that 
 continent than she is now. 
 
 The discoveries of Cabot opened the way for other 
 adventurers during the next century. The French, 
 under Cartier, penetrated as far as the island of 
 Montreal, and, in 1608, founded a colony in that 
 district. In two years after (1610), the English ex- 
 plored Hudson's Bay. Both nations soon found that 
 in the cold and repulsive forests and plains of the 
 north there was a source of wealth, if not as imme- 
 diately attractive as the gold and silver furnished to 
 the Spaniards in the genial regions of the south, yet 
 as enduring and valuable as an article of commerce 
 — the peltries of its wild animals. This incentive 
 caused the wildest and remotest regions to be ex- 
 plored, and the greatest difficulties and dangers to 
 be braved and surmounted ; and has carried in its 
 course more civilization and social improvement than 
 ever followed the track of those adventurers after the 
 wealth of Mexico and Peru. 
 
 It was the fur trade which, in fact, gave early 
 sustenance and vitality to the great Canadian pro- 
 vinces. The adventurers who }»ad settled on the 
 
 y^ 
 
8 
 
 banks of the St. Lawrence, soon found that in the 
 rich peltries of the interior they had sources of wealth 
 that might almost rival the mines of Mexico and 
 Peru. The Indians, as yet unacquainted with the 
 artificial value given to some descriptions of furs in 
 civilised life, brought quantities of the most precious 
 kinds, and bartered them away for European trinkets 
 and cheap commodities. Immense profits were thus 
 made by the early traders, and the traffic was pursued 
 with avidity. The pursuit of this traffic produced 
 a more extensive knowledge of the country — 
 drew the Indians from their recesses to the haunts 
 of civilised life— and rendered Montreal the cen- 
 tre of an extensive trade. Hordes of Indians 
 would come down at stated periods, in a squadron 
 of light canoes, laden with beaver skins, and other 
 spoils of their year's hunting — unload their canoes 
 — draw them on shore — form an encampment out- 
 side the town — dispose their goods in order, and 
 open a kind of fair with all the grave ceremonial 
 so dear to the Indians. An audience would be 
 demanded of the Governor-general : he would 
 respond to the application, and hold the conference 
 with becoming state, seated in an elbow chair; 
 whilst the Indians were ranged in semicircles be- 
 fore him, seated on the ground, and silently smok- 
 
 i\ 
 
1 
 
 iiig their pipes. Speeches would be made, — presents 
 exchanged^ and the audience would break up in 
 general goodhumour. 
 
 Then the work of traffic would commence with 
 great activity ; and all Montreal would be alive with 
 naked Indians, running from shop to shop, barter- 
 ing their commodities for arms, knives, axes, kettles, 
 blankets, and various other articles of use or fancy ; 
 ou all of which the merchants realised enormous 
 profits, as there was no money used in this early 
 traffic; every transaction being conducted by bar- 
 ter in kind. 
 
 Their wants and caprces being supplied, they 
 would take leave of the Governor — strike their 
 tents — launch their canoes, and ply their way back 
 to the interior. The supply procured from these 
 periodical visits of the natives to Montreal was, it 
 must be recollected, independent of the pi;rchases 
 made by Canadian adventurers in their visits 
 through the interior. 
 
 A new and anomalous class of men gradually 
 grew out of this primitive state of the trade. 
 These were called Courevrs des bois, or Rangers of 
 the woods, being originally men who had accom- 
 panied the natives in their hunting expeditions, 
 and made themselves acquainted with remote tracts, 
 
aud tribes, ai)d who now became, aa it were, pedlars 
 of the unldemess. These men would set cut from 
 Montreal, well stocked with goods suited to the 
 Indian tastes and wants, and with arms and ammu- 
 nition for self-defence, or for slaying wild animals 
 for sustenance ; and would make their way up the 
 mazy and wandering rivers that interlace the vast 
 forests and waatci of the Canadas, coasting the 
 most remote lakes ; and by the attraction of their 
 imported goods, creating new wants and habitudes 
 among the Indians ; aud thus spurring them to 
 renewed exertions in the chase, to procure more 
 furs and other commodities. Sometimes these men 
 would sojourn for months among the natives, assi- 
 milating to their tastes and habits with the facility 
 of Frenchmen — adopting in some degree the Indian 
 dress aud mode of life, and not imfrequently tak- 
 ing to themselves Indian wives. After a lapse of 
 many months, sometimes a year or more, they 
 would return loaded with merchandise, and then, 
 after disposing of their stock, commence a career 
 of reckless revelry and extravagance ; which not 
 unfrequently ended in their ruin. Those who were 
 able to hold out till the next season, were forced 
 upon a new voyage for subsistence. Many of 
 these Coureurs des bois became so accustomed to the 
 

 
 Indian mode of living, and the perfect freedom of 
 the wilderness, that they lost all relish for civili- 
 sation, and identified themselves with the savages 
 among whom they dwelt ; or could be distingiv'shed 
 from them only by their superior licentiousness, 
 and by their bolder disregard for all law, order, 
 and morality, ^.lieir conduct and example gradu- 
 ally corrupted the natives, and impeded the labours 
 of the Catholic Missionaries, who were at this time 
 prosecuting their'pious work in the wilds of Canada, 
 with diligence and fervour. 
 
 To check these abuses, and to protect the fur 
 trrde from various irregularities produced by these 
 loose adventurers, an order was issued by the 
 French government, prohibiting all persons, on 
 pain of death, from trading in the interior of the 
 country without a licence; and the use of spirit- 
 uous liquors, if not abolished, was much restricted. 
 
 Though this system checked for a time the 
 licentiousness of these " wood rangers," it did not 
 eventually abolish it ; for by degrees, according 
 as the privilege of licensing became extended or 
 relaxed, much of the abuses of the old system was 
 revived and continued in another form. The mer- 
 chants holding the licence frequently employed 
 the "Coureurs de bois" to undertake the long 
 
! mil 
 
 voyages at a small per rentage, which was sufficient 
 to whet their cupidity, and urge them to fraud and 
 exaction in their dealings with the Indians. At 
 last it was found necessary to establish fortified 
 posts for the protect' tn of the trade, and the 
 restraint of these "rangers of the woods." The 
 most important of these was at the Strait of 
 Michilemackinac, which connects lakes Huron and 
 Michigan. This was a depfit for the merchandise, 
 and a rendezvous for the traders. It is unneces- 
 sary to pursue further a picture of the French- 
 Canadian traders; but I may sum up by saying, 
 that the French-Canadian merchant, in those primi- 
 tive days of Canada, was at his trading-post a kind 
 of commercial patriarch, surrounded with his Indian 
 wives and children, and a numerous train of de- 
 pendents living in rude indulgence. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 IIudson'HBay CompHiiy — its incorjwration, and its privilcgcx. 
 
 Tliis company was incorporated in perpetuity by 
 Royal Charter, granted a.d. 1670, in tbe twenty- 
 second year of the reign of Charles II. The 
 Charter was granted after much consideration of 
 the national and commercial advantages of such 
 a society ; and it was granted to men who had 
 obtained no little distinction at that time. From 
 the large space which this company now deservedly 
 holds in the commercial relations of Great Britain 
 — the great power it has acquired through its 
 liberal and well regulated government, and through 
 the enterprise, zeal, and skill of its functionaries, 
 it may not be uninteresting to detail the names 
 of the original corporators, and the object and 
 terms of the Charter. 
 
 It was granted to " Prince Rupert, the Duke 
 of Albemarle, the Earl of Craven, Lords Arling- 
 ton and Ashley; Sirs John Robinson, Robert 
 Vyncr, Peter Colleton, Edward Hungerford, 
 
1) 
 
 Paul Neile, John (iriffith, und Philip Car- 
 teret ; to James Hoyes, John Kirke, Francis 
 Milllngton, William Prottyinan, and John Fenu, 
 Enqrs. ; and to Jolm J'ortman, citizen and gold- 
 smith of the City of London ;" giving them and 
 their succesMors the sole commerce and trade of 
 all those scan, bays, creeks, rivers, lakes, &c., ia 
 whatsoever latitude they shall be, that lie within 
 the entrance of Hudson's Straits ; together with 
 all the lands, trade, fisheries, mines, minerals, &c., 
 on the confines of those seas, bays, lakes, and 
 rivers, if not then possessed by any British subjects, 
 or by the subjects of any other christian prince or 
 state. In a word, all those countries whose wa* ^rs 
 run into Hudson's Bay were included in the Char- 
 ter. The reason for creating this chartered cor- 
 poration is stated to be, that those individuals did 
 at their own cost undertake an expedition to 
 Hudson's Bay, for the discovery and prosecution 
 of a trade in furs, minerals, nnd other important 
 commodities ; and by such uniertakiug made such 
 discoveries as may be of great advantage to the 
 kingdom. 
 
 The management of the corporation (which was 
 invested with the usual corporate privileges, of 
 possessing, and transmitting to their successors, 
 
10 
 
 landN^ rcntH; juriHdictioni, Sec, aud were to direct 
 the voyages and exploring excursions, nnd the sale 
 of mcrclmndiso), was centrced in a (lovernor and 
 Committee of seven. Prince Rupert was the first 
 CJovernor ; and the first Committee consisted of 
 Sirs J. Robinson, Robert Vyncr, and Peter Cohtonj 
 with Mejisrs. Iloycs, Kirke, Millington, and Port- 
 man. 
 
 The Governor (or deputy governor for the time 
 being), with the Committee, were to be appointed 
 annually by election from among the members ; 
 and were removable in case of misconduct. The 
 whole of this vast and undefined region wmi to be 
 reckoned as one of his Majesty's Colonies, and was 
 called Prince Rupert's Land. The Governor and 
 the Company were to be lords proprietors of the 
 same for ever; empowered to make laws fdr the 
 ■good government of the territory and the advance- 
 ment of trade ; to impose penalties and punish- 
 ments, provided, however, that they were not un- 
 reasonable, and repugnant to the Laws of Eng- 
 land. 
 
 No subject of the British Crown was to be al- 
 lowed to trade within the Corapan3r^8 territories 
 without their written and sealed permission, under 
 pennlty of i\ forfeiture of the merchandise era- 
 
11 
 
 bnrkud: neither was even a roynl liecnco to trade 
 to be given tu any one without the Company't 
 consent. Ah u proof of the wealth and importance 
 of the Company, even in its infancy, it may he 
 stated, that stock to the amount of one hundred 
 pounds (a large sum in those days, if we consider 
 the relative value of money then and now) formed 
 the qualification for the possession of even a single 
 vote. Individu!\l!j were allowed a i)lurality of votes 
 in proportion to their possesHion of funded pro- 
 perty in the concern. 
 
 The Company were empowered to appoint dis- 
 trict governors, and other officers, to judge in all 
 cases, civil and criminal, according to the Laws 
 of England. 
 
 They were also empowered to grant lands — give 
 commercial privileges — build towns — employ, for the 
 protection of their trade and territory, armed force 
 — appoint commanders, and erect forts, &c. They 
 were empowered, also, to transport to England all 
 British subjects found trading in their territory, 
 without their permission ; and furthermore all ad- 
 mirals, and other officers of the crown, were en. 
 joined to lend their aid in assisting the execution 
 of the powers granted to the Company by the 
 C-harter. 
 
 i*^ 
 
m 
 
 12 
 
 Such is an outliue of the privileges and powers 
 granted to the greatest commercial association that 
 ever appeared in England, next to the East India 
 Company : an association that has kept on the 
 even tenour of its useful and prosperous course, 
 diffusing wealth at home, and spreading civilisa- 
 tion abroad — ransacking the wildest, the dreariest, 
 and most ungenial regions of the earth to provide 
 comfort and luxury and wealth for the people of 
 England ; and pointing out to the benighted sa- 
 vage the means of improvement, comfort, and 
 happiness. 
 
 Though there were associations formed by 
 French Canadians for the beaver trade so early 
 as 1630, yet the French had no actual or perma- 
 nent establishments, nor did they claim the right 
 of occupation of any portion of the interior. It 
 appears, from the history of Father Charlevoix 
 and Hennepin, that, for some years after the date 
 of the Charter, the French had no established 
 trading posts even as far as Lake Superior ; nei- 
 ther had they any established possessions in the 
 vicinity of Hudson's Bay, So that the terms of 
 the grant did not interfere with any previous right 
 of others. 
 
 Whatever pretensions may have been made by 
 
IS 
 
 the French subsequently to the Charter to any 
 portion of that extensive region, they were com- 
 pletely set aside on the conquest of Canada; and 
 then the jurisdiction and possessions of the Com- 
 pany were confirmed, in all their former plenitude. 
 Even after the establishment of American Indepen- 
 dence, none of the Hudson's Bay territories, or 
 of the waters running into Hudson's Bay, were 
 included in the lines assigned as the boundaries 
 between the possessions of Great Britain and those 
 of the United States. By the treaty of 1794, 
 which permits the most perfect freedom of inter- 
 course and communication between the subjects 
 of both nations throughout their respective do- 
 minions, an exception is made of the country 
 within the limits of the Hudson's Bay Company 
 (to be ascertained in conformity with their Char- 
 ter), from which the Americans are expressly ex- 
 cluded. In fine, the Charter has been sanctioned 
 by various subsequent Acts of Piu*liament, and by 
 treaties of peace. 
 
 i: 
 
 1 ' 
 
]4 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 British-Canadian Fur Trade — Esiablishment of the North- 
 West Company — its organisation and operations — rivalry 
 between it and the Hudson's Bay Company. 
 
 For a long series of years the French Canadian 
 traders found active competitors in the British ; 
 and on the conquest of that country, in 1762, 
 they became nearly extinct, the Hudson's Bay 
 Company, and other British traders, monopolising 
 almost the whole fur commerce of North America. 
 In a few years the Canadian trade began to revive, 
 but under British merchants and under a different 
 system. The old French system of licences was 
 abolished, as inconsistent with the principles of 
 free trade ; and spirituous liquors were allowed as 
 an article of barter, from a knowledge of the un- 
 governable propensity of the Indians to that luxury, 
 which they Avould make any sacrifice of property 
 to obtain. 
 
 Various expeditions were fitted out by separate 
 individuals, and sometimes by separate rival part- 
 
15 
 
 ners, who pursued their own interests without 
 fear or scruple, and seemed to have only two ob- 
 jects in view, — their own advantage and the injury 
 of their competitors. The consequences were, li- 
 centiousness, feuds, and excesses of every kind 
 in those regions so far distant from the reach of 
 all legal restraint. The Indians, too, by intoxica- 
 tion, and the vicious example and incentives of 
 the Coureurs des bois, and other agents, became 
 quarrelsome, knavish, and reckless. At last, the 
 natives, who were engaged by different contending 
 parties to attack each other, threatened to make 
 common cause and extirpate the traders. These 
 accumulated evils, the result of excessive competi- 
 tion, brought the trade to the lowest ebb, and to 
 save it from ruin several eminent merchants formed 
 a junction, to carry it on in partnership, in 1783. 
 This plan seemed to work weU; and similar asso- 
 ciations were subsequently formed with success. 
 At last there was an amalgamation of all in one 
 grand association; and this was formed in 1805, 
 the famous North- »v est Company, wliich for many 
 years exercised so much power, and threatened the 
 destruction of the Hudson's Bay Company, which 
 had been chartered since 1670. 
 
 The manag nent of this Company was vested 
 
 ■' I 
 
■Ii 
 
 16 
 
 in partners, who had various trading posts estab- 
 lished far and wide through the interior. Several 
 of the partners resided in Montreal and Quebec 
 to manage the affairs of the Company ; they were 
 called agents, and were persons of great importance : 
 the other partners took their stations at the in- 
 terior posts, where they remained throughout the 
 winter, to superintend the intercourse with the va- 
 rious tribes of Indians, and were called wintering 
 partners. The goods destined for this wide and 
 wandering traffic with the Indians, were stored in 
 the Company's warehouses in Montreal, and thence 
 conveyed by boats up the numerous rivers and lakes 
 that intersect this vast region, and by portages, or 
 land-carriage ways.* Though this Company was 
 at first but a spontaneous association of merchants, 
 yet when it became regularly organised, admis- 
 sion into it became extremely difficult. A candi- 
 date had to undergo a long probation, and to 
 rise slowly by his merits. He began at an early 
 age as clerk, and served an apprenticeship of seven 
 
 • It must be observed, that portage means a land carriage- 
 i^ay, when, in consequence of the impracticability of the 
 rivers, from cataracts, or other obstructions, canoes, goods, 
 and all must be borne overland, until another navigable part 
 be reached. 
 
:?'TT 'l/T^i. 
 
 17 
 
 years, for which, besides liis clothing, equipment, 
 and expenses, he received €10(). His probation 
 was generally passed in the interior trading posts, 
 subject to all the uncertainties and hardships in- 
 cidental to a life in so wild a region. When he 
 had served his apprenticeship, he received a salary 
 commensurate with his deserts, and was eligible 
 to a partnership in the Company, though years, 
 perhaps his life, may have passed away before he 
 attained that object of his toils and ambition. 
 Most of the clerks were young men of good fami- 
 lies from Scotland, — thrifty, hardy, bold, and 
 persevering, and generally well calculated for the 
 difficult duties they were required to discharge. 
 The principal partners, or agents, v ho resided in 
 Montreal and Quebec, formed a kind of commer- 
 cial aristocracy. From early associations, and a 
 community of pursuit and interest, the partners 
 were closely banded together; and their union, 
 energy, and wealth, gave them great influence with 
 the government, which often procured immunity for 
 crimes committed by their officials and servants. 
 
 They held a general meeting every summer at . 
 Fort William, near the gi*and portage, at the 
 north-western extremity of Lake Superior. Here 
 they discussed and arranged the affairs of the pre- 
 
 I- ™ 
 
 •I 
 
 ■s: : 
 
 \: 
 
18 
 
 ceding year, and laid down the plans of operation 
 for the next. Here too the clerks, and principal 
 servants, assembled to receive their instructions; 
 and a succession of festivities was kept up for 
 several days. No system could be better devised 
 to infuse activity into every department, and spread 
 the influence of the Company ; and some idea 
 may be formed of the extensive range which their 
 operations embraced, from the circumstance that, 
 in the plenitude of their power, they employed no 
 less than 2000 voyageurs, or boatmen, at average 
 wages of forty pounds a year each. They ex- 
 tended the Fur trade into regions previously un- 
 explored, and opened new and extensive markets 
 for the commercial industry, enterprise, and manu- 
 facturing industry of the Empire, and so took for- 
 mal and permanent possession of districts not oc- 
 cupied by the subjects of any other power, among 
 which the most important was Columbia. 
 
 The impetus, and almost new character which 
 they gave to the prosecution of the Pur trade — 
 their encroachments on the Hudson's Bay Company, 
 whom they not merely wished to outrival, but de- 
 termined to crush — their subsequent amalgamation 
 with that Company; and the great and lasting in- 
 fluence which this amalgamation has had for com- 
 
19 
 
 mercial good, render it necessary to enter somewhat 
 into detail on their proceedings. 
 
 There were three distinct differences between the 
 two Companies which deserve to be noticed. The 
 Hudson's Bay Company had received a royal grant, 
 confirmed by Acts of Parliament, of the vast ex- 
 tent of territory within, or bordering on, all the 
 waters that mn into Hudson's Bay. It is true the 
 limits were not strictly defined, but they were in- 
 telligible. Having, within their own territories, 
 ample range for the pursuit of their trade^ they 
 had no incentive for encroachment on foreign ter- 
 ritory. But the North-west Company, being a 
 voluntary association, had no field of operation to 
 which they could lay any legal claim, — they were 
 barely toleralted by the law; and were therefore 
 obliged to try their fortune wherever they could. 
 
 2nd. The general practice of the Hudson's Bay 
 Company was to remain at their factories on the 
 coast : to these the natives resorted from the inte- 
 rior to trade, coming down the lakes and rivers in 
 spring to dispose of the produce of the winter 
 hunt, and returning in autumn with their supplies 
 of English manufacture, which they received in ex- 
 change. But the North-west Company, having no 
 such established marts, their servants penetrated 
 
 I y 
 
 ! 
 
 i :, 
 
20 
 
 the very recesses of the wilderness, where they es- 
 tablished stations, and huxtered with the natives 
 at their homes. 
 
 8rd. The officers and servants of the Hudson's 
 Bay Company were paid regular salaries ; were con- 
 fined to certain localities, and had a prescribed 
 routine of duty to perform. But the officials of 
 the Isorfch-west Company were very differently 
 circumstanced : they were all, from the nature of 
 their engagements, and a principle of self interest, 
 speculators, and sons of enterprise. They became 
 valuable to the Company only in proportion to the 
 success of their exertions, and on this depended 
 their reward and their hopes. Sometimes, indeed, 
 the officials of the Hudson's Bay Company were 
 ^<)nt into the interior, but this was an exception, 
 not a rule : whereas, the general rule of the North- 
 west Company was to despatch their agents into 
 the interior, and any location at head-quarters was 
 the exception. 
 
 The North-west Company having been fully or- 
 ganised and prepared for operation, they proceeded 
 at once to business with great promptitude and 
 vigour; and though they were, it must be owned, 
 not very scrupulous as to means, yet they effe< * 
 themselves, or were the primary cause in effecting. 
 
21 
 
 great objects. Before their time, the Hudson's 
 Bay Company was ignorant of the localities and 
 capabilities of even its own territories ; but now, 
 since its range of knowledge has been enlarged, 
 and its spirit of trade invigorated, by its fusion 
 with the North-west Company, the entire of the 
 northern continent has been explored, from the 
 confines of Canada and California to the Pole ; 
 and all its resources discovered. The North-west 
 Company also performed great services to the Impe- 
 rial Grovemment during the late American war, by 
 the employment of their servants and treasures, 
 and their zeal in rousing the Indians. 
 
 The trade of the old Hudson's Bay Company was 
 geuerally carried on with ease, quietness, honesty, 
 and regularity. They had well understood engage- 
 ments with the Indians, which were on both sides 
 punctually fulfilled; and on both sides there was 
 confidence and trust. The Company often gave 
 goods in advance, and the Indians never imagined 
 that the visits of the white man would be attended 
 with perfidy or pillage. 
 
 As a proof of InJian good faith, it may be 
 sufficient to state, that in the year 1775, Mr. Fro- 
 bisher, a Canadian enterpriser, having penetrated 
 into regions previously unexplored by his country- 
 
men, met a party of Indians, with their canoes 
 full of valuable furs, bound for Fort Churchill, one 
 of the factories at Hudson's Bay, and that he 
 found great difficulty in inducing them to deal 
 with him, even for a small portion. The difficulty 
 was, that they were going to fulfil their engage- 
 ments, in paying a contracted debt, for which 
 their cargo was but Uttle more than an equivalent. 
 A few years after, a Mr. Pond, who wintered 
 among them, having collected a greater quantity 
 of furs than he could carry away at a time, left 
 the surplus in his hut ; and on his return next 
 season, found them imdisturbed. Such was Indian 
 integrity at that time i But one of the first efforts 
 made by the North-west Company was to break up 
 that slow mode of commerce, and introduce a quick, 
 haphazard, and exciting sort of traffic among the 
 Indians at their homes. This plan, firom the natu- 
 ral indolence of the natives, unwilling to undergo 
 the toils and perils of long journeys, and from 
 their appetite for spirituous liquors, introduced as 
 an article of barter, succeeded. The Company for 
 a time, obtained an abundance of furs ; but this 
 abundance led to want, 
 
 The best season for hunting the fur-bearing ani- 
 mals is winter, when the fur is in its prime, In 
 
28 
 
 Bummor, the fur is of inferior quality ; and this, 
 too, is the Hcason when they rear their young. 
 For both reasons it was desirable that the hunting 
 should be suspended during the summer months. 
 Accordingly, the summer season was selected for 
 the distant voyages of the hunters to the Hudson's 
 Bay Company's factories, for the purposes of traf- 
 fic. Under this system, no furs were brought 
 home but those of the best quality; and as the 
 breed was preserved during summer, the supply was 
 plentiful. But when the servants of the North- 
 west Company went to reside in the interior, the 
 natives were tempted to abandon their commerce 
 with the Hudson's Bay Company, and to deal 
 with them, in the prospect of superior advantage. 
 They accordingly continued the hunt throughout 
 the year, and killed the cub and the full-growii 
 beaver alike. To aggravate this evil, the Company, 
 dissatisfied with even this supply, employed young 
 men from the Indian villages in Canada, to go 
 into the interior as hunters, paying them at a 
 stipulated rate for the furs procured. These, hav- 
 ing no families to maintain, and having no other 
 employment to pursue, and having besides no in- 
 terest in preserving the breed of lucrative animals, 
 destroyed them indiscriminately — young and old — 
 
 •itr 
 
ill soation And out of scaiion. T)ic consequence 
 waM, that- districts, which once yielded those valu- 
 able animals in abundance were nearly stripped of 
 Ihem; and that the homo market was drugged — 
 (aud while such a system is suffered to continue, 
 must ever be drugged) — with inferior articles. The 
 miserable natives at last saw the impending ruin : 
 — they murmured, but dared not resist. 
 
 It was necessary for the maintenance of this 
 Company's monopoly throughout a vast extent of 
 the most valuable Beaver countries, that they 
 should employ a great retinue of servants — greater 
 than the legitimate profits of the trade could af- 
 ford — and to allow them ostensibly high wages. 
 But in reality the wages were low, for the Company 
 reimbursed themselves by speculating on the ex- 
 travagance, dissipation, and necessities of their 
 dependants; for at every station they kept a jort 
 of tally-shop for credit, where the men were obliged 
 tc purchase all the articles they required at an ex- 
 orbitantly high price. As these were generally a 
 reckless race, and had credit to the amount of 
 their wages, and even more, they were unable to 
 hoard any provision for their old age, or fcr their 
 families, who were left in a state of destitution. 
 The consequence was, that they were constantly 
 
I 
 
 25 
 
 in debt, and in a state of bondage to their em- 
 ployers, there being no alternative left them but a 
 periodical return to their employment on the terms 
 prescribed to them, or a jail. 
 
 From one article, a judgment may bo formed 
 of the rest. They were much addicted to the 
 use of spirituous liquors, which, independently 
 of the luxury and gratification, were in some 
 measure necessary ; considering the severity of 
 their labours, and the nature of the climate. 
 Spirits which cost the Company at Montreal 
 little more than two dollars per gallon, were sold 
 in the interior to their servants at eight dollars 
 per quart I So that when a senant became ad- 
 dicted to drinking spirits, the Company sustained 
 no loss by adding j£20 to his wages. Ano- 
 ther cause of keeping the servants in debt and 
 subjection, was the circulation of a depreciated 
 currency, called North-west Currency, in the in- 
 terior, in which money was reckoned only at one 
 half the value it bore in Canada. The men who 
 were engaged at Montreal had their wages calcu- 
 lated according to the established legal currency, 
 but every article which they received in the inte- 
 rior was charged according to the North-west cur- 
 rency. The Compauy also continued to bring 
 
 I! 
 
 
26 
 
 the Indians within their power, by speculating on 
 their necessities. Those who inhabited the more 
 sterile parts of the country, to the east of lake 
 Winnipeck, and also to the north, on Churchhill 
 river, and in Athabasca, whioh are rocky and full 
 of swamps, well adapted for the habitation of the 
 heaver, but scanty of buffalo and game, were poor, 
 scattered, and consequently timid and feeble. 
 From these the most \aluable furs were obtained, 
 and these the Company intimidated to deal with 
 themselves exclusively. 
 
 After the complete organisation of the North- 
 west Company and the expulsion of all private 
 specidators from the Fur trade of Canada, the 
 Hudson's Bay Company became their only rival to 
 the North and West of Lake Superior. From 
 that time the hostile spirit which had been fostered 
 for years among the clerks and servants of the old 
 rival Companies that became now fused into one 
 great whole in the North-west Compjvny, was all 
 concentrated against the Hudson's Bay Company; 
 and a systematic plan not only was formed to drive 
 their servants out of all the valuable Beaver coun- 
 tries ; but hopes were entertained of reducing that 
 Company to so low an ebb, as in time to induce 
 them to transfer their chartered rights to their 
 
 
47 
 
 { 
 
 
 formidable competitors. As the contests between 
 these powerfiil rivals filled a large space in the 
 commercial transactions of British America, and 
 as they eventually ,led to a great result — the ab- 
 sorption of the North-west Company in the Hud- 
 son's Bay Company, ,and the undivided sway of 
 the latter Association — it is necessary to mention 
 a few instances out of a long series of aggressions, 
 in order to convey an idea of the mode of con- 
 ducting commercial competition, when a spirit of 
 self-interest prevailed, in regions remote from the 
 restraints of established law. 
 
 In 1806, Mr. W. Corrigal, a trader, in the ser- 
 vice of the Hudson's Bay Company, was sta- 
 tioned with a few men at a place called Bad-lake, 
 within the limit of Albany Factory (in the Hud- 
 son's Bay territory), and near a post occupied 
 by a much larger body of men commanded by 
 Mr. H^Mane, a partner in the North-west Com- 
 pany. Five of the Canadians in his service^ 
 watching their opportunity, broke into Mr. Cor- 
 rigal's house at night, when he and his men were 
 in bed. They immediately secured all the fire- 
 arms they could find, and, threatening to shoot 
 Mr. Corrigal if he made any resistance, rifled the 
 store-house, and took away 480 beaver skins. 
 
28 
 
 Corneal soon after went to Haldane, and demanded 
 the restoration of the property, Haldane answered 
 that " he came for furs, and furs he was deter- 
 mined to have." These furs were afterwards car- 
 ried to the grand portage, and formed a part of 
 the Company's returns for that year. A similar 
 attack was made in the same year on another sta- 
 tion, at the Red Lake, also under the charge of 
 Mr. Corrigal, and 50 beaver skins, together with a 
 large quantity of cloth, brandy, tobacco, ammuni- 
 tion, &c. carried off. 
 
 In the autumn of this year, J. Crear, a trader, 
 in the service of the Hudson's Bay Company, 
 (also on the establishment of Albany Factory,) oc- 
 cupied a post with five men at Big Fall, near Lake 
 Winnipeg. One evening a party of Canadians, under 
 the command of Mr. Alexander McDonnell, then 
 a clerk of the North-west Company, encamped at 
 a short distance. On the following morning 
 McDonnell and his party came to Crear's house, in 
 the absence of four of his men, and, charging 
 him with having traded furs from an Indian who 
 was indebted to the North-west Company, insisted 
 on their being given up to him. Crear refused ; 
 and on this, M'Donnell broke open the ware- 
 house, and struck Crear in the face with the butt- 
 
99 
 
 end of his gun, inflicting on him a severe wounci, 
 and stabbed his remaining servant in the arm 
 with a dagger. They then carried off the furs, 
 a quantity of provisions, and a canoe. On the 
 following February, one of M'DonnelPs assist- 
 ants, at the head of a party, attacked Crear's 
 house, beat him and his men, and carried off a 
 great number of valuable furs. They then com- 
 pelled Crear, with threats of instant death, to sign 
 a paper acknowledging that he voluntarily gave up 
 the fiirs, as not being properly his. 
 
 On another occasion, William Linkwater, in the 
 service of the Hudson's Bay Company, was return- 
 ing to his station at Rein-deer Lake, bringing on a 
 sledge a quantity of valuable furs, which he had 
 traded from the Indians. He was met, near his 
 own house, by Mr. Duncan Campbell, one of the 
 partners of the North-west Company, at the head 
 of a body of men, and was called on to give 
 them up. On his refusal, Campbell cut the traces 
 of the sledge, beat him, and bore off the furs, for 
 which no compensation was ever after made. 
 
 The North-west Company, having been esta- 
 blished some years at Isle a la Crosse, near 
 the borders of the Athabasca country (but within 
 the territories claimed by the Hudson's Bay 
 
 I 
 
 H 
 
 III 
 
30 
 
 lili 
 
 Company under their charter), had obtained 
 what they called the attachment of the Indians: 
 i, e., they reduced them to a state of awe and sub- 
 mission. To this place Mr. Peter Fidler was 
 sent, in 1809, with a party of eighteen men, from 
 Churchill Factory, to establish a trading post. The 
 Company's officers had, on many former^ occa- 
 sions, attempted to establish a trade in this place, 
 which is the centre of a country abounding in bea- 
 ver ; but they were always obliged to relinquish the 
 attempt. In order the more e£Pectually to overawe 
 the Indians from dealing with Mr. Fidler, and to 
 deter him from any attempt to protect his cus- 
 tomers, the North-vcsL Company reinforced their 
 post with an extra number of Canp.Jians. A 
 watch-house was bmlt at his door ; so that no In- 
 dian could enter unobserved. Here a party of 
 professed battqilleurs, or bullies, were stationed, 
 and employed not only to watch and scare away 
 the Indians, but to give every possible annoyance 
 day and night to the servants of the Hudson's 
 Bay Company. Their fire-wood was stolen — ^they 
 were perpetually obstructed in hunting for pro- 
 visions — the produce of their garden was destroyed 
 — their fishing lines stolen in the night time ; and 
 their nets, on which they chiefly relied for subsis- 
 
 •41 
 
 
<*«•' 
 
 81 
 
 tence, cut to pieces. At length, growing bolder 
 with success, they issued a formal mandate, that 
 not one of the Hudson's Bay Company's servants 
 should stir out of the house. 
 
 The consequence was that Fidler and his party 
 were driven away, and the Canadians Li it the hut 
 to the ground. It was v >*" only the ^ >8ecution of 
 trade, on the part of the Hudson's Bay Company, that 
 their rivals thwarted, but even attempts to explore 
 the country. This Mr. Fidler had been despatched 
 in 1807 to explore a part of the country through 
 which a more advantageous communication may 
 be opened into Athabasca. He was employed 
 merely as a surveyor; yet he was tracked on his 
 route, and interrupted in every way; and the In- 
 dian who acted as his guide was attacked, for his 
 breach of duty to the North-west Company, and 
 most cruelly maltreated. 
 
 To these, and many similar outrages, the diffi- 
 culty of obtaining legal redress gave, to a certain 
 extent, impunity. It is true there was an act 
 passed by the Imperial Parliament, in 1803, called 
 the "Canadian Jurisdiction Act," to repress and 
 punish such crimes ; and it was passed in conse- 
 quence of the complaints made of the many as- 
 
t 
 
 82 
 
 SRults of the servants of the Old and New North- 
 west Companies on each other, when these com- 
 panies were violent competitors, — before their anion. 
 By this Act, the courts of law in Canada were 
 allowed to take cognisance of .any offences com- 
 mitted with'n the " Indian territories." 
 
 But though Canadians contending against Ca- 
 nadians may not Iiave been brought under the 
 operation of tliis Act, yet when the struggle and 
 the contention came to be between the Canadians 
 united on the one side, (after the junction of 
 the Companies,) and the servants of the Hudson's 
 Bay Company on the other, it would have been 
 next to an impossibility for a Hudson's Bay Com- 
 pany complainant — a stranger — to obtain redress 
 at Montreal for an outrage committed by a Cana- 
 dian, perhaps at a distance of three or fqur thou- 
 sand miles. The Canadians were in possession of 
 all the water and land passages to Montreal — 
 their friends and employers were then willing and 
 able to assist them, and they could have no lack 
 of witnesses. But how could a servant of the 
 Hudson's Bay Company, who had no command of 
 the line of route, and who had no, intercourse with 
 Car»irla, and no agent there, convey his witnesses 
 
 3ES- 
 
88 
 
 safely such a distance, and by such a route ; 
 and how could he hope for equal facility of main- 
 taining his cause in Montreal ? 
 
 There was only one case brought to trial for 
 twelve years. This case, if truly reported, fur- 
 nishes an example of gross oppression. In 1800, 
 Mr. W. Corrigal, of the Hudson's Bay Company, 
 occupied a post near Eagle Lake, to the north 
 of Lake Superior. A party of the North West 
 Company established, on the 15th of September, 
 an encampment about forty yards from his house, 
 under the command of Mr. iEneas M'Donnell, a 
 clerk of the latter Company. On the evening of 
 their encampment, an Indian arrived in his canoe, 
 bringing a cargo of furs, in part payment of a 
 debt which he owed Corrigal; and remained at 
 his house all night. Next morning, as he was 
 returning home with some goods — such as clothing, 
 ammunition for his winter's hunt, &c., M'Don- 
 nell, with two of his servants, went down to the 
 wharf, and seized on the loaded canoe, on the 
 alledged ground that he was indebted to the North- 
 west Company. Corrigal, 'witnessing the occur- 
 rence, sent down two of his men to secure the 
 canoe. M'Donnell drew his sword and severely 
 wounded one of the men— Tate. This scene soon 
 
 <h 
 
 fW 
 
84 
 
 brought np reinforcements from both sides ; and a 
 general fight ensued, during which M'Donnell 
 did great execution with his sword. CorrigaVs 
 party were obliged to retreat in a sad plight. 
 In the pursuit, M'Donnell M'as about to cut down 
 a person named Mowatt, whom he had previously 
 wounded, when Mowatt turned round and shot him 
 on the spot. This put a stop, then, to hostilities. 
 The North-west Company's servants despatched cou- 
 riers to their friends in the neighbouring posts, and 
 on the next day assembled in large bodies before 
 Corrigal's house, which he had in the mean time 
 barricaded, demanding, with threats of instant de- 
 struction to the whole party in case of refusal, 
 that the person who shot M'Donnell should be 
 given up. Mowatt then stepped forward, and said 
 that he was the man, aAd would do it again in 
 his own defence. He then surrendered himself, 
 and it was agreed that two of his party, Tate 
 and Leask, should be taken with him, as his wit- 
 nesses, straight to Montreal; but if he were de- 
 tained till spring, then one of them was to be sent 
 back to Eagle Lake, and Mr. Corrigal himself 
 was to go to Montreal as his witness. They ac- 
 cordingly were taken to the North-west Company's 
 encampment, where Mowatt was placed in irons. 
 
35 
 
 They were thence removed to a station called 
 Lac La Pluie, where they were detained till 
 the «i6th of February, Mowatt being kept all 
 the time in irons, and his witnesses subjected to 
 great suffering. On the 26th of February Leask 
 was sent back, and Mr. Corrigal set out. He, 
 Tate, and the prisoner arrived at Fort William 
 on the 9th of June. On the 2ist, Mr. A. Shaw, 
 a partner, and a magistrate for the Indian terri- 
 tory, under the Act of 1803, arrived from Mon- 
 treal, and ordered Mowatt to be summoned before 
 him. Mowatt refused to answer any questions, 
 saying he wished to be taken at once to Mon- 
 treal and placed on his trial. He was ordered 
 back to the close and solitary dungeon in which 
 he had been confined, and placed under heavy 
 irons. Here he was detained till the 17th of 
 August, though canoes were constantly plying be- 
 tween that place and Montreal. When he was 
 taken out to be removed to Montreal, he fell down 
 twice from weakness, and cut his face with hig 
 handcuffs. During his confinement it was feared 
 by the jailor that the soUtude and privation were 
 driving him to delirium, and his razors were re- 
 moved. 
 
 Corrigal and Tate arrived soon after, and 
 
 '- M 
 
 i' ( fit 
 
86 
 
 to their surprise, were arrested, as accessories to 
 the murder. Thus was the prisoner deprived of 
 his only means of defence ; and two men, redly 
 innocent of the act, who went down according to 
 previous agreement, as witnesses — free and uncharged, 
 a distance of 1500 miles in his behalf, were en- 
 trapped into a prison. The three were penniless, 
 unknown, and unfriended in Montreal. It was 
 not till the end of November that the directors 
 of the Hudson's Bay Company, who at that time 
 had no agent or correspondent in Montreal, or 
 any place in Canada, heard of the prosecution thus 
 carried on against their servants ; and they then 
 took steps for their defence by engaging counsel. 
 The prisoners remained in prison about six months ; 
 and during most of that time endured great luird- 
 ship. They were indicted for murder. The grand 
 jury returned a true bill against Mowatt, but ig- 
 nored the bills against the others. At Mowatt's 
 trial the influence of the North-west Company 
 was evident. The jury was generally believed to 
 have been packed; and more than one indication 
 of manifest partiality was exhibited from the bench. 
 Though it was clearly proved that M'Donnell be- 
 gan the attack without provocation; and that 
 Mowatt fired in self defence, he was found guilty 
 
87 
 
 of manslaughter^ and sentenced to be imprisoned 
 for six months (having been already in close con- 
 finement for eighteen months), and branded in the 
 hand with a red-hot iron. 
 
 Such are the leading facts of this memorable 
 case, about which much has been written, and 
 which awakened the attention of the British pub- 
 lic to one of the modes of carrying on the Cana- 
 dian fur trade. Frott\ the bitter spirit in which 
 these contests were carried on, and the crimina- 
 tions and recriminations so liberally and boldly 
 dealt out on both sides, it is not easy now to ar- 
 rive at a clear conclusion as to the relative amount 
 of delinquency of either party. The weight of 
 evidence, however, seems to incline in favour of 
 the Hudson's Bay Company. They had no occa- 
 sion, at least were not under the same necessity 
 of resorting to violent means .or securing a pro- 
 fitable trade as their rivals. They had a Charter 
 which gave them great advantages; they had not 
 an equal force to present ag; inst their rivals ; and 
 besides, the scene of operations lay at a great dis- 
 tance from their head-quarters. But, however, 
 good came from the evil ; it led to a junction, 
 and the undisturbed and salutary prosecution of 
 the whole trade. 
 
 
88 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Establiuhmcnt of the Fludson's Bay Company's settlement, 
 under Lord Selkirk, at Red River— destruction of it by 
 the North-west Company. 
 
 It may not be uninteresting to give an account 
 of a very judicious and laudable attempt made 
 by tbe Hudson's Bay Company, to establish an 
 agricultural colony, as the nucleus, from which, 
 in progress of time, civilised society would spread 
 in the territories of the Hudson's Bay Com- 
 pany — an attempt which, unhappily, was marred 
 by the influences of avaride and jealousy. The 
 company had long been of opinion that, as the 
 country over which they held unlimited jurisdic- 
 tion contained so many natural resources, and was 
 capable of yielding other riches besides furs, it 
 would be desirable, for many reasons, to establish 
 colonies in the interior; for, independently of the 
 advantages accruing to the settlers themselves for 
 acquiring the means of independent subsistence, 
 perhaps denied to them in their native country, 
 
 
the example of ell regulated communities, show, 
 ing a re^iHict for law, order, integrity, and religion, 
 would operate beneficially in the commercial inter* 
 course between the rude natives and the licentious 
 traders. But to found such colonies in a country 
 so far removed from any civilised estabUshmenta 
 was a matter surrounded with difficulties. It ro* 
 quired persons of property, influence, and judgment 
 to undertake the management of the plan. 
 
 Lord Selkirk, wlio possessed considerable spirit of 
 enterprise, and ac(|iured some note as a writer on 
 colonial emigration, entered into a ncgociation with 
 the company. They accordingly, on condition of 
 speedy settlement, made to him a grant of land 
 in a salubrious and fertile districtj where the land 
 was abundantly supplied with buffalo and other 
 wild cattle, and the lakes and rivers with excellent 
 fish. He commenced then, in 1812, a settlement 
 at Red River, near its junction with the Assini- 
 boin River, to the south cf Lake Winnipeg. Miles 
 M'Donnell, Esq., formerly a captain in the queen's 
 rangers, was selected to conduct the undertaking, 
 and was, at the same time, appointed governor of the 
 district, under the authority conferred by the com- 
 pany's charter. Though the settlement was formed 
 in a district which had been exhausted of valuable 
 
40 
 
 furs by the extirpation'of the beaver ; and though the 
 settlers were prevented, bj Ihe very tenure of their 
 lands, from interfering in the fur trade, and were 
 thus exempted from the suspicion of rivalry ; yet, 
 extraordinary as it may appear, the North-west 
 Company, from the very moment that the Hud- 
 son's Bay Company eng ;:ed in the plan of form- 
 ing an agricultural settlement upon aa extended 
 scale within their tenitories, avowed their determined 
 hostility to the settlement ; or to any execution, how- 
 ever partial, of such a project. As they wished to 
 hold exclusive possession of the country, they were 
 jealous of any estabUsVi.ient t-iat could be formed 
 within the range of their monopoly, where habits 
 of sobriety, and principles oi moral intf^ ^ity would 
 operate as a check on the conduct of their serv- 
 ants; and thev resolved to destroy it. 
 
 The p.ettlement presented every appearance of 
 growing prosperity. Emigrants were arriving ; and 
 the Indians evinced a friendly disposition. But 
 in the autumn of 1814, after a general meeting of 
 the partners of the North-west Company, held at 
 Fort William, near^ Lake Superior, an expedition 
 was fitted out against it. The intentions of the 
 North-west Company can be judged of by a letter 
 from Mr. Alexander M'Donnell, one of the partners, 
 
41 
 
 dated August 5, and addressed to a brother-in-law 
 of the lion. William M'Gillwray, another of the 
 partners, residing in Montreal. 
 
 "You see myself, and our mutual iriend Mr. 
 Cameron, so far on our way to commence open 
 hostilities against the enemy. Much is expected 
 from us. One thing certain is, that we will do 
 our best to defend what we consider our rights in 
 the intcriov. Nothing but the complete downfall of 
 the colony will satisfy some, by fair or foul means 
 — a most desirabk. object if it can be effected. So 
 here is at them with all my heart and energy." 
 
 Thair first plan of proceeding was to seduce or 
 frighten away as many of the colonists and their 
 servants as they could ; and raise the Indians to 
 destroy the settlement. Previously to their setting 
 out, Messrs. M'Donnell and Cameron provided 
 themselves with the uniforms of British military 
 officers, and administered an oath- in Fort William 
 to their followers to obey all the orders of their 
 commander for the defence of the interests of the 
 company in the North-west. On their arriving at 
 Fort Gibraltar, a fort belonging to the North-west 
 Company, within about a mile of the Red River 
 settlement, Cameron assumed the style and title 
 of commander, allcdging that government had 
 
 E 
 
42 
 
 conferred that appointment upon him, and issued 
 proclamations in tiiat character. Their first step 
 was to excite discontent among the settlers: and 
 several of them were induced, by prospects of re- 
 ward or by intimidation, to desert, and pillage the 
 settlement ; which they did ; for among other arti- 
 cles, they took off nine pieces of artillery, with a 
 quantity of muskets and ammunition, sent out by the 
 board of ordnance for its defence ; Cameron and his 
 party being posted under arms close by ready to sup- 
 port the plunderers if resisted. The settlement being 
 thus deprived of its principal means of defence, 
 and harrassed for months by a series of other ag- 
 gressions and losses, it was at last determined, in 
 June 1815, that Cameron should attack it with 
 his whole force. This attack, followed up by others, 
 having foiled, though attended with much damage 
 to the colony, the assailants brought the artillery 
 to batter down the buildings. Then at last the 
 governor was obliged to surrender and he was sent 
 a prisoner to Montreal, under a warrant from a 
 partner of the North-west Company on a charge of 
 having prohibited the exportation of provisions; and 
 having detained some bags of pemican (a prepara- 
 tion of dried buffalo meat) belonging to the com- 
 pany. The remainder of them were expelled ; 
 
 
43 
 
 their cattle slaughtered ; and their buildings le- 
 velled down. 
 
 Messrs. M'Dbnnell and Cameron were treated 
 with great distinction by the company, and in 
 approbation . their services were retained in their 
 former poits. 
 
 But in Autumn, the colonists who had been 
 driven out returned with an accession to their 
 numbers, partly from Scotland, and partly from 
 Canada, under the conduct of Mr. Colin Robertson, 
 a gentleman in the service of the Hudson's Bay 
 Company, and resumed the occupation of their 
 fields at Bed River. Soon after, Robert Semple, 
 Esq., who had been appointed governor over the 
 whole of the Hudson's Bay territories, arrived at 
 Red River. The North-west Company now felt 
 that a more vigorous effort than the former could 
 alone enable them to destroy the renovated set- 
 tlement. The previous stratagems, of sowing dis- 
 affection, and influencing the colonists, were now 
 impracticable. They were committed in open war- 
 fare with the Hudson's Bay Company; their sole 
 hopes then lay in superior physical power. An 
 unusually large force was collected, in the spring 
 of 1816, at North-west Fort, on the river Clui 
 Appelle, within the Hudson's Bay territories, under 
 
44 
 
 the command of Alexander M'Donnell. To form 
 this force, requis'*^ . :.ns had been made upon various 
 forts of the North-west Company, to a tery great 
 distance ; all of whom contributed their quotas. The 
 greatest energy was exhibited by the different part- 
 ners of the Company. Mr. Duncan CampbeU, a 
 partner who commanded at Fort Cumberland, in 
 despatching his reinforcements, told them that it 
 was indiopensable that they should have the Go- 
 vernor, Mr. Semple, and Mr. Robertson, or their 
 heads. 
 
 The Hudson's Bay Company had a post like- 
 wise on the river Qui Appelle, in the vicinity 
 of the post where M'Donnell commanded. This 
 river is oue of the tributaries to the Red River. 
 The post established there by the Hudson's Bay 
 Company was one of those denominated provision 
 posts; and from ir large quantities of provisions 
 were sent down in boats to the Red River for the 
 use of the colony, and the company. Governor 
 Semple hearing at Red Tiiver that the North-west 
 Company were collecting a large force at Qui Ap- 
 pelle, and fearing they would prevent the arrival 
 at the settlement of the provisions expected from 
 that quarter, despatched a Mr. Pambrun with an 
 escort; to ensure their safe arrival. This party, 
 
45 
 
 on their return with the provisions, as w^cll as 
 a quantity of furs and other property, were attacked 
 by a superior force, at an intricate part of the 
 river, where resistance was liopeless — were made 
 prisoners, and carried back, with xiio cargo, to 
 M'Dornell's position at Qui AppcUe. 
 
 M'Donnell, when all the expected levees had ar- 
 rived, set out for the attack of the colony, and on 
 his way sacked the Hudson's Bay Company's boats at 
 Brandon House. Having arrived at a place called 
 Portages des Prairies, about sixty miles from the 
 colony, he Ijalted there with the main l)ody of his 
 forces, and sent forward a detachment of about 
 seventy horsemen, under the command of Cuthbert 
 Grant, The Governor, Mr. Semple, having learned 
 that an armed body of men was at hand, and cuptiu- 
 ing some of the settlers, proceeded with about thirty 
 attendants to meet them, hoping by his presence 
 and authority, to prevent hostihties, especially as 
 he was ignorant of their number, aiid real ijiten- 
 tions. He was soon surrounded and summoned 
 to surrender ; on his refusal he and his party were 
 instantly slain, with the exception of one who was 
 kept a prisoner, and four who escaped, in the tumult, 
 across the river. Grant employed the prisoner to 
 induce the inhabitants of the settlement, and of 
 
46 
 
 the Hudson's Bay Company's fort attached to it, 
 to make au entire and unconditional surrender, as 
 the only means of escaping from destruction. There 
 was no alternative : they were reduced, to utter 
 helplessness and despair : and accordingly they sur- 
 rendered every thing, begging only for their lives. 
 The certilicate of protection granted to each indi- 
 vidual ran thus:-— 
 
 " This is to certify that behaved honourably 
 
 to the North-west Company .'' 
 
 CuTHBEBT Grant, 
 Clerk to the North-west Company. 
 
 This document shows that either real or sup- 
 posed interference with the interests of the com- 
 pany constituted, originally, the chief crime of the 
 settlers. These survivors were immediately em- 
 barked in canoes, to the number of 200, including 
 women and children, with a very insuflBcient stock 
 of provisions for their journey, to Hudson's Bay. 
 Thus was the downfall of the colony, according to 
 M'Donnell's intimation in his letter, effected. The 
 majority of the sufferers were Scotch, and the con- 
 ductors of the attack were their own countrymen 
 It shows what the love of gain can do. "** 
 
47 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Trappers, or beaver hunters — Voyageurs, or boatmen. 
 
 In the old times of the Canadian far trade when 
 the trade in furs was chiefly pursued about the 
 lakes and rivers, the expeditions were, in a great de- 
 gree, carried on in batteaux and canoes. But a 
 totally different class now sprung up — the " moun- 
 taineers" — the traders and trappers that scale the 
 vast mountain chains, and pursue their hazardous 
 vocation amidst their wild recesses — mo\'ing from 
 place to place on horseback — exposed not alone 
 to the perils of the wilderness, but to the perils 
 of attack from fierce Indians, to whom it has be- 
 come as favourite an exploit to harass and way-lay 
 a band of trappers with their pack-horses, as it is 
 to the Arabs of the desert to plunder a caravan. 
 The equestrian exercises in whiun they are con- 
 stantly engaged — the nature of the country they 
 traverse — vast plains and mountains pure and ex- 
 hilarating in their atmospheric qualities — seem to 
 
48 
 
 mako them, physically and mentally, a more lively, 
 vigorous, daring and enduring race than the fur 
 traders and trappers of former days, who generally 
 had huts or tents to shelter them from the in- 
 clemency of tlie seasons — M'cre seldom exposed to 
 the hostility of the natives, and generally were 
 within reach of supplies from the settlements. 
 There is, perhaps, no class of men on the earth 
 who lead a hfe of more continued exertion, danger 
 and excitement; and who are more enamoured of 
 their occupations, than the free trappers of the 
 wild regions of the west. No toil, no danger, 
 no privation, can turn the trapper aside from his 
 pursuit. If his meal is not ready in time, he takes 
 his rifle — hies to the forest — shoots his game — 
 lights his fire ; and cooks his repast. With his 
 horse and his rifle he is independent of the world, 
 and spurns its restraints. In vain may the most 
 vigilant and cruel savages beset his path — in vain 
 may rocks, and precipices, and wintry torrents 
 oppose his progress ; let but a single track of a 
 beaver meet his eye, and he forgets all danger, 
 and defies all diflficulties. At times he may be 
 seen, with his traps on his shoulder, buffeting his 
 way across rapid streams amidst floating blocks of 
 ice : at other times may he be seen, with his traps 
 
 jMi^. 
 
49 
 
 slung on his back, clambering the most nigged 
 mountains — scaling or descending the most fright- 
 ful precipices — searching by routes inaccessible to 
 horse, and never before trodden by white man, for 
 springs and lakes unknown to his comrades, where 
 he may meet with his favourite game. 
 
 This class of hunters are generally Canadians 
 by birth, and of French descent ; who, after being 
 bound to serve the traders for a certain number 
 of years and receive wages, or hunt on shares, 
 then continued to hunt and trap on their own ac- 
 count, trading with the company like the Indians ; 
 hence they are called free men. Having passed 
 their youth in the wilderness, in constant inter- 
 course with the Indians, and removed from civi- 
 lised society, they lapse with natural facility into 
 the habits of savage life. They generally inter- 
 marry with the natives, and, like them, have often 
 a plurality of wives. Wardens of the wilderness, 
 according to the vicissitudes of the seasons, the 
 migrations of animals, and the plenty or scarcity 
 of game, they lead a precarious and unsettled ex- 
 istence, exposed to sun and storm, and all kinds 
 of hardships, until they resemble the Indians in 
 complexion, as well as in tastes and habits. From 
 time to time they bring their peltries to the trading 
 
60 
 
 iiou8C9 of the company, and barter them for such 
 articles as they may rc(]uire. When Montreal 
 was the great emporium of the fur trade, some 
 of them would occasionally return, after an absence 
 of many years, to visit his old associates. There 
 they would squander the long and hard earned 
 fruits of their labours ; and after the fit of revelry 
 was over go back to their former toils, and the 
 freedom of the forest. Some few of them, however, 
 retained a little of the thrift and forethouglit ol' 
 the civilised man,- and became wealthy among their 
 improvident neighbours ; their wealth consisting 
 chiefly of lai'ge bands of horses, scattered over the 
 prairies in the vicinity of their abodes. 
 
 There was another class — the native Indians of 
 Canada, who had partially conformed to the habits 
 of civilisation, and received the doctrines of Christi- 
 anity, under the influence of the French colonists 
 and the Roman Catholic priests, who certainly 
 diff'used more of the knowledge and principles of 
 the Christian religion among the North Ameri- 
 can Indians than the Protestant missionaries have. 
 These half civilised Indians retained some of the 
 good, and of the evil qualities of their original 
 stock. Though they generally professed the Roman 
 Catholic religion, it was mixed with some of their 
 
61 
 
 ancient superstitions, especially their l)elicf in omens 
 and charms. Thos(.' men were often employed for 
 a stated tinie by the company as trappers and 
 canoemen, though on lower terras than were al- 
 lowed to the white men, but generally in the cud 
 tliey became frte trappers. 
 
 Voyaf/eurs. — As this class of functionaries was, 
 and is indispensable in the prosecution of the fur 
 trade ; and as they form one of those distmct and 
 strong marked orders of people springing up in 
 that vast continent out of geographical circum- 
 stances, or the varied pursuits, habitudes, and 
 origins of the population, the following sketch 
 of a few of their leading characteristics, may 
 be interesting and instructive. The voyageurs 
 form a kind of fraternity in the Canadas, like the 
 arrierof, or carriers, in Spain, and, like them, are 
 employed in long internal expeditions of travel and 
 traffic; but with this difference, that the mTieros 
 travel by land, with mules and horses, the voya- 
 geurs by water, with battcaux, or boats, and canoes. 
 The voyageurs may be said to have sprung up 
 out of the fur trade, having been originally era- 
 ployed by the early French merchants in their 
 trading expeditions through the labyrinth of 
 rivers and lakes of the boundless interior. They 
 
52 
 
 wore coeval with the coureitm dt's hois, or rnngem 
 of the wood8; alroudy noticed, and like them, in 
 the intervals of their long and laborious expedi- 
 tions were prone to pass their time in idleness and 
 revelry about the trading posts, or settlements — 
 squandering their hard earnings in heedless con- 
 viviality ; and rivalling their neighbours the Indians 
 in indolent indulgence and an improvident disre- 
 gard to to-raorrow. Their dress is generaUy half 
 civilised, half savage. They wear a capot, or out- 
 side coat, made of a blanket — a striped cotton shirt 
 — cloth trowsers, or leathern leggins — moccassins, or 
 deerskin shoes, without a sole, and ornamented on 
 the upper; and a belt of variegated worsted, from 
 which are suspended a knife, tobacco-pouch, and 
 other implements. Their language is of the same 
 pebald character, being a French patois, embroidered 
 with Indian and English words and phrases. Their 
 lives are passed in wild and extensive rovings in 
 the service of individuals, but more especially of 
 the fur traders. They are generally of French 
 descent, and inherit much of the gaiety and light- 
 heartedness of their ancestors ; being full of anec- 
 dote and song, and ever ready for the dance. 
 They inherit, too, a fund of civility and complai- 
 sance : and instead of that hardness and grossness 
 
 
53 
 
 which men in laborious life are apt to indulge 
 towards each other, they are naturally obliging 
 and accommodating — interchanging kind oflRces, — 
 yielding each other assistance and comfort in every 
 emergency ; and using the familiar and affectionate 
 appellations of " cousin/' and " brother," when 
 there is, in fact, no relationship. Their natural 
 good will is probably heightened bv a community 
 of adventure and hardship in their precarious and 
 wandering bfe. No men are more submissive to 
 their leaders and employers — more capable of en- 
 during hardship, or more good humoured under 
 privations. Never are they so happy as when on 
 long and rough expeditions, toiling up rivers, or 
 coasting lakes, on the borders of which they cn- 
 camn at night, gossip round their fires, and bivouac 
 in the open air. They are dexterous boatmen, 
 vigorous and adroit with the oar and paddle, and 
 will row from morning till night without a mur- 
 mur. The steersman often sings an old traditionary 
 French song, with some regular chorus, in which 
 they all join, keeping time with their oars: and 
 if at any time they flag in spirits or relax in ex- 
 ertion, it is but necessary to strike up a song of 
 the kind to put them all in fresh spirits and ac- 
 
 
54 
 
 tivity. The Canadian waters are vooal with these 
 songs^ that have been echoed from mouth to mouthy 
 and transmitted from Either to son, from the earliest 
 days of the colony; and it has a pleasing effect 
 to see, in a still, golden summer evening, a bat- 
 teaux gliding across the bosom of the lake, dip- 
 ping its oars to the cadence of theae quaint old 
 ditties, or sleeping along in full chorus, on a bright 
 sunny morning, down the transparent current of 
 one of the CJanadian rivers. 
 
 T.Tien Canada passed under British domination, 
 and the old French trading houses were broken up, 
 the voyageurs, like the coureurs des bouf, were for 
 a long time disheartened and disconsolate ; and with 
 difficulty could reconcile themselves to the service 
 o*" the new comers, so different in manners, habits, 
 and language, from their former employers. By 
 degrees, however, they became accustomed to the 
 change ; and at length came to consider the British 
 fur traders, and especially the North-west Company, 
 as the legitimate lords of creation, 
 
 " An instance," says W. Indng, " of the buoyant 
 temperament and professional pride of these people 
 was furnished in the gay and braggart style in 
 which a party of them arrived at New York to 
 
 I 
 
55 
 
 join the enterprise.* They were determined to 
 regale and astonish the people of the " States " 
 with the sight of a Canadian boat and a Canadian 
 crew, Thty accordingly fitted up a large, but 
 light, bark canoe — such as is used in the fiir trade 
 — transplanted it in a waggon from the banks of 
 the St. Lawrence to the shores of Lake Cham- 
 plain — traversed the lake in it from end to end 
 — hoisted it again in a waggon — wheeled it oflF to 
 Lansingburg, and then launched it upon the wa- 
 ters of the Hudson. Down this river they plied 
 their course merrily on a fine summer's day, making 
 its banks resound, for the first time, with their old 
 French boat-songs — passing by the villages with 
 whoop and halloo, so as to make the honest Dutch 
 farmers mistake them for a crew of savages. In 
 this way they swept in full song, and with regular 
 flourish of the paddle, round New York, in a still 
 summer evening, to the delight and admiration of 
 its inhabitants, who had never witnessed on their 
 waters a nautical apparition of the kind. 
 
 " But we are talking of things that are fast fading 
 away. Mechanical invention is driving every thing 
 
 • The truding expedition fitted out by Mr. Foster for 
 the Columbia. 
 
66 
 
 ! 
 
 poetical before it. The steam-boats, which are fast 
 dispelling the solitude, wildness, and romance of 
 our lakes and rivers, are proving as fatal to the 
 race of Canadian voyageurs, as they have been to 
 the boatmen on the Missisippi. They are no longer 
 the lords of our internal seas, and the great naviga- 
 tors of the wilderness. Their range is fast contrac- 
 ting to those remote waters, and shallow and ob- 
 structed rivers unvisited by the steam-boat. In the 
 course of years they will gradually disappear — their 
 songs will die away like the echoes they once 
 awakened ; and the Canadian voyageurs wiU become 
 a forgotten race, or remembered, like their associ- 
 ates the Indians, among the poetical images of past 
 times, and as a theme for local and romantic as* 
 sociations." 
 
 Without speculating as to the duration of their 
 future existence, (and unless steam makes rapids 
 strides, and produce wonderful changes, — " make 
 the rough ways smooth, and the crooked straight," 
 — deepen shallows — level waterfalls ; and smoothen 
 rapids, in the streams, lakes, and rivers of British 
 America, their extirpation in the north west is not 
 hkely soon to occur). I may observe, that however 
 much the romance and poetry of their pursuit, 
 and enterprise may decay, their physical comforti 
 
i r i«M >i iii n > i ili r *.wM^iMiii ft «i*«».wipi w- 
 
 67 
 
 are likely to be greatly improved. The system un- 
 der which they so successfully played the part of 
 joyous adventurers, indefatigable fresh-water rovers, 
 has been changed ; and for the better. The whole 
 of the vast continent stretching from the Pacific 
 to the Atlantic, and from Lake Superior and the 
 Columbia to the Pole, save the strip of sea coast 
 occupied by the Russians on the North Pacific, ia 
 under the jurisdiction of the Hudson's Bay Com- 
 pany. Throughout this immense region they have 
 statioi.<j established at convenient distances; and 
 within the limits of the territories attached to each 
 station, the duties of the several bands of voyageurs 
 are generally confined. They know their range of 
 adventure, where they are to halt, and what is to 
 hel their final destination. They are well paid and 
 well fed, and need have no care for to-morrow. 
 It is true they have less ardent spirits, but they 
 have more substantial food. They have less in- 
 centive for speculation, but they have more cer- 
 tainty of pay. They have less freedom, but more 
 security of person. 
 
 The following sketch of the fare of the voya- 
 geurs, and the other hard-working servants of the 
 company, at present, though applied to a peculiar 
 undertaking, will, however, in the main, hold good 
 
58 
 
 about their treatment generally. I must premise 
 that animal food is their only subsistence often 
 in those remote regions; as they have neither 
 bread nor vegetables : — 
 
 '♦ On Christmas and New Year*s days," says 
 Simpson, "we entertained our assembled people 
 with a dance, followed by a supper consisting of 
 the best fare we could command. By this time 
 we had, through our indefatigable exertions, accu- 
 mulated two or three weeks' provisions in advance, 
 and no scarcity was experienced during the re- 
 mainder of the season. The daily rations served 
 out to each man was increased from eight to ten, 
 and to some individuals twelve, pounds of venison, 
 or, when they could be got, four or five white-fish, 
 weighing from fifteen to twenty pounds. Thia 
 quantity of solid food, immoderate as it may ap- 
 pear, does not exceed the average standard of the 
 country ; and ought certainly to satisfy the inordi- 
 nate appetite of a French Canadian; yet there 
 was one of them who complained he had not 
 enough, and did not scruple to help himself to 
 an additional supply whenever the opportunity of- 
 fered — it would have taken twenty pounds of animal 
 food daily to satisfy him." 
 
 The company's servants are not less well clothed 
 

 and paid than tlicy are fed. Tliey are treated by 
 their immediate masters with a familiiur kindness, 
 surpassing what I have ever seen elsewhere, even 
 in the United States; and their whole condition 
 affords the strongest possible contrast to the wretched 
 situation of the llussian " proraiischlenicks," as des- 
 cribed by Langsdaff. The mature of the climate 
 and the long journeys demand, it ia true, hard la- 
 bour by times ; but it is labour voluntarily en- 
 dured, and less physically severe than the com- 
 pulsory trackings on the rivers of Russia and 
 China, while r great part of the year is spent in 
 comparative idleness; and if the voyageur finds 
 the fatigue and hardships too great, it rests with 
 himself to be released from them at the close of 
 his three years' contract. 
 
 The canoes generally used by the fur traders of 
 the north for navigating the intricate and often ob- 
 structed rivers, are between thirty and forty feet long, 
 and several feet in width, constructed of birch bark, 
 sewed with fibres of the roots of the Spruce tree, 
 and daubed with resin of the Pine, in place of 
 tar. These, though capable of sustaining a freight 
 of four tons each, can readily be carried on men's 
 shoulders. Canoes of this kind are geu(U-ally man- 
 aged by eight or ten men, two of whom are picked 
 
 ii 
 
60 
 
 veterans, who received double wages, and are sta- 
 tioned, one at the bow, the other at the stem, to 
 keep a look out, and to steer : they are termed the 
 foreman and the steersman. The rest, who ply the 
 paddles, are called middle men. When there is a 
 favourable breeze, the canoe is occasionally navi- 
 gated with a sail. The lightness of such materials 
 as the canoes were made of — bark — and the utmost 
 vigilance, patience, and exertion, were necessary 
 for the intricate and difficult navigation in which 
 they were often employed. Sometimes the boat 
 would be exposed to frequent danger from floating 
 trees, and great masses of drift wood ; or be impaled 
 on sunken trees, presenting a jagged or pointed 
 end above the surface of the water. Sometimes 
 the boat should be drawn by the hand, and by 
 grappling hooks, from one root or overhanging 
 tree to another, or drawn by towing lines, when 
 the shores were sufficiently clear to allow the men 
 to pass along the banks. Sometimes a part of the 
 crew would have to leap into the water at the 
 shallows, and wade along with the towing lines, 
 while their comrades on board assisted them with 
 oar and setting-pole. Sometimes the boat would 
 seem to be retained motionless, as if spell-bound, 
 opposite some point round which the current set 
 
 ' 
 
Gl 
 
 with violence, and with the utmost labour scarce 
 effected any visible progress. When it is con- 
 sidered that they penetrated into the interior to 
 the distance of tliree or four thousand miles — ex- 
 posed sometimes to a scorching sun, sometimes to 
 the most piercing cold — cutting their way through 
 drifting ice — suffering from physical privations, 
 through unknown and barren regions — beset with 
 dangers, without any certain prospect of reaching 
 any place of security and comfort, some conception 
 may be formed of the life of a north-west voyageur. 
 
 A stranger seeing these light and slender vessels 
 piled high with a load of goods of every kind packed 
 in bales, each weighing ninety pounds ; with their 
 various necessaries of clothing^ food, &c., also stowed 
 away in bales; and with hampers, boxes, &c. con- 
 taining the articles of the officers ; and seeing them 
 weighed down in the water to the gunwale's edge 
 — ^he would think it an act of utter desperation to 
 attempt to pass in them through boisterous, intri- 
 cate, and obstructed waters. But so practised, 
 hardy, and zealous are these voyageurs, that danger 
 or accident but very rarely occurs. 
 
 There are no birch canoes used in the Oregon 
 country by the company's servants. They use only 
 the batteaux, which are made of quarter-inch pine 
 
 Mi 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 
 II 
 
6S 
 
 boards, and are thirty-two feet long, and si.v and 
 a half feet wide in midships, witl; both ends sharp, 
 and without a keel — worked, according to the cir- 
 cumstances of the navi^?ation, with paddles, or with 
 oars. These boats art an* o be better adapted 
 to the lakes and rivers liiere, > i "■ the canoes of 
 the north, 
 
 . When the voyagenrs arrive at a portage, whether 
 the vessels used be canoes or batteaux, every thing is 
 unshipped ; and each voyageur carries two bales^ 
 or 1801bs. weight, on liis back, held by a strsp 
 passing round his forehead, on which the force of 
 the draught lies : and with this weight they will 
 run on briskly, sometimes for miles. 
 
63 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Description of the present settlement at Red River — ' mtiii'^ 
 
 the Buffalo. 
 
 When the North-west Company became merged 
 in the Hudson's Bay Company, and the latter were 
 left at full liberty to prosecute their plans of im- 
 provement without rivalry or interruption, they 
 restored the settlement at Red River, and on a 
 more extended scale. 
 
 From the circumstances connected with its ori- 
 ginal formation — from the singularity of its position 
 and character, it being a sort of oasis in the vast 
 w&Bte of a savage region — from its present and 
 growing importance to the objects of the colony, 
 a brief sketch of it may not be uninteresting. It 
 is situated in the fiftieth degree of north latitude, 
 and the ninety-seventh of west longitude, at an 
 elevation of about 1000 feet above the level of the 
 sea, and near the confluence of the Red and As- 
 sinaboinc rivers, whose united waters run north- 
 
 ! ' 
 
 ' K, t 
 
84 
 
 ward about thirty miles, into lake Winnipeg, which 
 receives many other tributary streams. These two 
 krgc rivers flow through a fertile country of vast 
 extent, which possesses a salubrious climate. The 
 lied River rises in the United States, near the 
 sources of the Mississipi, and runs northward. The 
 Assinaboine flows from the north-west. The cold 
 season lasts about five months, from November till 
 April. But the ice on lake Winnipeg does not 
 break up till May. At the opening of the fine 
 season, an immense quantity of sturgeon and other 
 fish is caught. There are occasionally summer 
 frosts, generated by undrained marshes, which im- 
 pede the exertions of the husbandman; but this 
 evil is gradually melting away before the march 
 of cultivation. The range of the settlement stretches 
 upwards of fifty miles along the romantic and 
 woody banks of those rivers. Their borders are 
 cultivated to the breadth of nearly a mile ; all the 
 back country remaining in a great measure in its 
 original state — a vast natural pasture, covered for 
 the greater part of the year, with cattle, and fur- 
 nisliinif;^ the colonists with a sufficient quantity of 
 hay for the support of their herds during the win- 
 ter. Horses, horned cattle, hogs, and poultry, are 
 exceedingly numerous. Sheep have been brought 
 
G5 
 
 at great expense by the Company, from England 
 and the ^Jnited Statoo, and are feared with success. 
 Wheat, barley, oats, potatoes, turnips, and most of 
 the culinary vegetables, thrive well. Pumpkins, 
 melons, and cucumbers arrive at maturity in the 
 open air, in the favourable season. The cultivation 
 of maize, peas, and beans promise success. Hops 
 grow lusruriantly > Flax and hemp, which have 
 been introduced, show every appearance, in progress 
 of time, of being made profitable crops. In fine, 
 thJs extraordinary colony, in so high a latitude, is 
 likely to be rendered productive in all the neces- 
 saries and comforts even, and many of the luxuries 
 of civilised Europe. 
 
 The most common sorts of wood are oak, pop- 
 lar, elm, and maple; pines are likewise found to- 
 wards Lake Winnipeg. On this lake two-decked 
 vessels ply, i^ summer, between the colony and 
 the entrepot of Norway House, which is situ- 
 ated at its northern extremity, where the river 
 navigation to Hudson's Bay commences, as the 
 lake is emptied into that bay by the Nelson 
 river. Firewood is rafted down the rivers, from 
 above the limits of the colony, during the summer, 
 or transported on sledges during the snow and 
 frost. But to obviate all chance of a scarcity in 
 
CG 
 
 the supply of this article, the colouUts arc providing 
 theruHclves with cast-iron stoves, wliich occasion a 
 much less consumption of fuel. As the population 
 is chiefly Catholic ; and as the colony is, at present, 
 the most suitable centre from which to spread the 
 blessings of rcli^ou and civilisation over that im- 
 mense tract of country, a Roman Catholic bishop 
 has been stationed there. The two principal 
 churches — the Protestant and the Roman Catholic— 
 the gaol, the company's chief buildings, the bishop's 
 residence, and the houses of some retired officers 
 of the fur trade — who choose this as their lasting 
 home, in place of returning to their native country — 
 are built of stone. The generality of settlers live 
 in frame or log houses, roofed with wooden slabs, 
 bark, or shingles ; and are for the most part white- 
 washed or painted, externally. Every man, how- 
 ever low his condition, possesses a horse ; and they 
 vie with each other in gay curricles, hamessj sad- 
 dles, and fine clothei. A great abundance of Eng- 
 lish goods is imported, both by the company and 
 by individuals, in the company's annual ships, to 
 York Factory, at Hudson's Bay ; and disposed of 
 in the colony at moderate prices. Labour is dear, 
 and produce of every kind sells at a higher price 
 than could be expected in a place so remote and 
 
 I 
 
er 
 
 secluded. Domestic manufactures are hej^inninp; to 
 make way, and, by diminishinj^ the annual orders 
 from England, to make tlio people more indepen- 
 dent. They now maiiufacture coarse clothe, stuffs, 
 shawls, linen, sackiuf^, leather, &c. ; and even for 
 their grain and domestic cattle, they are beginning 
 to find a market among the Americans of the 
 level plains leading to the Missisippi and the St. 
 Peter's; and it is probable that before long they 
 will export hides, tallow, wool, hemp, and flax to 
 England. 
 
 The currency of the place consists in the com- 
 pany's notes, with a smaller amount of silver and 
 copper coin. There are fifteen wind, and three 
 water mills, to grind the wheat and prepare the 
 raalt for the inhabitants, who use neither barley 
 nor oats in bread. Though the protestants consti- 
 tute but two-fifths of the population ; yet all these 
 mills are in their hands, except two, which have 
 been erected by a Roman catholic, in the com- 
 pany pay, as warden of the plains. It may be 
 rcraarkei^. that, while many of the children of the 
 company's retired European servants, who are chiefly 
 Orkney men, by native women, inherit the plodding 
 and careful disposition of their fathers, the half-bred 
 descendants of the French Canadians are generally 
 
 M 
 
C8 
 
 characterised by their fathers* levity .ind exti'ava- 
 gance, and their niotliers' violent passions Many 
 of the Scotch, who first planted the colony in 1812, 
 under the auspices of the Earl of Selkirk, have 
 amassed handsome sums of money, besides rear- 
 ing large families in rustic plenty. Some, feanng 
 the consequences of intermai-rying with the half 
 bi-eeds, have migrated elsewhere. 
 
 The company, besides extensive purchases of 
 grain and provisions for their transport and other 
 service, annually expends large suras at Red River 
 for works of public utility, such as experimeatal 
 farming — the erection of churches, and other build- 
 ings — endowing schools — aft'ording medical aid gratis 
 to the poor — encouraging domestic manufactures — 
 maintaining an armed police — dispensing justice; 
 and in contributing to the support of two Protes- 
 tant clergymen — of a Roman catholic bishop j and 
 three priests from Canada. Through the exertions 
 of these zealous ministers a great number of the 
 Indians, of the Cree and Salteaux or Chippeway 
 nations, have been converted and located. From 
 this heavy outlay the company has hitherto had 
 no return ; for the occasional sale of lands has 
 not as yet defrayed the expenses of the survey 
 (they being, in most instances, bestowed gratis, 
 
 
69 
 
 though purchased from the ludians), and the im- 
 mediute ucighbourhood has been stripped of the 
 fur-bearinjij ^animals. Yet, under the company's 
 foateiing care, a population of 5,000 persons has 
 been reared up in plenty, comfort, and civilisation ; 
 and the colony is every day growing in numbers, 
 wealth, and importance. There are also excellent 
 boai'ding schools, established by the Hev. Mr. Jones, 
 where nearly 100 youtli of both sexes, the children 
 of the company's officers, and the more respectable 
 settlers, are trained up in European accoraplish- 
 ineuts, and in the strictest principles of religion. 
 The Indian settlements, too, at the lower extremity 
 of the colony, founded by the Rev. Mr. Cockran, 
 arc worthy of notice. He has provided school- 
 masters for the native children, and built places 
 of worsliip, where he regularly officiates. He has 
 also constructed a windmill for the Indians — assists 
 them in erecting their wooden houses; and in every 
 way sets them tlie example of industry. At the 
 other extremity of the colony, Mr. Balcour, one of 
 the Roman catholic priests, conducts a location of 
 Salteaux Indians on a smaller scale. The colony 
 has also a seminary, from which home missionaries 
 — young Indians educated in the Church Missionary 
 Society^s school — ai'e to be sent to instruct their 
 
70 
 
 countrymen iu various parts of the corapany's almost 
 unbounded territories. In the countries of the Co- 
 lumbia and New Caledonia, to the westward of the 
 great rocky mountain chain, these missionary' labours 
 will have a rich field. There the climate is softened 
 by the influences of the Pacific: food is abundant; 
 the numerous natives do not lead the same solitary 
 wandering and precarious Hves as the north-eastern 
 tribes, but dwell together in villages. They are en- 
 dowed with a greater capacity and quickness of appre- 
 hension j are more pliant and tractable in temper; 
 appreciate more the talents, attainments, and so- 
 cial arts of the white men; and are fonder of 
 imitating and adopting their customs and princi- 
 ples. Therefore they seem now more disposed to 
 embri.ce the doctrines of Christianity, to many 
 principles, of which their own belief approximates, 
 from those on whom, a few years ago, they com- 
 mitted the most barbarous murders. 
 
 Bat in the dreary regions of the north, where the 
 Indian hunters are scattered through interminable fo- 
 rests ; and where civilisation can but slowly, if ever, 
 penetrate, the prospects of their conversion are fainter 
 and more remote. Yet even among these, since the 
 coalition of the rivnl companies, and the dismissal 
 of the numerous swarms of adventui'ers, who, ciicou- 
 
71 
 
 raged by the licence of fierce opposition, overran 
 and nearly ruined the country, morality, order, and 
 integrity have been, in some degree, introduced 
 through the agency of the company's officers. Re- 
 ferring to the improved condition of the Indians, 
 produced thi'ough the instrumentality of the com- 
 pany, Mr. Simpson observes, "no ntronger proof 
 of the salutary eflFect of their injunctions can be 
 adduced than that, while peace and decorum mark 
 the general conduct of the northern tribes, blood- 
 shed, rapine, and unbridled lust, are the charac- 
 teristics of the fierce hordes of Assinaboines, Piegans, 
 Blackfeet, Circees, Fail and Blood Indians, who 
 inhabit the plains between the Saskatchewan and 
 the Missouri rivers, and which are without the pale 
 of the company's influence and authority." 
 
 Among the many advantages which the company 
 is labouring to bestow on the whole race of In- 
 dians, one of the most important is the cementing 
 of fraternal and pacific feelings between them, and 
 the reconciliation of their inveterate feuds. For- 
 merly it^was the vile and pernicious practice of rival 
 traders to foment the discords of the several tribes, 
 with a view of reaping advantage from them ; for 
 they often succeeded, by weakening one after the 
 other, in reducing both to entire submissivcuess 
 
't •» .f 'f! 
 
 I 
 
 72 
 
 to their purposes ; and they could then dictate the 
 terms of trading with them aa they pleased : or if 
 they could not use them in this way, they used 
 them aa instruments to annoy their competitors, 
 by crippling their trade, and raising up enemies 
 against them. Thus the natives, in the complex 
 and ramified system of commercial competition for 
 a long time carried on in the north-west, were com- 
 mitted against the traders, and became involved 
 in hostility with one another. This hostility ac- 
 quiring strength and inveteracy with each sue- 
 ceediug act of aggression and retahation, outlived 
 the original cause ; "and often lasted for generations 
 after the first instigators quitted the scene, and 
 ceased to feel the remotest interest in thp progress 
 and consequences cf their ova misdoing. Their 
 maxim seemed to bt— ^ 
 
 
 *' Miscliief, tlioii art ti-foot ; 
 
 Take now whatever course thou wilt." 
 
 But all the exertions of the Hudson^s Bay Com- 
 pany to check and extinguish these evils are, to 
 su5/iR extent, thwarted by the conduct of the United 
 States' traders, who labour to keep alive all the 
 v'ioe.^ of tiie old Canadian «;, .stem, and to introduce, 
 with Hi. t J ir chcviacteri^tic graspingness and per- 
 
%1t**"- ' 
 
 73 
 
 
 
 severance, new ones. They consider that every 
 artifice is legitimate in trade ; and in place of 
 blushing at its infamy, they chuckle at its clever- 
 ness. The company has endeavoured to recoiicile 
 the hostile tribes to each other, — to induce them to 
 spare the young of the fur-bearing animals, so as 
 to preserve the breed, and keep the trade alive for 
 the benefit of both parties in perpetuity ; and to 
 discountenance the use of ardent spirits, which have 
 been so baneful to the natives. But the Ameri' 
 cans, for the sake of effecting an immediate and 
 temporary gain, pursue generally the very opposite 
 course. 
 
 At Red River the buffaloes are now seldom 
 taken in pounds. Here it may be observed, that 
 to a stranger the wild buffalo bull, with his large 
 hump, glaring eyes, fierce aspect, and long beurd, 
 that almost sweeps the ground, when encountered 
 in the recesses of the forest, or in the open plain, 
 where there is no chance of escape, is the most 
 forraid.able animal in America — far more so than 
 the panther, or grisly bear, lu the summer and 
 autumn large parties of the half-breed hunters, all 
 mounted on their small Indian horses, which are 
 well broken in to this sport, scatter themselves 
 over the plains, camping generally iu the open air, 
 
74> 
 
 or in tents covered with hides ; or under their pro- 
 vision carts. As soon as tlie buffaloes are perceived, 
 the young men gallop after them, and either par- 
 tially surprise them on the plains, or succeed in 
 driving them into some little valley or neck of 
 land, projecting into a lake, where escape is difficult. 
 A running fire thei- opens all along the line. At 
 the first volley the buiraloes scamper off. The hunt- 
 ers continue the pursuit^ reloading their guns while 
 their horses are lu full gallop ; for the sake of ex- 
 pedition the bnliets are carried in the mouth, and 
 dropped into ihe barrel .vithout any > adding: 
 their small whips are attached by a band to the 
 right wrist. The horiio, with wonderful sagacity, 
 follows of his own accord the aiiimal which liis rider 
 has singled out, and brings him alongside ; and 
 the rider then discharges hi . weapon unerringly. 
 The horse then pursuto another with similar success. 
 In this way manv buffaloes in succession are shot 
 by the same >.'aicr ; itni hundreds fall in a single 
 race. No sig^il cau hi. livelier than a camp of 
 successful hunters. They i.:;enerally pitch in some 
 clump or point of woods : the provision carts form 
 the outer Cii-cle, to \rhich the horses are tied ; 
 within this fires ^ laze on every side. The men 
 smoke their pipes, or uraLgc th oir fire-arms ; 
 
 ) 
 
75 
 
 while the women are employed in cooking a sump- 
 tuous repast. The jest and the laugh circulate 
 freely all around. During the time the men are 
 employed in hunting, the females are occupied in 
 drying the spare meat, or converting it into 
 pemican. 
 
 Pemican. — This far-famed provender for man in 
 the wilds of northern America is formed hy pound- 
 ing the choice parts of the meat very small, dried 
 over a slow fire, or in the frost, and put- 
 ting it into bags made of the skin of the slain 
 animal ; into which a proportion of melted fat is 
 then poured. The whole then being strongly com- 
 pressed, and sewed up, constitutes the best and 
 most portable food for the voyageurs, and one 
 which, with proper care, will keep for a long time. 
 Fifty pounds of pounded meat, and forty pounds 
 of grease, make a bac/ of pemican. There is ano- 
 ther kind, called the sweet pemican, of which bernea 
 constitute the chief ingredient. 
 
 In the winter season this sport assumes a more 
 various character. When the snow i:* not deep, 
 the buffalo may be run on horseback as in summer : 
 indeed, if the herd be numerous, they beat such 
 H track with their broad hoofs, that they are easily 
 .pursued. At other times they are approached by 
 
 ) 
 
76 
 
 the Imntor crawlini/ ou the snow. He walks up 
 witliiu n cortuiu distance, far enough not to alarm 
 the herd — then prostrates himself on the snow — 
 drags himself along on his belly, with his gun 
 trailing after him ; and in this way proceeds a long 
 distance before he can get within reach when the 
 buffaloes are shy. When fatigued with this labo- 
 rious and unnatural motion, he stops for a time to 
 recruit himself; he then throws up a little heap 
 of snow before him to screen him from his prey. 
 Some of the hunters are said to be so dexterous 
 in this mode of approach, as actually to drive 
 aside the old bulls who form the outer guard of 
 the herd, in order to select the choicest of the 
 cows. In order to eft'ect this object, he wears the 
 disguise of a close dun-coloured cap, furnished 
 with upright ears, to give him the appearance of 
 a wolf : for from constant association, that animal 
 is regarded by the buffalo Mdthont dread. In the 
 spring of the year, when there is a hard crust on 
 the snow, produced by alternate thaw and frost, 
 the buffaloes arc frequently run down by the hunt- 
 ers, and stabbed with their daggers, Avhile floundering 
 in the deep drifts, which yield to their weight, but 
 support their pursuers, who are borne up by their 
 snow shoes. In this wav, wluch is the easiest and 
 
77 
 
 safest of all, the animals fall a prey even to the 
 boys and women. 
 
 It is well worth while to insert here the follow- 
 ing sketch of the nortliern Indians, from Mr. Simp- 
 son :— 
 
 "No people so soon get tired of any particular 
 diet as Indians : and their longings for change, 
 even amidst the best cheer, are often truly ridicu- 
 lous. The flexibility of their stomachs is no less 
 surprising. At one time they will gorge themselves 
 with food, and are then prepared to go without 
 any for several days, if necessary. Enter their 
 tents ; sit there, if you can, for a whole day, and 
 not for an instant will you find the fire unoccupied 
 by persons of all ages cooking. When not hunt- 
 ing or travelling, they are, in fact, always eating. 
 Now, it is a httle roast, a partridge or rabbit per- 
 haps ; now, a tit-bit broiled under the fishes ; anon, 
 a portly kettle, well filled with venison, swings over 
 the fire ; then comes a choice dish of curdled blood, 
 followed by the sinews and marrow bones of deer's 
 legs singed on the embers. And so the grand 
 business of life goes unceasingly round, iuterioipted 
 only by sleep. Another physical singularity of the 
 northern tribes is, that though capable of resisting 
 with great fortitude the most intense cold, they 
 
 m 
 
78 
 
 are woudorfiilly fond of Hre. At nn establishment, 
 even when the weather is mild and pleasant out 
 of doors, they are to l)e seen heaping on fuel in 
 the house, and actually sitting cross-logged on the 
 hearth, where a white man would speedily be 
 roasted. I have, however, reniarkcd that the in- 
 variable eft'ect of the North American climate is to 
 render even Europeans more chilly than on their 
 first arrival ; from which we must infer that there 
 is something debilitating in the climate or mode of 
 life. It is a general rule among the traders, not 
 to believe the first story of an Iiulian. He will tell 
 you on arriving that there are no deer, and after-- 
 wards acknowledge them to be numerous ; that he 
 has been starving, when he has been living in 
 abundance ; that certain individuals are dead, yet 
 after he has smoked his pipe^ and eaten his fill, 
 ask him what is the matter vith these same per- 
 sons, and he will describe some trifling ailments, a 
 surfeit, perhaps ; for though at times these people 
 endure with great fortitude, the least sickness makes 
 them say, ' I am going to die !' — a trait that also 
 extends to thel? half-breed descendants," 
 
 Much has been written about the origin of the 
 population of North America. The general opinion 
 seems to incline to the theory, that they came 
 
 » 
 
79 
 
 from Asia. It docs not come within tlie scope of 
 my present purpose to enter on this enquiry, even 
 were I competent to the task ; but I may state 
 what has been the most probable result of philo- 
 sophical cncjuiry, and already mentioned by others. 
 The tribes who possess the vast region to the 
 northward of a line drawn from Churchhill on Hud- 
 son's Bay, across the Rocky Mountains to New 
 Caledonia and the Pacific, .comprehending the Chi- 
 pewyansj the Copper Indians ; the Beaver Indians, 
 of Peace Uiver ; the Dog-ribs, and Hare Indians, 
 of M'Kenzie River, and Great Bear Lake ; the 
 Thajcanies, Nahanies, and Dahadinnehs, of the 
 mountains ; and the Carriers, of New Caledonia, 
 all speak diflfercnt dialects of the same original 
 tongue. Next to these succeed the Creea, speaking 
 another distinct language, and occupying another 
 great section of the continent, extending from Les- 
 ser Slave Lake through the woody country on the 
 north side of the Saskatchewan River, by Lake 
 Winnipeg to York Factory, and from thence round 
 the shores of Hudson and James Bays. South of 
 the fiftieth parallel, the circles of affinity contract, 
 but can still be, easily traced. Tue Carriers of New 
 Caledonia, like the people of Hindostan, used, till 
 lately, to burn their dead — a ceremony in which 
 
^^ 
 
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 ^\>^ 
 
 IMAGE EVALUATION 
 TEST TARGET (MT-3) 
 
 
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 l^|2£ 125 
 
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 Photographic 
 
 Sdences 
 Corporation 
 
 ^^■^ 
 
 33 WfST MAIN STREET 
 
 WEBSTER, N.Y. MSM 
 
 (716) •72-4503 
 

Ill 
 
 80 
 
 the widow of the deceased, though not sacrificed 
 as in the latter country, was obliged to continue 
 beating on the breast of the corpse, while it slowly 
 consumed on the funeral pile ; in which cruel duty 
 ■he was often severely scorched. Instead of being 
 burned, she was obliged to serve, as a slave, the 
 relatives of her deceased husband for a series of 
 years, during which she wore around her neck a 
 small bag, containing part of the bones or ashes 
 of her former husband. At the end of the allotted 
 term, a feast was made, and she was declared at 
 liberty to cast off the symbols of her widowhood, 
 and wed again. These customs have been abolished 
 by the Hudson's Bay Company. 
 
 1 
 
81 
 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Remarks on the Company's present principles of dealing; 
 and the mode of traffic among many of the Northern 
 tribes. 
 
 The principle universally acted or, througliout the 
 company's territories, which have been now reduced^ 
 considering their vast extent, and the many diffi- 
 culties to be encountered, to a state of astonishing 
 quiet, peace, and good government, is> that the 
 true interests of the native Indian and the white 
 resident arc indissolubly united ; and that no im- 
 mediate advantage, or prospect of it, is to stand in 
 the way of improving the condition of the natives. 
 
 The following extract from the standing orders 
 of the company, will convey an idea — though a 
 faint one— of the wise, humane, and liberal spirit 
 by which it is actuated. 
 
 " That the Indians be treated with kindness and 
 indulgence; and roild and conciliatory means re- 
 sorted to, in order to encourage industry, repress 
 
 
 Itl 
 
vice, and inculcate morality — that the use of spirit- 
 uous liquors be gradually discontinued in the few 
 districts in which it is yet indispensable ; and that 
 the Indians be liberally supplied with requisite 
 necessaries — particularly with articles of ammunition, 
 whether they have the meaps of paying for them, 
 or not," 
 
 Since these general orders were issued, the com- 
 pany, finding the success of this humane and judi- 
 cious policy gradually answering the proposed aim, 
 has at last adopted the bold and decisive course of 
 abolishing altogether the use of spirituotis liquors 
 as articles of trade with the natives. They have 
 not only done this in the territories within their 
 own jurisdiction ; but have, by a new article intro- 
 duced into the treaty of commerce, entered into 
 witli the Russians by Sir George Simpson, stipu- 
 lated that the Russians should act, in their trading 
 with the natives, on the same principle. So that 
 henceforward one source of demoralisation will be 
 dried up. 
 
 It is not only the inclination of the company to 
 render the natives comfortable, and pacific, and civil- 
 ised ; but it is their manifest interest. The natives 
 are best able to exert themselves in collecting furs 
 aud provisions, when they are best clothed, and 
 
8» 
 
 supplied with ammunition ; and they are best quaU- 
 fied to exert their individual and united powers 
 for the prosecution of tlieir trade, on wliich their 
 own immediate and ultimate good depends, when 
 they are brought to a state of peace with each 
 other, and their savage passions and appetites 
 checked. So far has it been the wish or policy of 
 the company not to acquire an undue influence 
 over them by loading them with debts, that re- 
 peated attempts have been made to reduce the 
 trade to simple barter; and they have often can- 
 celled the debts of whole tribes — for instance, since 
 the junction of the two companies in 1821, the 
 debts of the Chipowyans have been twice cancelled. 
 But from ti.. peculiar disposition and customs of 
 tiie Indians— especially the northern Indians — these 
 good intentions have not yet produced all the hoped- 
 for good, although they are gradually working out 
 their object. 
 
 The Chipewyans have a custom which, until 
 eradicated, n ist operate a3 a check on their pro- 
 gressive prosperity. On the death of a relative, 
 they destroy guns, ammunition, blankets, kettles; 
 in short, every thing they possess ; and conclude 
 the havoc by tearing their huts to pieces. "Wlien 
 these transports of grief have subsided, they find 
 
mmm 
 
 84 
 
 themselves reduced to utter want, and are obliged 
 to resort to the nearest establishments for a fresh 
 supply of necessaries ; and thus their debts are 
 renewed, and their wants periodically kept alive. 
 
 In some parts of the Indian territory, the hunting 
 grounds descend by inheritance among the natives ; 
 and this right of property is rigidly enforced. But 
 where no such salutary law prevails, their main 
 source of wealth — the beaver — would soon be ex- 
 hausted by the eager search of the hunters, if the 
 company had not adopted judicious regulations to 
 prevent the havoc ; for they have, for several years 
 past, used every effort, through their officers, to ex- 
 hort the natives to spare the young of that animal. 
 This praiseworthy design has been successful in 
 proportion as the natives have become enlightened, 
 and enabled to see their own true interests; end 
 the breed is now preserved in districts where, not 
 long since, they were threatened with extinction. 
 But the attempt will be easily understood to be 
 one of extreme difficulty, in consequence of the 
 passion for depriving the animal creation of life so 
 strongly implanted in the breast of the North 
 American Indian, that it costs him a pang to pass 
 bird, beast, or fish, without an effort to destroy 
 it, whether he stands in need of it or not. The 
 
 1 
 
 I 
 
85 
 
 tendency to destructivenesa is a vehement instinct 
 of their nature. 
 
 Near York Factory, in 1831, this propensity, 
 contrary to all the remonstrances of the company's 
 servants at that place, led to the indiscriminate 
 destruction of a countless herd of rcin-decr, while 
 crossing the broad stream of Haye's River, in the 
 height of summer. The natives took some of the 
 meat for present use, but thousands of carcasses 
 were abandoned to the current, and infected the 
 river's banks, or drifted down into Hudson's Bay, 
 there to feed the sea fowls and polar bears. As 
 if it were a judgment for this wanton slaughter, 
 in which women and children participated, the deer 
 have never since visited that part of the country in 
 similar numbers. In short, the Indians, accustomed 
 either to a feast or a fast, have little idea beyond 
 the present gratification ; and it is to this impru- 
 dence that deaths by starvation, and the occasional 
 desertion of infants, and the helpless aged, must 
 be ascribed. 
 
 The quantity of provisions furnished by the In- 
 dians to the establishments throughout the northern 
 districts, is inconsiderable. In the winter season, 
 it is limited to the ri'h pieces of the moose, red, 
 and rein-deer, half dried in the smoke of their huts 
 
 WY: 
 
 ■ i i 
 
 il- 
 
or tents, (the bones being removed for lightness 
 of carriage), with an occasional addition of some 
 tongues. In the course of the summer, when the 
 ucimals are easily hunted, and there is gi'eat facility 
 of water-transport, the more indvjBtrious families 
 usually bring to the fort a bale of diied meat, con- 
 sisting of the fleshy parts of the deer, cut into large 
 slices and dried in the sun, with a bladder or two 
 containing fat, or a bag of pemican. 
 
 When the residents of a fort find these supplies, 
 and the produce of their fisheries, and of their cul- 
 tivated plots of ground (where the ground, from 
 the nature of the soil and climate, is capable of 
 cultivation), insufficient to supply their wants, they 
 engage two or more y<-ung Indians, without fami- 
 lies, as "fort hunters." These are considered as 
 regular servants ; and their duty is confined to the 
 killing of large animals for the use of the establibh- 
 ments. They are allowed to keep a portion of 
 the meat, sufficient for their own consimiption : 
 the remainder is transported to the forts, with 
 sledges and dogs, by the servants of the company. 
 
 To become a fort hunter is an object of ambition 
 to the northern Indian; aty it is an acknowledg- 
 ment of his skill and fidelity, and ensures to him 
 the gayest clothing. Every prudent manager of a 
 
 
87 
 
 post endeavours to procure more provisions than 
 the actual M-ants of his charge require. He is thus 
 enabled, from hi** supplies, to afl'ord the natives 
 timely relief, and to conciliate their goodwill, and 
 point out to them the expediency of forethought 
 and economy. These remarks do not apply to the 
 comparr.tively mild ciimate of the Saskatchewan, 
 where the plains teem with bnflalo^s; nor to *he 
 still more southerly districts, bordering on Canada, 
 where the natives and the pco])le arc in a great mea- 
 sure fed on })rovisioas imported by the company. 
 
88 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Tbe Knistcneaux Indians. 
 
 These people, from whom are sprung many tribes, 
 under differer.t names, are spread over a vast extent 
 of country. Their language is the same as that of 
 the people who inhabit the coast of British America 
 on the Atlantic, and continues along the coast of 
 Labrador, and the gulph and banks of the St. 
 Lawrence to Montreal. The line then follows the 
 Utawns River to its source, and continues thence 
 nearly west along the high lands that divide the 
 waters that flow into Lake Superior on the one 
 hand, and Hudson's Bay on the other. It then 
 proceeds till it strikes the middle part of Lake 
 Winnipeg, and right through it, to the discharge 
 of the Saskatchewan into it. From thence it ac- 
 companies the latter to Fort George, when the 
 line, striking' by the head of the Beaver River to 
 the Elk River, nms along its banks to its dis- 
 charge into the Lake of the Hills, from which it 
 
m 
 
 may be carrie«l back, cast, to Tslc a la Crowe, 
 and so on to Cburclibill by the Mistiinippi. 
 
 The whole of tho tract bctwctn this line and 
 Hudson's Bay and Straits (except that of the Es- 
 quimaux in the latter) may be said to be exclu- 
 sively the country of tlu^ Knistcncaux. Some of 
 them, i idoed, have penetrated further, west and 
 south, to the Red River, and the south branch 
 of the Saskatchewan. The similarity between their 
 language and that of the Algonguins is clear proof 
 that they are of the same stock. 
 
 They are of moderate stature, well proportioned, 
 and very active. Examples of deformity are sel- 
 dom to be seen among them. Thoir complexion 
 is copper colour, and their hair black, which is 
 common to all the natives of America: it is gene- 
 rally cut in various forms, according to the fancy 
 of the several tribes ; but by some it is left in the 
 long, lank flow of nature. They mostly extract 
 their beard ; and both sexes manifest a disposition 
 to pluck tho hair from every part of the body 
 and limbs. Their eyes arc black and piercing : 
 their countenances opeu and agreeable ; and it is 
 a principal object of their ambition to give every 
 possible decoration to their persons. For this pur- 
 pose vemilion is a material article, which they 
 
90 
 
 c'oiitnwt with tlicir native wliitc, blue, aiul brown 
 curths, witli a frequent Rcklitiou of charcoul. 
 
 "Of all the natives," Hays M'Kenzie, "which 1 
 have Hcen on this continent, the Knistencaux women 
 arc the most comely; their figure is well propor- 
 tionod, and the regularity of tlieir features would 
 be acknowledged by the most civilised EuropeauH. 
 Their complexion, too, is less dark than that of 
 the less cleanly natives." 
 
 The dress of the males is simple and commodi- 
 ous. It consists of gloves, shoes, and tight leg- 
 gins, reaching nearly to the Ixip — a strip of cloth 
 or leather, C{illed assian, about a foot wide, and 
 five feet long, wliosc ends are drawn inwards, and 
 hang behind and before, over a belt, which fastens 
 it round the waist, — a close vest or shirt, reaching 
 down to the former garment, and cinctured with 
 a broad strip of parchment, fastened with thongs 
 behind ; and a cap for the head, consisting of a 
 piece of fur, or small skin, with the hairy tail 
 sAispended as an ornament : over the whole a kind 
 of robe is occasionally thrown. The materials vary 
 according to the season ; and consist of dressed 
 moose skin, — beaver, prepared with the fur on, or 
 European woollens. The leather is neatly painted, 
 and fancifully worked, in some parts, with porcu 
 
n 
 
 pines' quills anil mooHC-dtKir hair ; the nliirt and 
 h'f^^^ins arc; aliio adorned with fringe and taHscls ; 
 tlic nhocs and gloves are also decorated with taste 
 and skill. Their dress is, however, put on accord- 
 iug to fancy or convenience ; and they will somo- 
 timos proceed to the (rhaso covered only with the 
 slightest of them. Their hcad^lressos are com- 
 posed of the feathers of the swan, the eagle, and 
 other birds. They also use the teeth, claws, and 
 horns of diifereut animalc*, whrrewith to oraaracnt 
 the head and neck. Their hair, however worn, is 
 always besmeared with grease. All the articles 
 of dress are made by the females, who bestow 
 peculiar pains on the decoration of the men, whose 
 faces are also painted with more care than thoHe 
 of the women. 
 
 The female dress is composed of the same ma- 
 terials as that of the men; but of a different 
 arrangement and make. Their shoes are com- 
 monly plain, and their leggins gartered below the 
 knee. The vest falls down to the middle of the 
 leg, and is fastened round the shoulders with 
 cords, a flap or cape turning down about eight 
 inches before and behind, and neatly ornamented 
 with q»iill-work and fringe ; the bottom is also 
 fringed, and fancifully painted as high as the knee. 
 
 i: 
 
 I 
 
92 
 
 As it is very loose, it is fastened round the waist 
 with a stiff" belt, decorated with tassels, and tied 
 behind. The arms are covered to the wrist with 
 detached sleeves, which are sewed as far as the 
 bend of the arm ; from thence they are drawn up 
 to the back, and the corners of them fall down 
 behind as far as the waist. The cap, when they 
 wear one, consists of leather or cloth, sewed at 
 one end, by which means it is kept on the head, 
 and, hanging down the back, is fastened to the 
 waist belt, and is also tied under the chin. They 
 also have an upper robe like that of the men. 
 Their hair is divided on the crown, and tied be- 
 hind, or fastened in \wrge knots under the ears. 
 They are fond of European articles; and, like 
 other savages, wear bracelets, rings, and other 
 baubles. Sometimes they tattoo three perpendicu- 
 lar lines — one from the centre of the chin to the 
 centre of the under lip, and one parallel on each 
 side to the comer of the mouth. 
 
 Chastity is not considered a virtue among them. 
 Plurality of wives is allowed, and so is an inter- 
 change of wives ; but if a wife commit an indis-" 
 cretion without the consent of the husband, she is 
 liable to severe punishment, such as the loss of her 
 hair, nose, or ornaments, When a young man marries 
 
 
93 
 
 
 he resides with his wife's parents, who, however, 
 treat him as a stranger, till the birth of his first 
 child ; he then attaches himself to them more than 
 to his own parents, and the wife always calls him 
 by the title of father of her child. When a man 
 loses his wife, it is considered his duty to marry 
 her sister : or he may have several sisters together. 
 They are, generally, hospitable, generous, and mild, 
 except when inflamed by spirituous liquors; and 
 are indulgent and attentive to their children. 
 
 The occupation of the men is war and hunting 
 only. The women make the nets ; dress the skins ; 
 collect the wood ; erect the tents ; and perform all 
 the domestic work ; and attend to the children. 
 Hence their life is one of great toil; and, from 
 a consciousness of this, they sometimes destroy 
 their female children, and procure abortions, which 
 they effect by means of certain simples, and with- 
 out risk of life to themselves. 
 
 Their funeral rites begin, like all their other cere- 
 monials, with smoking, and end w^th a feast. The 
 body is dressed in the best habiliments of the de- 
 ceased, or of his relations; and is deposited in a 
 grave, lined with branches ; some domestic utensils 
 are placed in it, and a canopy erected over it. 
 During this ceremony great lamentations are made j 
 
 i 
 
 I 'if 
 
 !! i 
 
 
 \l I 
 
94 
 
 I 
 
 and, if the deceased be much respected, his relations 
 cut off their hair, and pierce the fleshy parts of 
 their thighs and arms with arrows, knives, &c. ; 
 and blacken their faces with charcoal. In some 
 instances the women used to sacrifice themselves 
 to the manes of their husbands. The whole of 
 the property of the deceased is destroyed; and 
 when the relations give up their garments they 
 are willing to take any rags to cover their naked- 
 ness. This imprudent custom tends to keep them 
 in pov»jrty, and compels them often to resort to 
 the bounty of the Hudson's Bay Company. At 
 the funeral feast eulogies are pronoi'.nced on the 
 deceased; and on his tomb are carved the sym- 
 bols of his tribe, which are taken from the dif- 
 ferent animals of the country ; and also, if he had 
 in any way distinguished himself^ memorials of his 
 own deeds. 
 
 Before they engage in war the chief summons 
 the warriors to a council, for which they pre- 
 pare themselves by long meditations and fasting. 
 When they have assembled, the chief formally 
 explains the subject; and, if they agree to take 
 up arms, they smoke with him the sacred pipe ; 
 and this is considered a suflBcient enrolment. 
 Every one who attends the meeting brings with 
 
95 
 
 lam something as an offering to the Spirit; and 
 when the assembly dissolves, these offerings are 
 suspended from poles near the place of council. 
 They have, at stated seasons, such as the spring 
 and autumn, long and solemn ceremonies. On 
 these occasions, dogs, as the most useful of their 
 domestic animals, are sacrificed; those that are 
 very fat and milk white are preferred. The scene 
 of these religious rites is an open and elevated 
 space on the banks of some lake or river, so that 
 all persons passing by may be attracted to the 
 spot and make their offerings. But if any one, 
 a member of the tribe or a stranger, should be 
 in want of any article displayed as an offering, 
 he may take it, provided he replaced it with some 
 other article, though of ever such inferior value. 
 But to take any thing wantonly is gross sacrilege. 
 There are also private feasts, attended with re- 
 ligious ceremonies, given by individuals on many 
 occasions, of which due announcement is given. 
 On this occasion the host's lodge is completely 
 ' cleared out, and decked round with fresh boughs 
 in every part. Even a new heai'th is made. The 
 owner remaining in it alone, spreads out a well- 
 dressed moose-skin, neatly painted, (of late they 
 sometimes use cloth,) on which he lays out the con- 
 
 m 
 
 \{ ■ 
 t 'It. 
 
 3. 
 
96 
 
 tents of his medicine, or holy bag — consisting of 
 various articles ; the principal of which is a sort of 
 household god — a curiously carved image, about 
 eight inches long. This is first covered with down, 
 over which a piece of beech-bark is closely tied, 
 and the whole enveloped in folds of skins, or cloth, 
 red and blue. This figure is an object of the most 
 pious regard. The next article is the war-cap, 
 which is decorated with the plumes of scarce birds, 
 and with beavers' and eagles' claws, &c., and to 
 which is suspended a quill or feather for every 
 enemy which the owner has slain, Then follow 
 other articles — the pipe and tobacco ; and roots and 
 simples esteemed for their medicinal properties. 
 These articles being exposed, and the stem of the 
 pipe resting on two prongs, as it must not touch 
 the ground, he calls in the person whom he means 
 most to honour — and who sits down opposite him. 
 Then the bowl of the pipe is filled, and is fixed to 
 the stem, A pair of wooden pincers is provided, to 
 place the fire in the pipe ; and a double-pointed pin 
 to empty it of the remnant of the tobacco not used. 
 The remainder of the guests are then summoned 
 in ; and the most solemn awe pervades the whole. 
 The women are generally allowed to be spectators 
 at a distance. The assistant lights the pipe, and 
 
vt 
 
 presents it to the host, or officiating person, who 
 holds it between both liis hands, and standing. 
 He then tnrns to the east, and draws a few whiffs, 
 which he blows to that point : he observes the same 
 ceremony towards the other quarters ; his eyes being 
 directed upwards all the time. He then holds the 
 stem about the middle, between the three first fin- 
 gers of both hands, and raising it on a level with his 
 forehead, he swings it three times round beginning 
 from the east, with the course of the sun ; when, 
 after poising and pointing it in various directions, he 
 replaces it on the prongs. He next makes a speech 
 to explain his object in inviting them, and concludes 
 with an acknowledgment of past favours, and a 
 prayer for a continuance of them from the Master 
 of Life. He then sits down ; and the whole com- 
 pany declare their approbation and thanks by loud 
 and prolonged sighs. After this the assistant takes 
 up the pipe, and holds it to the mouth of the host, 
 who, after smoking three whiffs, utters a short 
 prayer, then hands it round (taking his course from 
 east to west) to each guest, who smokes, and mutters 
 something to him on the occasion. Thus the pipe is 
 generally smoked out ; when the host, after turn- 
 ing it three or four times round his head, drops 
 it downwards, and replaces it on the original prods. 
 
 M- f 
 
98 
 
 After this he returns the company thanks for their 
 attendance, and wishes them all happiness. 
 
 These smoking rites precede every matter of 
 great importance: and sometimes they are politic. 
 If a chief wishes to sound the disposition of his 
 people towards him, or wishes to reconcile any 
 differences between them, he invites them to see 
 his medicine (or holy) bag opened, and smoke the 
 sacred stem with him. As the ceremony of smoking 
 with the sacred stem dissipates all differences and 
 can not be violated, no one who entertain^ a grudge 
 towards any of the party can smoke the pipe with 
 him. No one can avoid attending on these oc- 
 casions ; but a person may be excused from as- 
 sisting at the ceremonies by declaring that he has 
 not um crgone the necessary purification : for in- 
 stance, cohabitation with his wife within tweaty- 
 four hours before the ceremony, renders a man 
 unclean, and unfit to join in any part of the rite. 
 All contracts solemnised by this smoking ceremony 
 are held inviolable. 
 
 When the chief proposes a feast, he sends quills, 
 or email pieces of wood, as tokens of invitation. 
 Every guest brings a dish and knife, and takes 
 his place beside the cliief, according to age or 
 rank. The pipe is then lighted, and the chief 
 
99 
 
 makes an equal division of the fiands. While the 
 guests are eating, the chief sings, and plays with 
 the tambourin, or the rattle. He who has first 
 eaten his portion is held in estimation. If any 
 one cannot finish his share, he oilers a reward — 
 such as ammunition or tobacco, to some firiend 
 to eat the remainder. But before they commence 
 these feasts they offer a small quantity of the 
 meat and drink, as a sacrifice, by throwing it into 
 the fire, or pouring it on the earth. Generally 
 the qu'rtity supplied to the guests, must be eaten, 
 however immense ; but on some occasions they 
 are allowed to take the surplus to be eaten at 
 home. Care is always taken that the bones be 
 burned, as it would be profanation if the dogs 
 touched them. 
 
 At their public feasts they discuss various topics 
 — repeat the heroic deeds of their fathers, and en- 
 courage the rising generation to follow their ex- 
 ample; while the women sing and dance around 
 the tents, beating time to the music within. 
 
 They commence their divisions of time by the 
 night ; and compute the length of their journeys by 
 the number of nights passed in performing them. 
 They also divide the year by the succession of 
 moons. 
 
 ^1 
 
 i 
 it 
 
100 
 
 Thej know the medical virtues of manj herbs, 
 roots of plants, and barks of trees. When a blister 
 rises on the foot, from frost, or the chafing of the 
 shoe, &c., they open it with their flint lancet, and 
 apply the heated blade of a knife to that part; 
 and as the best remedy for sprains, they apply the 
 dung of an animal just killed. However, much of 
 their remedies and surgical operations is supposed 
 to derive effect from magic and incantations. 
 
101 
 
 C iAPTER IX. 
 
 The Chipewyan Indians. 
 
 These are a nume^'uus people, who consider the 
 coimtry between the parallels of latitude 60 and 
 65 north, and longitude 100 and 110 west, as their 
 home. Their language furnishes dialects to the va- 
 rious migratory tribes who inhabit the following 
 immense tract of country. It begins at Churchhill, 
 and runs along ^Le line of separation between them 
 and the Knisteneaux, up the Missinippi to Isle a la 
 Crosse, passing on through Buffalo Lake, River 
 Lake, and Portage a la Loche : from thence it 
 proceeds by the Elk River to the Lake of the Hills, 
 and goes directly west to the Peace River, and up 
 that river to its source ; from whence it proceeds 
 to the waters of the Columbia, and follows that 
 river to latitude 52 north, and longitude 122 west, 
 where the Chipewyans have the Chin nation for 
 their neighbours. How far they follow the Rocky 
 Mountains to the east, is not easy to determine; 
 but they extend a long way through the prairies. 
 
 H : ■ 
 
 I 
 
 li;. 
 
102 
 
 i i 
 
 They are generally a timorous, reserved, and 
 sober race, not addicted to spirituous liquors. They 
 •will patiently submit to severe treatment, if con- 
 scious that they deserve it ; but will not submit to 
 unnecessary rigour. In their mutual quarrels they 
 are not sanguinary or savage ; generally contenting 
 themselves with thumping, pulling the hair, and 
 calling abusive names. 
 
 Their notions about the Creation are very remark- 
 able. They believe that, at first, the globe was one 
 vast ocean, not inhabited by any Uving creature j 
 but that the Great Spirit came down in the shape 
 of a mighty bird, whose eyes were fire, whose 
 glances were lightning, and the clapping of whose 
 wings was thunder. He rested on the ocean, and 
 immediately the land rose, and remained on the 
 surface of the water. This omnipotent bird then 
 produced all the variety of animals from the earthy 
 except the Chipewyans, who were produced from a 
 dog : and this circumstance occasions their aversion 
 to the flesh of that animal> as well as to the people 
 who eat it. The Great Spirit having finished his 
 work, he made an arrow, which was to be preserved 
 with great care, and remain untouched ; but the 
 Chipewyans were so devoid of understanding, as to 
 carry it away. This sacrilege so enraged the great 
 
 
 1 
 
103 
 
 bird, tlmt he has nevor sinco appeared. They be- 
 lieve that there was a great deluge, which spread 
 over the whole earth, except the highest mountains ; 
 on the top of which their ancestors preserved them- 
 selves. They have also a tradition among them, 
 that they originally came from a remote country, 
 inhabited by wicked people ; and had traversed a 
 great lake, which was narrow and full of islands ; 
 also, that in ancient times their ancestors lived tUl 
 their feet were worn out with walking, and their 
 throats with eating. 
 
 The reader cannot fail to notice the curious coin- 
 cidence between this notion of the creav n and the 
 Mosaic account : " the earth was without form, and 
 void, and the Spirit of God moved on the surface 
 of the waters." Here I may remark, that the 
 word which in our translation is rendered moved, 
 the commentators say means, in the original He- 
 brew, brooded, or hatcJied ; and Milton, who in his 
 scriptural allusions an(. quotations follows the ori- 
 ginal, takes the word in this sense. — Paradise Lost, 
 b. vii. V. 235. Speaking of Creation, he says : — 
 
 Ir 
 
 
 On the watery calm 
 
 His brooding wings the Spirit of God outspread, 
 And vital virtue infused, and vital waroith, 
 Throughout the tiuid mass. 
 
104 
 
 Their ideas about the arrow would eieern to indicate 
 that they have a confused and corrupted notion of 
 the tree of knowledge and the forbidden fruit — tlie 
 arrow being more adapted to their condition than 
 an apple. Their tradition about coming origiually 
 from a remote country, inhabited by wicked people, 
 would remind one of the diupersion of mankind 
 after the erection of the tower of Babel : and their 
 ancestors having lived so long, until their feet were 
 worn out with walking, and their throats with eat- 
 ing, is a grapliic mode of describing the longevity 
 and sensuality of the antedeluvians. 
 
 They believe in the immortality of the soul, and 
 in a state of future rewards and pimishments. They 
 believe that immediately after death they pass into 
 another world, where they arrive at a large river, 
 on which they embark in a stone canoe ; and that 
 a gentle current bears them on to an extensive lake, 
 in the centre of which is a most beautiful island ; 
 and that within sight of this delightful abode they 
 receive that judgment for their conduct during life, 
 which terminates their final state and unalterable 
 allotment. If their good actions are declared to 
 predominate, they are landed on the island, where 
 there is to be no end to their happiness ; which, how- 
 ever, according to their notions consists chiefly in 
 
103 
 
 icnsiial pleauures. But if their bad actions predomi- 
 nate, the stone canoe sinks at once, and icavcH them 
 up to their chins in the water, to hehohl and regret 
 the reward enjoyed by the good ; and eternally 
 Btruggliug, but with unavailing endeavours, to reach 
 the blissful island. 
 
 Their stature is of a moderate standard. Their 
 complexion is swarthy : their features are coarse, 
 and their hair lank ; and their eyes are not so gene- 
 rally piercing, nor their couutouauces so animated 
 as those of other ludiaus. 
 
 The women have a more agreeable as;^)ect than 
 the men ; but their g.iit is awkward, which proceeds 
 from their being accustomed, nine months in the year, 
 to travel with their large snow shoes, and drag sledges, 
 of a weight from 200 to 400lbs. They are very 
 submissive to their husbands, who sometimes, how- 
 ever, in fits of jealousy cut off their liuir, of which 
 they are very proud, wearing it in fantastic tresses, 
 or in plaits, to a great length ; and treat them with 
 fatal severity besides. Sometimes their natural in- 
 clinations are coerced by their fathers, as is the case 
 in more civilised life; and they are transferred for 
 a consideration, to live as companions with more 
 weaUliy husbands or protectors. The men in gene- 
 ral extract their beard ; and cut the hair in various 
 
 m 
 
 ii 
 
106 
 
 forms, according to fancy, or leave it in the long 
 natural flow. Both sexes have blue or black bars, 
 or from one to four straight lines, on their cheeks 
 or forehead, to distinguish the tribe to which they 
 belong. These marks are either tattooed, or made 
 by drawing a thread, dipped in the necessary colours, 
 across the skin. 
 
 Plurality of wives is allowed ; and the women 
 are betrothed by their parents at an early age, ac- 
 cording as interest or partiality leads them : and if 
 a separation takes place, it must be with the consent 
 of the husband. In common with the other Indians 
 of this country, they have a custom which is tinged 
 with religion, respecting the periodical illness of 
 woman, which is rigorously observed. During that 
 time she must, as much as possible, seclude her- 
 self from society; or touch any utensils of male 
 use or occupation ; as such contact would produce 
 defilement, and lead to misfortune. There are par- 
 ticular skins of animals, as the bear and wolf, which 
 the women never touch, as they are unclean ani- 
 mals j and these animals the men are seldom known 
 to kill. 
 
 There are no people more attentive to the com- 
 forts of dress. The dress of the men, in winter, 
 is composed cf deerskins, and dressed as fine as 
 
107 
 
 chnmois leather^ in the hair. Their shoes and leg- 
 gins are sewed together ; the latter reaching upwards 
 to the waist, and kept firmly on by a belt ; under 
 which a piece of leather is drawn, the ends of which 
 fall down before and behind, as a covering. In the 
 shoes, they put the hair of the moose or rein-deer, 
 with additional pieces of leather, as socks. The 
 shirt or coat, which is girded round the waist, 
 reaches to the middle of the thigh; and the mit- 
 tens or gloves are sewed to the sleeves, or suspended 
 from the shoulders by strings, A ruflf or tippet 
 surrounds the neck; and the skin of the head of 
 the deer forms a curious kind of cap. Then there 
 is a top garment made of several deer or fawn 
 skins sewed together. This dress is worn single or 
 double, according to circumstances j but always in 
 winter with hair both inside and outside. Thus 
 arrayed, a Chipewyan will lay himself down on the 
 ice in the middle of a lake, and repose in comfort ; 
 though in the morning he will sometimes find it 
 difficult to disencumber himself from the snow 
 drifted on hira during the night. If, in his passage 
 over the lake, he should be in want of provision, 
 he cuts a hole in the ice, when he seldom fails in 
 taking out a trout or a pike. The eyes he instantly 
 takes out, and eats as a great delicacy : and if ho 
 
 ! I I 
 
 I 
 
108 
 
 have not an ^opportunity of kindling a fire, he will 
 eat the fish raw. 
 
 The dress of the women is different. Their leg- 
 gins are tied below the knee ; and their body dress 
 or shift is wide, and hanging down to the ancle; 
 and is tucked up at pleasure, by means of a belt 
 which is fastened round the waist. Those who have 
 children, have these garments made very full about 
 the breast and shoulders ; as, when they are tra- 
 velling, they carry their infants on their backs, next 
 the skin ; in which situation they are very comfort- 
 able, and in a convenient position to be suckled. 
 They continue to suckle one child till they have 
 another. At child-birth, no part of the usual oc- 
 cupation is suspended; and their continued and 
 regular exercise must contribute to the welfare of 
 che mother, both in the progress of gestation, and 
 at the moment of delivery. The women have a sin- 
 gular custom of cutting off a part of the navel of 
 the new-born children, which they hang about their 
 necks, perhaps to show that their " reproach among 
 women" — barrenness — is taken away. They are 
 also very curious about their baby-clothes, decorating 
 them with porcupines* quills, and beads. Though 
 they are in such a state of submission, yet they 
 possess considerable influence with the men ; and 
 
109 
 
 
 are generally consulted about the traffic with Eu- 
 ropeans, and other important matiers. 
 
 From the ease with which they can supply their 
 wants, in taking deer and fish, they are not remark- 
 able for their activity as hunters : hence they par- 
 ticipate in those laborious and domestic occupations 
 that, among the Knisteneaux, and other neighbour- 
 ing nations, are confined to the women. Though 
 they make war on the Esquimaux, (who cannot re- 
 sist their superior numbers,) and put them to death — 
 as it is a principle of theirs not to make prisoners — 
 yet they submit to the Knisteneaux, who are not so 
 numerous as themselves. They are not so reserved 
 in their communications among themselves, or with 
 strangers ; nor are they suddenly roused from torpor 
 to such energy and passion as the Knisteneaux. 
 They are more uniform, calculating, and persevering 
 than these people. 
 
 They catch the beaver in nets, as he endeavours 
 to escape from his lodge, when it is broken open. 
 These nets are curiously set for the purpose; and 
 a mau .a employed to watch the moment when the 
 animal enters the snare, else he would soon cut his 
 way through it : he is then thrown on the ice, where 
 he remains, as if lifeless. 
 
 ■^heir snow-shoes are of superior workmanship : 
 
 5 
 
no 
 
 The inner part of their frame i8 straight ; the outer 
 one is curved, and is pointed at both ends, the front 
 end being turned up. They are also very neatly 
 laced with ueer-skin thongs. Their sledges are also 
 formed of thin slips of boards turned up in front ; 
 and are highly polished, with crooked knives, in or- 
 der to make them slide along with greater facility. 
 Close-grained wood is, on that account^ the best : 
 but theirs are made of the red, or swamp, spruce 
 fir tree. 
 
 Though they have no regular government, as 
 every man is lord of his own family, yet they have 
 certain principles of co-operation for the public 
 benefit. Their country, especially along the north, 
 is very barren, yielding but little wood or herbage. 
 Its chief vegetable substance is the moss, on which 
 the deer feed ; and a kind of rock moss, which, in 
 times of scarcity, when boiled in water, forms a 
 glutinous 'substance, and affords subsistence to the 
 natives. But though the lakes abound with fish, 
 and the hills with deer j and though they are con- 
 sidered among the most provident of all the Indian 
 people of the northern continent, they suffer severely 
 at certain seasons, especially in winter, when they 
 are under the necessity of retiring to their scanty, 
 stunted, woods. 
 
Ill 
 
 To tlie wnstward of tlicin, the musk ox may be 
 found ; but they do not depend on it as an article 
 of sustenance. There arc also large hares, white 
 wolves peculiar to their country, and several kinds 
 of foxes. On the surface of the earth there are 
 found beautiful pieces of variegated marble, which 
 is easily worked, bears a fine polish, and hardens 
 with time. It endures heat, and is manufactured 
 into pipes or calumets, ?.s they are fond of smoking 
 tobacco— a luxury communicated to them by Euro- 
 peans. 
 
 They have no knowledge of simples, or the medi- 
 cinal virtues of plants ; as their country is too barren 
 to produce any : but they generally resort to charms 
 to cure their diseases ; of which rheumatism, the flux, 
 and lues veneria, are the principal. They are very 
 superstitious ; and have their priests and conjurers ; 
 but they are unwilling to make many communica- 
 tions on the subject of their reUgion. They show 
 their respect for the memory of their departed 
 friends by a long period of mournhig ; by cutting 
 off their own hair ; and never making use of the 
 property of the deceased • they even sacrifice their 
 own on the occasion. 
 
lU 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Month of tlie Columbia. — Description of tlic native tribes.' 
 Their appearance.— Habits. 
 
 The first object that meets the eye of a voyager as 
 he approaches the mouth of the Columbia from the 
 Pacific, is a high bluff promontory with precipitous 
 sides, covered with pine trees, and sloping to the 
 mainland, with which it is connected by a low and 
 narrow neck. This is called Cape Disappointment, 
 and stands on the north of the river. The entrance 
 on the south side of the river is terminated bv a low, 
 sandy spit of laud, stretching into the ocean, and called 
 Point Adams ; but, properly speaking, for the distance 
 of thirty or forty miles from its entrance into the sea, 
 it is an estuarj'', indented by deep bays, so as to 
 vary from three to seven miles in breadth. The 
 distance between the exreme outer ends of Cape 
 Disappointment and Point Adams is about four 
 miles across. This distance is rendered ^ery dan- 
 gerous and intricate by shoals, forming a sort of flat 
 
118 
 
 bar, on which the winds and irregular currents pro- 
 duce foaming and tumultuous breakers, presenting 
 one line of heavy broken water from shore to shore, 
 which, in rough weather, runs out for three miles 
 into the ocean. But the mouth of the river proper 
 becomes narrower, in consequence of the con- 
 tracting shores of the estuary. The best leading 
 mark for entrance is to bring a projecting point, 
 which looks at a distance like an island^ near the 
 higher and northern shore, to bear by compass 
 about east by north, and then to steer for it. But 
 it is dangerous to make any attempt when the 
 breakers are high. Immediately within Cape Dis- 
 appointment there is a wide open bay which yields 
 good anchorage, and is called Baker's Bay, termi- 
 nating at Chinook Point. 
 
 About fourteen miles from Cape Disappointment, 
 in a south- sasterly direction, stands Fort George, on 
 the southern shore, and on an elevation facing the 
 north, terminating with the wide estuaiy — its sand 
 bars, and breakers. It was formerly called Astoria, 
 having been founded by Mr. Astor, of whose pro- 
 ceedings T shall speak more hereafter ; but it is 
 now only a small outer dep6t, belonging to the 
 company's head quarters at Fort Vancouver, and 
 kept up for the convenience of the trade with the 
 
 . ^ : 
 
I 
 
 114 
 
 f 
 
 Indians towards the mouth of the river ; and for tlie 
 salmon fishery. It is now sadly stript of much of 
 its former importance ; the immediate neiRhbourhood, 
 with tlie exception of a small garden and farm reserved 
 for the use of the small garrison stationed there, 
 being overrun with weeds and brushwood. There 
 however still exists one memorial of its former jrro- 
 mised importance — for real importance it never had, 
 — a large tree, spoken of by some writers, lying, 
 as a symbol of the decline of American power, 
 flat and withered on the ground. 
 
 The natives, who dwell about the lower parts of 
 the Columbia, may be divided into four tribes — the 
 Clotsops, who reside around Point Adams, on the 
 south side, and are reputed by some the most honest 
 — the Chinooks ; Waakiacums ; and the Cathlamets ; 
 who live on the north side of the river, and around 
 Baker's Bay and other inlets. From the great re- 
 semblance between them in person, language, laws, 
 and manners, they all appear to have emanated 
 from one common stock. Though they occasionally 
 can procure the flesh of elks, deer, and the water- 
 fowls of the ponds and rivers, their chief subsis- 
 tence is fish, chiefly salmon, which abounds in the 
 river, and inlets ; and roots, and berries, w n the 
 women go a gipsyiny m groups at the proper season 
 
115 
 
 to collect iu the upper part of the country. This sea- 
 son is a time of hilarity ; and the women bepaiut 
 their faces and persons with a sort of vormillion paint, 
 partly to protect them from the sun, and partly 
 to present a gay and fantastic appearance. These 
 roots and berries they make into cakes, which they 
 dry in the sun. These cakes, and preserved fish, 
 with an accompaniment of venison, form their 
 winter store, of which they generally have no lack. 
 These tribes were formerly very numerous and 
 powerful. But they were greatly thinned by the 
 scourge tliat spread its havoc far and wide among 
 the northern and eastern Indians for many years — 
 the small pox. After having enjoyed a considerable 
 respite from this visitation, and recruited their force 
 and numbers to some extent, they were again, in 
 1829, and some subsequent years, attacked by another 
 malady, equally fatal — fever, attended with ague. 
 The strong remedies which they adopted for the 
 cure of this, in opposition to all remonstrance, were 
 nearly as destructive as the malady itself. They dug 
 a hole in the ground, five feet square, two feet deep 
 below the surface, and raised two feet and a half 
 above it. On the inside it was tightly boarded, and 
 made a sort of compact oven, with a small aperture 
 barelv sufficient to admit the insinuation of the 
 
f' 
 
 116 
 
 body. A number of stones red hot were thrown 
 in, and the patient (sometimes two or three nt a 
 time) immediately after crawled in; and from a bowl 
 poured on tlie burning stones a quantity of water 
 supplied from the outside, suflicient to produce a 
 high degree ot steam. Having remained there until 
 he was nearly parboiled, he crept out again ; and, 
 as it was imagined that a violent counter-remedy 
 would produce a wholesome reaction, he plunged at 
 once into the cold stream, on the bank of which tins 
 hot vapour bath was constructed. The remedy 
 generally did its intended work ; and something 
 more; it cured the disease, but killed the patient. 
 As the first visitation of the small pox affected 
 tlicm peculiarly, it may not be out of place here to 
 say a word about it. 
 
 This terrible scourge, which not only thinned this 
 population, but had nearly dispeopled the whole of 
 the northern continent of the native inhabitants, it 
 is now generally agreed, was first introduced by the 
 Americans of the United States; and at first broke 
 out among the tribes residing between the sources 
 of the iMissouri and the Missisippi. Thence it 
 spread its devastation northward as far as Athabasca, 
 aud the three horns of the great Slave Lake ; and 
 westward across the Rocky Mountains through the 
 
117 
 
 whole region of the Oregon territories, spreading to 
 a vast distance along the shores of the north Pacific. 
 They at first tried their medicine men, or conjnrors; 
 then, when their medicines and charms were found 
 unavailing, they adopted various expedients, which 
 were as fatal as the disease itself; such as bleeding — 
 blistering — steam and cold baths in quick succession. 
 Then, when they failed in every attempt at cure, 
 they became desperate, and impressed with the be- 
 lief that it was a visitation from the Great Spirit, 
 who surrendered them up to the Evil One, as a 
 punishment for their wicked courses. The wretched 
 sufferers were deserted, and left to rot and perish, 
 unaided and unpitied. The more hardened and 
 courageous of those who escaped the attack fled to 
 the desert plains, or the mountains, or the islands 
 of the lakes. Others, more desponding, committed 
 suicide, to save themselves from the horrors which 
 they saw the sufferers endure. The bodies of hun- 
 dreds of men, women, and children used to be seen, 
 afterwards, suspended from the trees, close by de- 
 populated villages, whilst the ground was strewed 
 with putrid and mouldering remains. Numbers of 
 tribes were totally swept away ; or reduced to a few 
 scattered and powerless individuals. The remnants 
 
 
118 
 
 of many others united; nud formed a new and licten»- 
 gencous union. 
 
 "Whenever a person is attacked with sickness, the 
 medicine man is scat for ; he orders the patient to 
 be placed on his back, and then commences to 
 chaunt a dismal air. To this the patient's friends, 
 who surround him^ at intervals reply in chorus ; and 
 beat time with a long and short stick, which each 
 carries in his hands, striking one over the other. 
 Generally a person is stationed on the roof during 
 this proceeding, and, with a loud voice, joins the 
 chorus inside; while he keeps time to the air by 
 beating hli drum sticks against the roof. The doctor 
 then kneels, and presses his 6sts with all his force 
 on the patient's stomach ; and, according as the 
 sufferer, under the pain of this operation, cries out, 
 the doctor and the bystanders raise the chaunt 
 louder to drown his voice, and banish the disease 
 within him which is struggling to depart. The doc- 
 tor having, during the patient's agony, slyly inserted a 
 small white stone into his mouth, he seizes his hands 
 which he joins together, and keeps blowing on them. 
 Thus he continues pressing and blowing until the 
 stone is forced out by the sick man's convulsive ef- 
 forts. This he snatches up, and triumphantly pro- 
 
Ill) 
 
 (luces to the bystanders us the source of the di«ease, 
 wliich he assures tlieiu is now destroyed. The stone 
 is sometimes enclosed in a piece of cedar bark, and 
 tlirown into the fire. The severe hard-pressing and 
 pummelling which the patient is obliged to undergo 
 necessarily produces a considerable cliange in a 
 short time; and though lU-ath not unfrcquently 
 follows; yet the general potency (;f such a mode of 
 treatment is a matter of general belief. 
 
 But the white doctor has of late made great in- 
 roads on the province of the conjurer, or medicine 
 man; much of whose occupation is now transferred 
 to the dispensary or the hospital of Fort Vancouver, 
 where a single dose of medicine, or a little phlebotomy, 
 has speedily exorcised the " foul fiend" of the disease. 
 Indeed, many of the customs of these people are 
 fast fading away in their increasing intercourse with 
 civilised men. 
 
 On the death of one of these people, the body was 
 formerly wrapped in skins or mats, and disposed in 
 a small canoe (now they sell the skins and use blan- 
 kets) ; the deceased's arms, and other articles of 
 general use, being laid beside him. The canoe is 
 then placed on a platform by the hver side, or on 
 rocks out of the reach of the tide ; and other mats 
 tied over it. Sometimes these sepulchral canoes 
 
 - f 
 
 I 
 
120 
 
 are suspended from boughs of trees, six or eight 
 feet from the ground. The canoe in which the body 
 is placed is perforated at the bottom, for the two- 
 fold purpose, of letting out the water that the rains 
 may have deposited in it, and of preventing it from 
 ever being used again by the living. When his 
 friends can afford the expence, a larger canoe, re- 
 versed, is placed over the lower, to protect it from 
 the rain ; and both are firmly tied together. This 
 is his grave. His wives, relations, and slaves go 
 into mourning by cutting their hair; and for some 
 time after his death repair twice a day, at sun rise, 
 and sun set, to a neighbouring wood to chaunt his 
 funeral dirge. Formerly, on the death of a rhief, 
 or other person of wealth and importance, cue or more 
 of his slaves (much of an Indian's importance depend- 
 ing on the number of his slaves) was put to death 
 for his use in the next world. But this barbarous 
 super'^tition has been abolished through the interpo- 
 sition of the company. The present governor. Dr. 
 M'Laughlin, has for this purpose, as well as for 
 many others in which humanity, and the civilisation 
 of the natives, are concerned, made great exertions. 
 The salmon season, of those tribes towards the 
 mouth of the Columbia, commences in June : and 
 its opening is an epoch looked forward to with 
 
121 
 
 much anxiety, and is attended with great fonuality. 
 They have a public festival, and offer sacrifices. The 
 first salmon caught is a consecrated thing ; and is 
 oflfered to the munificent Spirit, who is the giver of 
 plenty. They have a superstitious scruple about 
 the mode of cutting salmon ; especially at the com- 
 mencement of the season, before they have an as- 
 surance of a plentiful supply. To cut it crosswise, 
 and to cast the heart into the water, they consider 
 most unlucky, and likely to bring on a scarce season. 
 Hence they are very reluctant to supply the traders 
 at the stations with any until the season is advanced, 
 and they can calculate on their probable stock ; 
 lest an unlucky cross cut by the whitemen may mar 
 all their prospects. Their mode is to cut it along 
 the back ; they take out the back bone, and most 
 studiously avoid throwing the heart into the water. 
 The heart they broil and eat ; but will not eat it 
 aicer sun set. So plentiful is the fish, that they 
 supply the white men with it in abundance. It is 
 now made a lucrative article of foreign trade. In- 
 deed large quantities of it are sent to the Sandwich 
 Islands, and other places. 
 
 Their canoes vary in size and form. Some are thirty 
 feet long, and about three feet deep, cut out of a sin- 
 gle tree — either fir or white cedar-^and capable of 
 
 ' 
 
122 
 
 carrying twenty persons. They have round thwart pie- 
 ces from side to side, forming a sort of binders, about 
 three inches in circumference ; and their gunwales 
 incline outwards, so as to cast off the surge ; the 
 bo^•' and stem being decorated, sometimes, with 
 grotesque figures of men and animals. In mana- 
 ging their canoes, they kneel two and two along the 
 bottom, sitting on their heels, and wiekling paddles 
 about five feet long ; while one sits on the stem and 
 steers, with a paddle of the same kind. The women 
 are equally expert in the management of the canoe; 
 and generally take the helm. It is surprising to see 
 with what fearless unconcern these savages venture 
 in their slight barks on the most tempestuous seas. 
 They seem to ride upon tha waves like sea fowl. 
 Should a surge throw the canoe upon one side and 
 endanger its overturn, those to windward lean over 
 the upper gunwale — thrust their paddles deep into 
 the wave — apparently catch the water, and force it 
 under the canoe; and, by this action, not merely 
 regain an equilibrium, but give the vessel a vigorous 
 impulse forward. 
 
 They are rather a diminuti '9 race, generally 
 varying in height from five feet to five feet five 
 inches ; the women being about six inches shorter. 
 Their le js are generally crooked ; their ancles thick j 
 
123 
 
 aud their feet flat — a deformity caused, no doubt 
 by their passing so much of their time in childhood, 
 squatting on the calves of their legs and their heels, 
 in the bottom of their canoes — a favourite position, 
 which they retain even when on shore. The women 
 increase this deformity by wearing tight bandages 
 round the lower part of their legs. The faces of 
 both sexes are round — their eyes small and sharp 
 — their noses broad, flat at the top, and thick 
 at the end — their nostrils large — their mouths wide 
 — their lips thick — their teeth short, irregular, and 
 dirty. In addition to these characteristics, the wo- 
 men have their ears slit — the cartilcges of their noses 
 perforated — aud their heads and bodies saturated 
 with salmon oil. They are inferior in muscular 
 power and activity to the Indians of the plains, 
 who hunt the deer and bufiiilo, and ride on horse- 
 back. 
 
 In their early intercourse with the whites, they 
 were but scantily clad ; the n>en being entirely 
 naked in summer ; but in winter wearing a small 
 robe made of the skins of animals, and reaching 
 to the middle of the thigh ; and sometimes super- 
 adding a mantle made of matting, which loosely 
 covered the shoulders. The women wore a similar 
 robe, which reached only to the waist ; to which was 
 
lU 
 
 appended a kind of petticoat, reaching from the 
 waist to the knee — formed of the fibres of cedar 
 bark broken into shreds, or a tissue of silk-grass, 
 twisted and knotted at the ends ; but in winter they 
 added a vest of skins. The men carefully eradicated 
 every vestige of a beard, considering it a great de- 
 formity. But both sexes allowed the hair of the 
 head, which is coarse and black, and of which they 
 are very proud, to grow to great length; sometimes 
 wearing it plaited — sometimes wound round the 
 head in fanciful tresses. They had conical hats, 
 with narrow rims, woven of bear-grass, or the fibres 
 of cedar bark ; and exhibiting, in different colours, 
 various designs — such as representations of canoes, 
 men fishing, &c. They also wore ornaments of 
 bears' claws, elks' tusks, &c., as trophies of hunting 
 exploits. But ail intercoiirse with the white traders 
 soon effected a change in the toilets of both sexes ; 
 and they now array themselves in any article of 
 dress, aud use any ornament, they can procure. 
 
 According to the general custom of American 
 savages, when employed in warlike expeditions, the 
 painted their bodies and faces in the most grotesque 
 and hideous manner. Their arms were bows and 
 arrows ; spears ; and war-clubs two feet and a half 
 long, and double edged. Some wore a corslet 
 
125 
 
 formed of pieces of hard wood, laecd together with 
 bear-grass, so as to form a light coat of mail, pliant 
 to the body ; and a light casque of cedar bark, lea- 
 ther, or bear-grasS;, sufficient to protect the head 
 from an arrow or a war-club. A more complete 
 article of defensive armour , a buff jerkin or 
 shirt, of great t) i/^kness, mat of doubhngs of elk 
 skin, and reaching to the feet; holes being left for 
 the head and arms. This was perfectly arrow-proof; 
 and was, besides, often believed to be endowed with 
 charmed virtues, imparted by the priests or conju- 
 rers of the tribe. It mav be observed, that their 
 only offensive weapon is now the common gun. 
 
 Their ideas of religion do not differ much from 
 those of the natives of the interior. They believe 
 in an omnipotent and benevolent Spirit, the creator 
 of all things. They represent him as assuming va- 
 rious shapes at pleasure ; but generally give him the 
 accompaniment of wings. Though he usually in- 
 habits the sun, he occasionally wings his way through 
 the ethereal regions, and sees all that is doing on 
 earth : and thunders, tempests, and lightning, are 
 the modes in which he exhibits his displeasure. 
 To propitiate his favour, they offer to him, as sacri- 
 fices, the first-fruits of their hunting and fishing. 
 They also believe in an evil spirit, who inhabits 
 
 : \\ 
 
 i\ 
 
 
lit 
 
 It; 
 
 12G 
 
 the fire, who is less powerful than the first, and is 
 occasionally employed to do his services. Therefore 
 they endeavour, in all their undertakings, to propi- 
 tiate him by frequent oflferings. 
 
 They have a belief in a future state of rewards 
 and punishments. Those who have well and faith- 
 fully discharged all the duties of this life, will go to 
 a mild and happy region, teeming with all the com- 
 forts of existence; while those who pursue an op- 
 posite course, will be consigned to a cold and dreary 
 region, where bitter fruits and salt-water will form 
 their principal means of subsistence. They have 
 also a tradition about the origin of mankind : they 
 believe that man was originally created by the su- 
 perior deity, but in an imperfect state, being rather 
 a statue of flesh than a perfect being ; but a second 
 divinity, less powerful, in pity of his helpless condi- 
 tion, opened his eyes ; gave 1dm motion ; and taught 
 him all the functions and the arts of life. 
 
 They have their priests or conjurers, or medicine 
 men, who are supposed to be in the confidence of 
 the deities, and the expounders of their will. Each 
 of these has his diminutive wooden idols, under some 
 rude form of a quadruped, or bird, or tish, repre- 
 senting the spirits of the air and fire. These idols 
 are hung round with amulets and native offerings. 
 
127 
 
 sucli as beavers' teeth, bears' and cngles' claws, &c. 
 
 I have seen the following account in print : but it 
 is incumbent on mc to say, that though I mixed 
 very much with these tribes, and was acquainted 
 with their customs, ceremonies, and superstitions, 
 I neither witnessed myself, nor heard of, such a cus- 
 tom existing among them. 
 
 When any chief personage is dangerously ill, the 
 priests are sent for, who bring their idols. T!iey retire 
 into a canoe, to hold a consultation, and if they do 
 not agree as to the malady, or the mode of treatment, 
 they settle the dispute by beating the idols against 
 each otlier ; v/hichever first loses a tooth or a claw, 
 is considered as confuted. Though this mode of de- 
 termining the right is not so formidable as the prac 
 tice of personal combat, or treading the red-hot 
 ploughshare, once practised in christian Europe, yet 
 it is considered equally efficacious in arriving at a 
 satisfactory conviction. 
 
 I am willing to believe that such a custom did 
 exist, and was one of those which the growing in- 
 telligence of the natives, in consequence of their 
 intercourse with civiUsed men, has tended to abolisli. 
 Indeed, I am the more inclined to this belief, from 
 my knowledge of the frauds still practised by these 
 crafty conjurers on the credulity of the natives. I 
 
128 
 
 will state an example. In times of pretended in- 
 spiration, and communion with tlie Great Spirit, 
 they seize a fleshy part of the body, about the sto- 
 mach and ribs, in one hand, and plunge a dagger 
 right through the fold, without drawing blood. 
 This act is taken as a proof of their invulnerabihty 
 — a favour granted by the Great Spirit. I have 
 seen of some of tliem thus gashed all over the 
 front of the body. While I was in charge of Fort 
 George, one of these crafty old priests prepared to 
 perform this operation in my presence. He grasped 
 a handful of his flabby fleah, and drew his dagger. 
 But I instantly checked liim ; as my acquiescence 
 would be tortured by him to the natives, into my 
 belief that he was under divine protection. Besides, 
 I was responsible for the execution of instructions 
 from head quarters, to discourage in evey way the 
 superstitious and barbarous practices of he people, 
 and the impostures of the priests. I observed that 
 they avoided those parts where they may have a 
 chance of striking through an artery. 
 
 There prevails a singular custom among all the 
 tribes about the lower part of the Columbia — the 
 flattening of the forehead, and compression of the 
 whole head ; which gives them a hideous appearance. 
 Immediately after birth the infant is laid in an ob- 
 
129 
 
 long wooden trough, by way of cradle, with moss under 
 it. The end on wliich the head reposes is raised higher 
 than the rest. A padding is then placed on the infant's 
 forehead with a piece of cedar bark over it ; it is 
 pressed down by cords, which pass through holes on 
 each side of the trough. As the tightening of the 
 padding, and the pressing of the head to the board, 
 is gradual, the process is said not to be attended with 
 much pain. 
 
 The appearance of the infant, however, while under 
 it, is shocking : its little black eyes seem ready to 
 start from their sockets — the mouth exhibits all the 
 indications of internal convulsion; and it clearly 
 appears that the face is gradually undergoing a pro • 
 cess of unnatural configuration. About a year's 
 pressure is sufficient to produce the desired effect. 
 The head is ever after completely flattened ; and 
 the upper part of it, on the crown, seldom exceeds 
 an inch in width. This is. deemed a mark of beauty 
 and distinction, like small and crippled feet among 
 the Chinese ladies of rank. 
 
 All their slaves, whom they purchase from the 
 neighbouring tribes, have round heads. Every child 
 of a slave, if not adopted by a member of the tribe, 
 must be left to nature, and therefore grow up with 
 a round head. This deformity is, consequently, a 
 
 II 
 
 I 
 
180 
 
 mark of their freedom. On examining the skulls of 
 these people several medical men have declared, that 
 nothing, short of occular demonstration, eould have 
 convinced them of the possibility of moulding the 
 human head into such a form. 
 
 Though the Indians about the head-waters of the 
 Columbia, and in the other regions bordering on 
 the Rocky Mountains, arc called " Flat Heads,*' the 
 name does not result from such a characteristic de- 
 formity, for all these people have round heads ; but 
 appears to have been originally given them from 
 caprice, or from an observance of some similarity 
 in disposition or habit, between them and the savages 
 of the coast at the mouth of the river. The best 
 supported opinion is, that they were of the same 
 original stock with the lower tribes, but discon- 
 tinued the custom. 
 
 They have a great variety of games, which they 
 pursue often with such ardour, that they would 
 gamble away everything they possess — even their 
 wives and children. One of their usual gsunes is this : 
 One man takes a small stone, which he shifts 
 from hand to hand repeatedly, all the while hum- 
 ming a low monotonous air. The bet being made, 
 according as the adversary succeeds in grasping 
 the hand which contains the stone, he wins or 
 
13] 
 
 loses. The gJirac is generally plnyed with great 
 fairness; and the loser submits with the most 
 philosophical resignation. They arc also consum- 
 mate tliieves, and proud of their dexterity. He 
 who is frequently successful gains applause and 
 popularity; but the chimsy thief, who is detected, 
 is scoffed nt and desnised. 
 
 So we find among the Uicdeni savages, on the 
 shores of the Pacific., the same passion for gambling 
 which, Tacitus says, existed among the aboriginal 
 Germans; and the same merit attached to dexter- 
 ous and successful stealing which existed among 
 the ancient Spartans. Like the Spartans, too, they 
 considered drunkenness a great degradation, — a 
 vice fit only for slaves. On one occasion the sou 
 of Comcoraly, chief of the Chinooks, was induced 
 to drink at the factory until ^e became intoxicated. 
 He then played the most extravagant pranks. He 
 was sent home in [that state : and the old chief 
 went to the factory in a sf ite of high rage, and re- 
 proached the people there for having degraded his 
 son, and exposed him to the laughter and contempt 
 of his slaves. But, however, they deem it, in 
 general, no degradation now to get drunk, when 
 they can. 
 This noted chief, Comcomly, was buried with 
 
 } I 
 
i! 
 
 i 
 
 132 
 
 great crrcmony, in a canoe near Fort George, in 
 IH31. His body was afterwards taken out of the 
 canoe, for greater security, by his relations, and 
 placed, in a long box, in a loiujly part of the woods. 
 But the precaution was idle. His head is now 
 in the possession of some eminent physician in 
 Edinburgli ; and, strange to bay, although ho 
 had been buried about five years, his skin was 
 quite dry, and not decayed. It required a very 
 sharp knife to penetrate the skin ; and his hair 
 was still on his head. 
 
 Marriage among them is a matter for prenous 
 negociation; and attended with solemnity. When 
 a young man has made his choice, and obtained 
 consent; the parents, or other natural guardians 
 of the girl, are next to be consulted. These are 
 to receive a certain quantity of presents, — slaves, 
 axes, kettles, trinkets, &c. When the amount is 
 agreed on, they repair to the house intended for 
 the young couple, to which the most respectable 
 inhabitants of the village are invited. The young 
 man, having distributed the presents, receives, in 
 the style of the heroes of the Homeric age, an 
 equal, often a greater number, of presents from 
 the girPs relations. Then the bride, decorated with 
 various ornaments, is led forth by a few old women> 
 
133 
 
 and preseutod to the bridegroom, who receives her 
 as his wife. The compaay, after partaking of 
 hospitality, and wishing the young couple every 
 liHppinos8-~a numerous progeny, Hhundance, and 
 peace, retire. Though tlie union is generally 
 lasting, it is not indissoluble; as a man may, for 
 infidelity, repudiate his wife ; who is, after that, 
 at liberty to take another husband. Polygamy is 
 not only allowed, but is a mark of distinction. 
 The greater the number of wives a man can muin- 
 tjiiii the higli is he esteemed. In fact, the res- 
 pectability and inllucnce of the chief depends on 
 the number of wives, slaves, and other property 
 which he possesses ; and his election to the oftice 
 mainly depends on this qualification. Though the 
 wives generally live in liarmony together, the firs! 
 wife takes precedence of all the others, and is 
 considered as mistress of the house. 
 
 They regulate the prices of their articles by 
 haiqua, which is a railk-wliite round shell of extreme 
 hardness, found in the neighbourhood of Nootka 
 Sound. It varies in length from one to four in-, 
 ches, and is about half an inch thick — hollow, 
 slightly curved, and tapering a little towards the 
 ends. It is highly estimated, the longest being 
 the most valuable. 
 
 ^ i 
 
134 
 
 It resembles the top shank of a common clay 
 smoking pipe. Th / are valued in proportion to the 
 nuraber that, when raD^^.-jd on a string, passing 
 through their hollow tubes, extend a fathom^s 
 length. Forty to the fatliom, is supposed to be the 
 fixed standard of excellence and worth : for instance, 
 forty which mak a fathom are worth nearly double 
 fifty which make a fathom. The»'o extreme fragility, 
 lightness, tenuity, and delicacy of colour, are what 
 appear to give them their importance. They are 
 thus caught in Nootka Sound, and along Vancouver's 
 Island : — a piece of deer flesh, or of fish, is dropped 
 from a line to ihe bottom : tliis they cling to ; and 
 they are then dniwn up. and carefully gutted and 
 preserved, 
 
 Sturgemi fishing. — Sturgeon are caught by the 
 Chmc->ks in the following manner. To the line 
 — which is made from the twisted roots of trees — is 
 attached a large hook, made of hard wood. This is 
 lowered some twenty feet below the surface of the 
 water. The canoes are not more than ten feet 
 long ; manned by never more than two, sometimes 
 only by one ; and slowly drift down the river with 
 the current. When the sturgeon bites, and they 
 have him fust, the line is hauled up gently until 
 they get his head to the water's edge. He then 
 
135 
 
 receives a blow from a heavy wooden mallet, which 
 kills him. The gunwale of the canoe is lowered to 
 the verge of the water ; and the sturgeon, though 
 weighing upwards of SOOlbs., is, by the single effort 
 of one Indian, jerked into the boat. 
 
 A few months since, I saw a paragraph in most 
 of the largely circulated papers, stating that a stur- 
 geon weighing 300 or 400 pounds had been caught 
 in 1^^ river Thames; and that a host of people, 
 amounting to 200 or 300, were employed in killing 
 this 6.sh. I thought that the old saying, of nine 
 tailors making a man, was exceeded in this case; 
 as it appears that it took 300 Englishmen to make 
 one Chinook sturgcjon- catcher. 
 
 Their houses are constructed of wood, and vary 
 in length from twenty to seventy feet, and in 
 breadth from fifteen to twenty-five feet. Two or 
 more posts of split timber, according to the number 
 of partitions, are sunk firmly into the ground, 
 and rise upwards to the height of fifteen or eighteen 
 feet. They are grooved at the top so as to receive 
 the ends of a round beam or pole, stretching 
 from one end to the other, and forming the upper 
 point of the roof, from one end of the building 
 to the other. On each side of this range is placed 
 another row much lower, being about five feet high. 
 
136 
 
 which forms the eaves of the house. But as the 
 building is oftsn sunk to the depth of four or 
 five feet in the ground, the eaves come very near 
 the surface of the earth. Smaller pieces of timber 
 are then extended, by pairs, in the form of rafters 
 from the lower to the higher beam, and are fastened 
 at both ends by corda of cedar bark. On these 
 rafters two or three ranges of small poles are placed 
 horizontally, and in the same way fastened with 
 similar cords. The sides are then made, with a 
 range of wide boards sunk a small distance into 
 the ground, with the upper ends projecting above 
 the poles of the eaves, to which they are secured 
 by a beam passing outside, parallel with the eave 
 poles, and tied by cords of cedar bark passing 
 through the holes made in the boards at certain 
 distances. The gable ends and partitions are formed 
 in the same way ; being fastened by beams on the 
 outside, parallel with the rafters. The roof is then 
 covered with a double rang ) of thin boards, ex- 
 cepting a space of two or three feet in the centre, 
 which serves for a chimney. The entrance is by a 
 liole cut through the boards, and just large enough 
 to admit the body. 
 
 The largest houses ^re divided by partitions; 
 and three or four families may be found residing 
 
137 
 
 in a one-roomed house. In the centre of each 
 room is a space, six or eight feet square, sunk to 
 the depth of twelve inches below the rest of the 
 floor, and enclosed by four pieces of square timber ; 
 her'' *-hej make the fire, which is of wood and pine 
 bark. The partitions in the houses are intended 
 to separate different families. Around the fire- 
 place mats are spread, and serve as seats by day, 
 and frequently as beds at night: there is, how- 
 ever, a more permanent bed made, by fixing in 
 two, or sometimes three, sides of a room, posts 
 reaching from the roof to the floor, and at the 
 distance of four feet from the wall. From these 
 posts to the wall one or two ranges of boards are 
 placed, so as to form shelves, on which they either 
 sleep or stow their various articles of merchandise. 
 In short, they are like berths in a ship. The imcurcd 
 fish is hung in the smoke of their fires ; as is also 
 the flesh of tlie elk when they are fortunate enough 
 to procure any. 
 
 Their culinary articles consist of a large square 
 kettle, made of cedar wood, a few platters and 
 spoons made of ash. Their mode of cooking is 
 expeditious. Having put a quantity of water into 
 the kettle, they throw into it several hot stones, 
 which quickly cause the water to boil; then 
 
 « 
 
in 
 
 138 
 
 the fish or flesh is put in ; the steam is kept from 
 evaporating by a small mat thrown over the ket- 
 tie. By thi^ mode a large salmon would be boiled 
 in twenty minutes, and meat in a proportionabl; 
 short space of time. They occasionally roast their 
 fish and flesh on small wooden skewers. 
 
 For the felling and cutting of trees — sometimes from 
 thirty to forty feet in circumference — for building 
 their houses, and forming their canoes, they had 
 not, pievioua to their intercourse with the whites, 
 even an axe. For such immense work their only 
 instruments consisted of a chisel, formed out of an 
 old file; a kind of oblong stone used as a ham- 
 mer, and a mallet, made of spruce-tree knot, Well 
 oiled and hardened by the action of the fire. 
 
 They are very ingenious in the construction of 
 their nets, which are made of a sort of wild hemp, 
 sometimes called silk g:ra8s, found on the upper 
 borders of the Columbia; or of the fibres of the 
 roots of trees ; or the inner ligaments of the bark 
 of the white cedar. These nets are of different 
 kinds, for the different kinds of fishery — the straight 
 net for the larger fish in deep water ; and tlie 
 scooping or dipping net for the smtdler fish in 
 the shallower waters. They also use a curious sort 
 of many-pronged speaT; for drawing up small fish. 
 
139 
 
 This is a pole set all round with numerous short 
 wooden little spikes. This they work along against 
 the current from the cauoe, ajid against the small 
 lish, that swim onwards in dense masses. At every 
 take up of tliis spear, which is done in quick 
 succession, it is found filled with fishes impaled 
 on those sliarp spikes. In their nets they use 
 stones in place of lead; and their superior use- 
 fulness and adaptation to the fishery of the Co- 
 lumbia, over the nets of the civilised white, may 
 be shown from the following fact. 
 
 A Mr. Wyeth, of Boston, having I'^ard much 
 of the salmon fishery in the Columbia, and think- 
 ing it would afford a profitable trading specula- 
 tion, chartered a vessel, in 1835 ; and on his way 
 took a number of the Sandwich Islanders as fisher- 
 men; supplying himself also with a cargo of fish- 
 ing nets, and a great variety of other fishing ap- 
 paratus, on the most approved principles. On ar- 
 riving at the Columbia he set vigorously to work, 
 dead sure of making a fortune. But his nets were 
 totally unfit for the occupation ; and his exotic fish- 
 ermen, notoriously familiar as they are with the wa- 
 tery element, w ere no match for the natives, pursuing 
 their natural occupation in almost their indigenous 
 clement, and so familiar with the seasons, the 
 
 ' I 
 
 ' I 
 
 ■ i 
 
 ■i . 
 
 i " 
 i i 
 
140 
 
 currents, the localities, and all the many other 
 circumstances that ensure success. He set up for 
 a fur trader as well, and imagined that he would 
 make up his loss in competition against the savages 
 by his successful competition against the company. 
 But his trappers were not more auccessful than 
 his fishermen ; although the company afforded him 
 every facihty; and he was obliged to quit the 
 country a disappointed adventurer, having disposed 
 of his goods and chatties to the company ; who, 
 according to his own written statement, treated 
 him with generosity. To this fact, which I now 
 state, Mr. W. Irving bears honourable testimony. 
 
141 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Fort Vancouver — its Farm establishment. 
 
 Fort Vancouver is the head-quarters, establishment, 
 OT grand depot of the company, west of the Rocky 
 Mountains. It is situated near Point Vancouver 
 (so called from the celebrated English navigator and 
 discoverer in those seas), on the north-west of the 
 Columbia ; on a large, level plain, about a quar- 
 ter of a mile from the shore ; and ninety miles from 
 the Pacific, The river in front of it is seventeen 
 hundred yards wide, and six fathoms deep. The 
 whole country round is covered with noble woods, 
 consisting of many kinds of valuable timber ; such 
 as cedar, pine, &c., interspersed with open and 
 fertile spaces. It was founded in 1824, by Governor 
 Simpson; as the locality was more convenient for 
 trade — had a larger and riv-licr tract of land for 
 cultivation — and afforded a more convenient landing 
 place for cargoes from the ships, than the former 
 depot — Fort George (or Astoria) — which lay near 
 the mouth of the river. 
 
 fi Ml 
 
 8 
 
142 
 
 Port Vancouver is then the grand mart, and rendez- 
 vous for the company's trade and servants on tlie Pa- 
 cific. Thither all the furs and other articles of trade 
 collected west of the Rocky Mountains from Cali- 
 fornia to the Russian territories, are brought from 
 the several other forts and stations : and from thence 
 they {ire shipped to England. Thither too all the 
 goods brought from England for traffic — the various 
 articles in woollens and cottons — in grocery — in 
 hardware — ready-made clothes — oils and paints — 
 ship stores, &c., are landed ; and from thence they 
 are distributed to the various posts of the interior, 
 and along the northern shores by sailing vessels; or by 
 boat ; or pack-horses ; as the several routes permit ; 
 for distribution and traffic among the natives, or 
 for the supply of the company's servants. In a 
 word. Port Vancouver is the grand emporium of the 
 company^s trade, west of the Rocky Mountains; 
 as well within the Oregon territory, as beyond it, 
 from California to Kamschatka. 
 
 The present governor is Dr. John M'Loughlin. 
 He is described by American writers, whom he 
 entertained in his usual style, as a portly, digni- 
 fied looking man, almost six feet high ; with 
 a florid complexion — grey hsir — iarge" blue eyes — 
 an open and benevolent expression of countenance 
 
148 
 
 — blai-'d and courteous manners — n generous and 
 most hospiiub!" di^nosition. This I know to be 
 all true. He ha > been in the service of the com- 
 pany from his youth ; to hia own credit, and their 
 great benefit. He has mounted up to his present 
 high office — the highest — by his diligence, integrity, 
 and skill. He is thoroughly familiar with the whole 
 trade, in all its raraificaticms and minutiae. He has 
 contributed greatly to bring it ^';o its present high 
 state: and is making every eftort to advance it 
 farther. He was a very influential partner in 
 the North-west Company, before its junction with 
 the Hudson's Bay Company. During his occasional 
 absence his duties are discharged by his worthy 
 deputy, J. Douglas, Esq. 
 
 The fort is in the shape of a parallelogram, about 
 250 yards long, by 1 50 broad ; enclosed by a sort 
 of wooden wall, made of pickets, or large beams 
 firmly fixed in the ground, and closely fitted together, 
 twenty feet high, and strongly secured on the inside 
 by buttresses. At each angle there is a bastion, 
 mounting two twelve pounders, and in the centre 
 there are some eighteen pounders j but from the 
 subdued and pacific character of the natives, and 
 the long absence of all apprehension, these cannon 
 have become useless. The area within is divided 
 
 l! t 
 
 < I I 
 
144 
 
 into two courts, around which are arranged about 
 forty neat, strong wfK)den buildings, one story high, 
 designed for various purposes — such as offices, apart- 
 ments for tho clerks, and other officers — warehouses 
 for furs, English goods, and other commodities — 
 workshops for the different mechanics; carpenters, 
 blacksmiths, coopers,' wheelwrights, tinners, &c.; in 
 all of which there is the most diligent and unceasing 
 activity and industry. There is also a school-house, 
 and chapel ; and a powder magazine, built of brick 
 and stone. 
 
 In the centre stand the governor's residence, which 
 is two stories high — the dining hall ; and the pub- 
 lic; sitting room. All the clerks and officers, including 
 the chaplain and physician, dine together in the hall ; 
 the governor presiding. The dinner is of the most 
 substantial kind, consisting of several courses. Wine 
 is frequently allowed; but no spirituous liquors. 
 After grace has been said, the company break np. 
 Then most of the party retire to the public sitting 
 room, called " Bachelor's Hall,'' or the smoking room ; 
 to amuse themselves as they please, either in smoking, 
 reading, or telling and listening to stories of their 
 own, and others' curious adventures. Sometimes 
 there is a great influx of company, consisting of the 
 chief traders from the outposts, who arrive at the 
 
145 
 
 fort on busiDess ; and the commanders of vessels. 
 These are gala times after dinner ; and there is a 
 great deal of amusement, but always kept under 
 Btrict discipline, and regulated by the strictest pro- 
 priety. There is, on no occasion, cause for ennui, or 
 a lack of anecdote and interesting narrative ; or in- 
 deed of any intellectual amusement ; for if smoking 
 and story-telling bo irksome, then there is the horse 
 ready to mount, and the rifle prepared. The voya- 
 geur and the trapper, who have traversed thousands of 
 miles through wild and unfrequented regions ; and 
 the mariner, who has circumnavigated the globe, may 
 be found grouped together, smoking, joking, singing, 
 and story telling ; and in every way banishing dull 
 care, till the period of their again setting out for 
 their respective destinations arrive. 
 
 The smoking room, or " bachelors* hall," presents 
 the appearance of an armoury and a museum. All 
 sorts of weapons, and dresses, and curiosities of civi- 
 lised and savage life, and of the various implements 
 for the prosecution of the trade, may be seen there. 
 
 The mechanics, and other servants of the establish- 
 ment, do not dine in the hall, or go to the smoking 
 room. 
 
 The clerks, after passing through many stages of 
 trust and emolument, are promoted to the post of 
 
140 
 
 diicf trader : nilcr that to the post of chief factor ; 
 theu they fisccnd to become HharchuldofH of the com- 
 pany, and governors of forts. Ihit all the gradations 
 of promotion are, in general, dependant on skill, in- 
 dustry, and integrity. Indeed, throughout the 
 various ramifications and degrees of tliis vast, and 
 wide-spread commercial association, there is less 
 favouritism than couhl be expected, and less than in 
 any other mercantile institution: almost all the 
 I)atronage of the company is bestowed as the reward 
 of merit, and long service. The precision, order, and 
 regularity with which the various operations are car- 
 ried on, together with the strict decorum and sobriety 
 observed, are entitled to the highest commendation ; 
 and excite the wonder of the Americans. 
 
 The school is for the benefit of the half breed 
 children of the officers and servants of the company, 
 and of many orphan children of Indians who have 
 been in the corapany^s employment. They are taugiit 
 English (sometimes French), writing, arithmetic and 
 geography; and are subsequently either apprenticed 
 to traders in Canada ; or kept in the company's ser- 
 vice. 
 
 The front square is the place where the Indians 
 and trappers deposit their furs, and other articles* 
 and make their sales, &c. There may be seen, too* 
 
147 
 
 great iiumbcra of men sorting and piuhing the va- 
 rious goods; and Hcorcs of Canadians beating and 
 cleaning the furs from the dust and vemiiji and 
 coarse haira, previous to exportation. 
 
 Six hinidred yards below the Tort, and on the bank 
 of the river, there is a neat village, of about sixty 
 well built wooden houses, generally constructed like 
 those within the fort , in which the mechanics, and 
 other servants of the company, who are in general 
 Canadians and Scotchmen, reside with their families, 
 They arc built in rows, and nrcseut the appearance 
 of small streets. They are kept in a clean and 
 orderly manner. Here there is an hospital, in 
 which the invalided servants of the company, and, 
 indeed, others who may wish to avail themselves of it, 
 are treated with the utmost care. This is attended 
 by Dr. Tolmic, the resident surgeon of the fort. 
 
 Many of the officers of the company marry half 
 breed women. These discharge the several duties of 
 wife and mother with fidelity, cleverness, and atten- 
 tion. They are, in general, good housewives ; and 
 are remarkably ingenious as needlewomen. Many 
 of them, besides possessing a knowledge of English, 
 speak French correctly, and possess other accomplish- 
 ment ; and they sometimes attend their husbands, 
 on their distant and tedious journeys and voya- 
 
148 
 
 ges. These half-breed women are of a superior 
 class ; being the daughters of chief traders and 
 factors, and other persons, high in the company's 
 service, by Indian women, of a superior descent or 
 of superior personal attractions. Though they gene- 
 rally dress after the English fashion, according aa 
 they see it used by the English wives of the superior 
 officers, yet they retain one peculiarity — the leggin 
 or giiiter, which is made (now that the tanned deer- 
 skin has been superseded) of the finest, and most 
 gaudy coloured cloth, beautifully omani 'uted with 
 beads. 
 
 The lower classes of the company's servants marry 
 native women, from the tribes of the upper country; 
 where the women are round-headed, and beautifid. 
 These, too, generally speaking, soon learn tie 
 art of useful housewifery with great adroitness 
 and readiness ; and they are encouraged and 
 rewarded in every way by the company, in their 
 efforts to acquire domestic economy and comfort. 
 These too, imitate, in costume, the dress of the of- 
 ficers' wives, as much as they can ; but from their 
 necessities of position, which exposes them more to 
 wet and drudgery, they retain the mocassin, in place 
 of adopting the low-quartered shoe. This is made of 
 deer skin, dressed under a pecuhar process ; the 
 
149 
 
 most important of which is seasoning over warm 
 smoke, by which the leather is rendered perfectly 
 waterproof. These mocassins are so elastic that they 
 can be drawn on like a stocking; and so light that 
 they serve the purposes of high shoe and stocking 
 together. They are open partly down the front; 
 one side lapping over the other ; and fastened with 
 a long strip of the same leather — drawn upwards — 
 passing two or three times round the leg. 
 
 The half-breeds are a very well featured race ; and 
 the men are remarkably ingenious, athletic, and vigo- 
 rous. In horsemanship they are singularly adroit. 
 Nor is this to be wondered at ; for in fact they have 
 been reared from their extremest youth to the 
 management of the horse, accompanying their pa- 
 rents, generally, in their trapping journeys over the 
 plains and hills on horseback. One of these practised 
 half-breeds would receive applause from Alexander 
 of Macedon himself, or the best tutored equestrian 
 at Astley's. He would mount the wildest and most 
 high-mtjttled Bucephalus of the plains — give him full 
 play over level and rough — high and low — river and 
 hill, until he brought him back as tame jis a mouse. 
 
 The cleverest fellow, of this school, I ever saw was 
 Joseph M'Loughlin, a natural son of the present ^owTt 
 nnr^ by a half-breed woman. He was a person of some 
 
150 
 
 little distinction from the accident of his birth, inde- 
 pendently of his astonishing equestrian capabilities. 
 In seeing his feats, when managing a wild stallion, that 
 gallopped and plunged to desperation, — clinging to 
 the auim.il, as if he were an inseparable part of him 
 — playfully tossing his bare head over the upreared 
 head of the horse, while his breech clung to his back 
 with the tenacity of wax ; and his heels seemed glued 
 to his ribs ; with his hands fastened in the mane ; 
 he completely explained to me the fabulous stories 
 which I read in my boyhood of the Centaurs ; for I 
 at once saw that there was some ground for the old 
 pictures of poets and painters, in drawing a com- 
 pound animal — man and horse. 
 
 The mode generally adopted in catching the 
 wild horse is by the lasso, or noose rope. An ex- 
 perienced and well mounted man, riding a practised 
 horse, gallops up to a herd, holding his liead as close 
 to his horse's flowing mane as possible, for a disguise. 
 Thus he is enabled to approach the herd. The herd, 
 on seeing him fully, then scamper off, from an in- 
 stinctive dread of danger. But he gallops on until 
 he comes witliin effective range, and has taken his 
 aim. He then lets fly his noose, which is at the cud 
 of a long rope, kept previously coiled up. This is rlis- 
 chaigcd like a stone from a sling j and is thrown with 
 
151 
 
 such unerring precision, that the horse's neck is caught 
 iu the noose, lie is at once prostrated. The rider dis- 
 mounts and fetters him. He is soon afterwards tamed. 
 Sometimes the horses are thus caught when roam- 
 ing at large, in the wide and open plain ; but the 
 more general custom now is for a number of horse- 
 men to scare them into a kind of enclosed park, 
 where the process of catching is rendered more easy 
 and expeditious. Sometimes these ropes are made 
 of the coarse, strong hemp of the country; but 
 generally of thongs from the tanned buffalo hide, 
 as this substance, from its superior weight, strength, 
 and elasticity, is discharged from the hand with 
 greater force, and effects its purpose with speedier 
 and surer effect. 
 
 Attached to the fort there is a magnificent farm ; 
 consisting of about 3000 acres j of which about 1500 
 acres have been already brought to the highest state 
 of tillage. It stretches behind the fort, and on both 
 sides, along the banks of the river. It is fenced into 
 beautiful corn fields — vegetable fields — orchards — 
 gardens — and pasture fields, which are interspersed 
 with dairy houses, shepherds* and herdsmen's cottages. 
 It is placed under the most judicious management : 
 and neither expence nor labour has been spared 
 to bring it to the most perfect cultivation. There 
 
 : I 
 
152 
 
 is a large grist mill, and a threshing mill, which arc 
 worked by horse power j and a saw mill worked by 
 water power. All kinds of grain and vegetables, 
 and many species of fmits, are produced there in 
 abundance and of superior quality. The grain crops 
 are produced without manure; and the wheat crop, 
 especially, is represented by practical farmers to be 
 wonderful. It must, however, be observed, that 
 Indian corn does not thrive there so well as in 
 other soils. But this is not considered as any mat- 
 ter for regret or loss. Melons and grapes grow there 
 remarkably well. But perhaps the greatest curiosity 
 of all is to be seen in the dwarf apple trees. These 
 grow thickly, and are so loaded with fruit of the best 
 quality, that it is necessary to prop up the branches 
 to prevent them from breaking : the apples grow 
 packed together, resembling onions fastened in rows on 
 a string. The whole farm is in charge of a most ex- 
 perienced farmer, Mr. G. Allen, a Scotchman, There 
 is also a principal gardener, Mr. Bruce, a Scotchman. 
 Mr. Allen having been placed as agent for the com- 
 pany at the Sandwich Islands, Mr. George Roberts, 
 whose skill, and ?eal pointed him out to the company 
 as one worthy of promotion and confidence, was 
 8elec*^*id as the fittest successor to Mr. Allen in his 
 important post. 
 
153 
 
 Besides this farm, which they are every day ex- 
 tending, they have commenced farming on a large 
 scale on the Cowilitze, to the north ; ITmpqua, to 
 the south ; and in other parts of the territory, 
 where they have established posts, tho produce of 
 all which they use for exportation both to tlie Rus- 
 sian stations, in Kuuiskatka (as tliey entered into 
 a contract with tlie Russians, in 1839, to supply 
 their posts in those regions with provisions at fixed 
 prices), and to the islands in the Southern Pacific ; 
 and to British and American whalers, and to other 
 merch it ships. 
 
 They also keep scores of woodcutters, employed to 
 fell timber, which is sawed up in large quantities — 
 3,000 feet a day, and regularly shipped for the 
 Sandwich Islands, and other foreign parts. And 
 as they can afford to sell the goods purchased in 
 England under a contract of old standmg, together 
 with the productions of the territory and their 
 own farms, — fish, beef, mutton, pork, timber, &c., 
 at nearly half the American price, they are likely to 
 engross the whole trade of the Pacific, as they do 
 already the trade of the Oregon ; especially since 
 they command all the ports and safe inlets of the 
 country. This the Americans feel and declai-e ; and 
 
"ra i w *- i*i j* i lw> ^ > I 
 
 164 
 
 it is this that whets their cupidity, and excites their 
 jealousy aud hatred. 
 
 Trapping Parties leaving Vancoiwer. — These parties 
 are some weeks prepariing for the mouritaius, and 
 prairies. The blacksmiths are busily engaged mak- 
 ing beaver traps for the trappers — the store keep- 
 ers making up articles for trade, aud equipping the 
 men (as each of them takes from the store every 
 requisite article) the clerk, in charge of the pro- 
 vision store (generally called, after the French, dc' 
 pance), packing up provisions for them, to hist until 
 they get into hunting ground — the clerk in charge of 
 the farm providing horses, aud other requisite articles. 
 
 The party generally consists of about fifty or sixty 
 men — most of them the company's servants — others, 
 free hunters. The servants have a stated salary, 
 while the freemen receive so much per skin. Pre- 
 vious to leaving the fort for their arduous adventure 
 they iwe allowed a small quantity of rum per man ; 
 and they generally enjoy a grand holiday and feast 
 the night previous to starting. Each man has a cer- 
 tain number of horses, sufficient to carry his equip- 
 ment. The free trappers generally provide their own 
 animals. Both the company's servants and the free- 
 men frequently take tlicir wives and famihes with 
 
155 
 
 them : the women arc very useful on the expedition, in 
 preparing meals and other necessaries for their hus- 
 bands during their absence I'rom the camp. In sum- 
 njer and winter, whether they have a sort of travel- 
 ling camp or a fixed residence, they scJect the 
 localities that most abound in fur-bearing animals. 
 
 Though a party may be obliged, from a variety 
 of circumstances, to winter in the plains, or in the 
 recesses of the mountains ; on the borders of lakes 
 or rivers, some numbers of it return to the fort at 
 tho fall, with the produce of the 8eason^s hunt, and 
 report progress; and return to the camp with a 
 reinforcement of necessary supplies. Thus the com- 
 pany are enabled to acquire a minute knowledge of 
 the country and the natives; and extend their 
 power and authority over both. 
 
 Certain gentlemen of the company have been ap- 
 pointed, by act of parliament, justices of the peace; 
 who are empowered to entertain prosecutions for 
 minor offences, and to impose punishment — to ar- 
 rest and send to Canada criminals of a higher order 
 for trial ; and also to try, and give judgment in civil 
 suits, where the auiount in dispute does not ex- 
 ceed ,£2tX)j and, in case of non-payment, to im- 
 prison the debtor, at their own forts, or in the jails 
 of Canada. 
 
 { If 
 
156 
 
 Mr. M'Kay, one of tho priucipul officers in charge 
 of the Hudson's Bay Compaiiy's trapping party in 
 the Snake country, is a gentleman of great intelli- 
 gence and natural ' '^ti^ceutiss, and also of good feel« 
 ing j and is quite i Tin : at homo in the prairies 
 and wildernesses as he is ir fort. I recollect a 
 story related by him, in " bachelors' hall." He was 
 speaking of a son of a Mr. Bird, a gentleman 
 some years ago in the service of the company. 
 This young Bird (and a wild bird he proved to be) re- 
 ceived a fair education, and could converse in French 
 and English, lie was some time in the co.Tipany's 
 service; but, finding the work too hard for him, 
 joined the Blackfeet Indians, and was made a chief; 
 and he took several daughters of chiefs for his wives, 
 and became a man of some note and respect. He 
 received, amongst the trappers, the nick-name of 
 Jemmy Jock. He had then been living with the 
 Indians twenty years, and was much disliked by the 
 American trapping parties; in fact, it has been said 
 that the Americans did once offer 500 dollars for his 
 head, as they supposed he had been a leader amongst 
 a tribe of Blackfeet when an American party was 
 cut off bv them. / 
 
 Mr. M'Kay said, he was once encamped in the 
 plain, and imagined that the Blackfeet must be in 
 
167 
 
 the vicinity of the camp, by various marks. He ac- 
 cordingly, at niglit, gave strict orders to the Cana- 
 dians on watch to keep a good look out ; which they 
 did, with rifle in hand. But this Jemmy Jock, dres- 
 sed as a Canadian voyageur, managed to enter the 
 camp unobserved — walked up to the chief man on 
 watch ; and, addressing him in Canadia Fr ^ch, said 
 that he had "received orders* that tl ho-s-js which 
 were iu the camp should be turned out to graze." 
 The watchman, taking it for granted that the order 
 came from M'Kay, ordered the horsL . tO be let out. But 
 before long the camp was roused by the loud whoop 
 of the Blackfeet : some of the horses were mounted ; 
 and others driven off before the marauding party ; 
 the poor trappers being left to make the best of their 
 way through the plains as they could. Sometimes 
 in travelling through the plains the company's trap- 
 pers fall in with a letter, tied to a stick, left by 
 this humorous half-breed, to announce that he has 
 camped at this spot with his party a short time 
 previous — sometimes giving them good information ; 
 and sometimes intending to mislead, and play them 
 a frolicksome or mischievous trick. 
 
 Rijie-shots. — It is generally a custom amongst first 
 rate rifle-shots, in the service, to have a favourite 
 rifle. This rifle always being practised with, they 
 
158 
 
 are Nurc to liit the mark. It is frequently seen, 
 tJiat. by n good rifleman, a duck's head is knocked 
 off at 120 yards. This Mr. M'Kay is an exeoUont 
 shot. He says that he generally shoots the boar in 
 the mouth, to save the skin. During the leisure 
 hours in the summer months, at the fort, after busi- 
 ness hours, the ofticers often amuse themsckes at 
 rifle- shootiug; and at eighty yards, the bull's-eye 
 is seldom missed : and once or twice a week, the 
 riding horses are generally brought into the Fort 
 for the ofiicers to recreate themselves with a ride. 
 
 Here we had an old and favourite servant, who 
 was cook, and whose name was Ovenj, a Canadian. 
 He was never more happy than when he was able to 
 play off* his pranks with any of the sailors, when a 
 vessel lay in the river. At one time, on the arrival 
 of a vessel from England, there was on board a 
 curious, eccentric old boatswain, who had, previously 
 to joining the company's service, been on board a 
 man-of-war. The cook aiid the boatswain became 
 very familiar ; and the cook was invited on board 
 the vessel to dine with the boatswain. The invi- 
 ta*:lon was accepted ; and the compliment was re- 
 turned on the Sunday following. Overy not know- 
 ing what to get good enough for his dear and hos- 
 pitable friend, the boatswain, bethought him of a 
 
159 
 
 dog, wliich is u fuvourite dish umonjjst Cnimdinn 
 voyageurs. The old boatswain ate heartily of it, an 
 did the cook. After he had done, the cook inquired 
 how he had enjoyed his dinner : he said it was beau- 
 tiful. He tlien asked hira whetlicr he knew what 
 he had been dining on : he said ho supposed from a 
 goat. " Yes," says the cook, '* you have been eating 
 from a goat with von long tail, that don't like grasM 
 or lieather." " How is that V* inquired the boat- 
 swain. " Vy you see," replied the cook, " it was my 
 best dog, you have dined from." The old boatswain 
 stormed and swore ; and then ran, as fast as possible, 
 to the vessel, to get a little rum to lay his stomach. 
 He vowed that he never again wished to dine with 
 a Canadian cook, or eat pet dogs. 
 
 In 1829, a beautiful brig — the William and Ann ; 
 sent from England for the company's use — in enter- 
 ing the river, was driven on a shoal, between Cape 
 Disappointment and Point Adams. A report was 
 given to the gentleman in charge of Fort George 
 that a vessel was wrecked on the Bar. A search was 
 immediately made ; and it was found that the report 
 was true. A boat was found driven on shore : and 
 the stem hac^ been cut as if by an axe. The body 
 of the captain alone was found. The whole of the 
 crew perished ; and it was generally supposed that 
 
''( 
 
 160 
 
 some of them had got on shore, but were destroyed 
 by the Clatsop Indians; in whose possession were 
 found numerous articles which had drifted on shore. 
 In fact, they had a great quantity of the cargo, with 
 several puncheons of rum, buried under the sands 
 on the beach. The governor of Fort Vancouver 
 sent down an interpreter, and several men, to en- 
 deavour to gain information respecting the lost 
 ship ; and to get from the natives the things 
 which had drifted on shore. But the natives merely 
 sent impertinent messages, and an old broken paper- 
 framed looking-glass; and told him to be contented 
 with that. This strengthened the governor's suspi- 
 cion, and he thought part of the crew had been mur- 
 dered. To gain the articles in possession of the 
 Indians, he was obliged to send a strong party of 
 armed men amongst them; and drive them from 
 their village into the woods, before they could gain 
 the articles. From that hour to this, the natives 
 have shrunk from tampering with anything under 
 the company's protection. 
 
 The year following, a splendid brig — 'the Isabella 
 — commanded by Captain Ryan, shared the same 
 fate. She drove upon the sands : but the whole of 
 the crew were saved ; and, by the prompt exertions 
 of Dr. M'Loughlin, and the officers of Fort Van- 
 
IGl 
 
 conver, great part of the cargo was saved : but the 
 vcMcl went to pieces ; and was drifted, piecemeal, to 
 aea. 
 
 A little time previous to my leaving the country, 
 Michel Laframboise, the gentleman in charge of 
 the trapping parties hunting the plains near Cali- 
 fornia, brought news of an American party having 
 been cut off. This party had left the Wallamette set- 
 tlement ; and were proceeding to California, to pur- 
 chase cattle. Some Americans, previous to this 
 party, had been on the same route, and an Indian 
 had been murdered by them. Hut Indians always 
 wait for revenge — so did tlicy in this instance. The 
 Indians, finding that this party consisted of Ameri- 
 cans only, thought it offered them their long-looked- 
 for opportunity of revenge. They had, it was sup- 
 posed, been watching the Americans on their jour- 
 ney, for days; and knowing that these had to 
 cross a high mountain, where there was but a nar- 
 row and crooked path to guide them ; which was 
 liut'd by rocks and bushes on each side, selected 
 this a^' the spot of attack. The path was so narrow, 
 that their horses were obliged to walk single, one 
 after the other. After the party had gone some 
 distance up the mountain, the Indians completely 
 closed them in, and let fly their arrows and guns ; 
 
162 
 
 killing both horses and men. The Americans, having 
 but little chance of defence or retaliation, as the 
 Indians were sheltered by the rocks and bushes, 
 were slain unresistingly. Oae little half-breed boy, 
 named Johnson, after three arrows had pierced him, 
 was in the act of firing his gun, when a fourth 
 arrow struck him in the throat and killed him. 
 Two men only were sived to tell the tJile. 
 
 On one occasion an American vessel, Captain 
 Thompson, was in the Columbia, trading furs and 
 salmon. The vessel had got aground, vn the upper 
 part of the river, and the Indians, from various 
 quarters, miistered with the intent of cutting the 
 Americans off, thinking <^hat they had an opportunity 
 of revenge, and would thus escape the censure of 
 the company. Dr. M'Loughlin, the governor of 
 Fort Vancouver, hearing of their intention, im- 
 mediately despatched a party to their rendezvous j 
 and informed them that if they injured one Ameri- 
 can, it would be just the same offence as if they 
 had injured one of his servants, and they would be 
 treated equally as enemies. This stunned them ; 
 and they relinquished their purpose ; and all re- 
 tired to their respective homes. Had not this come 
 to the governor's cars the Americans must have 
 perished. 
 
163 
 
 Mode of curing salmon. — As soon as a cargo of 
 salmon is caught, the natives bring it to tlie trading 
 post in their canoes. A number of Indian women 
 are employed by the trader, seated on the beach, 
 with knives, ready to cut up the fish. The salmon 
 are counted from each Indian, for which a ticket 
 is given for the quantity, large or small. After the 
 whole of the salmon are landed, the Indians con- 
 gregate round the trading shop for their payment, 
 and receive ammunition, baize, tobacco, buttons, &c. 
 The women employed by the troder commence 
 cutting out the back-bones, aud cut off the heads of 
 the salmon. They are then taken to the Salter, aud 
 placed in a large hogshead, with a quantity of coarse 
 salt. They remain there for several days, until they 
 become quite firm. The pickle produced from these 
 is boiled in a large copper kettle ; and the bloody which 
 floats by the boiling process to the top, is skimmed 
 off, leaving the pickle perfectly clear. The salmon are 
 then taken from the hogshead and packed in tierces, 
 with a little more salt ; the tierces are then headed 
 up, and laid upon their bilge, or widest part, leaving 
 the bung-hole open ; the pickle is next poured 
 in, until the tierce becomes full; a circle of clay, 
 about four inches high, is then made round the 
 bung-hole, into which the oil from the salmon rises. 
 
164 
 
 This oil is skimmed off; and, according as the sal- 
 mon imbibes the pickle, more pickle is poured in, 
 so as to keep the liquid sufficiently on the surface, 
 and afford facility for skimming off" the oil. After 
 the oil ceases to rise to the circle round the bung 
 liole, the salmon is then supposed to be sufficiently 
 prepared; the clay circle is cleared away, and the 
 hole is bunged up. Salmon, so cured^ will keep 
 good for three years. This, soaked in a little wa- 
 ter for a few hours previous to using, is delinious 
 eating ; but, of course, much of its deliciousuess 
 depends on its original quality when taken, and its 
 freshness when put in salt. 
 
 The dogs are very fond of the raw salmon. 
 The Indian dogs, which are a sort of half wolf 
 breed, with sharp nose and long bushy tail, eat it 
 with perfect safety ; but it is fatal to English dogs. 
 I lost three valuable dogs in this way, before I was 
 aware of its fatal effects. They slunk into the 
 woods, and pined away until they died. On open- 
 ing them, I found the gall bladder as hard as a 
 stone. 
 
 The company have already established the fol- 
 lowing principal trading forts or stations within 
 the limits of the territory, independently of 
 minor and temporary posts, and several migratory 
 
165 
 
 establishments ou the frontiers of Cahfornia, and 
 the country extending towards tlie confines of the 
 United States. In short, it may be said, that they 
 have taken possession of every district within the 
 whole region ; wiiich, throughout its wild and rugged 
 parts, as well as its fertile parts, is dotted with 
 their forts and establishments; and they exercise 
 unrestrained trade and intercourse with all the na- 
 tive tribes; whereas the Americaus, with the excep- 
 tion of a few missionary and agricultural establish- 
 ments, have scarcely any possession or hold of the 
 country. 
 
 They possess, then, the forowing principal posts : 
 — Fort Vancouver, on the north bank of the Cd- 
 Jumbia, ninety miles from the ocean, and in latitude 
 45^°, longitude 122" SCK ; Port George (formerly As- 
 tori. ;, near the mouth of this river; Fort Nasqually, 
 on Pugct's Sound, latitude 47'; Fort Langley, at 
 the outlet of Frazer's River, latitude 49" 25' ; Fort 
 M'Loughlin, on Milbank Sound, latitude 53" ; Fort 
 Simpson, on Dundas Island, latitude 54i"; Frazer's 
 Fort, Fort James, M'Leod's J''ort, Fort Chilcotin, 
 and Fort Alexandria, ou Frazer's River, and its 
 branches, between the 51" autl i'tih" parallels of lati- 
 tude ; Thompson's Fort, ou Thompson's River, a 
 tributary of Fvazer's, latitude 50"; Kootiana Fort, 
 
i'i 
 
 166 
 
 lk>«<: 4li 
 
 on Flatbow River ; Flathead Fort, on Flathead River ; 
 Fort Hall, and Fort Boisais, on the Saptin, or Snake 
 River ; Fort Colville, and Fort O'Kanagan, on the 
 Columbia, above its junction with the Saptin ; Fort 
 Perces, or VVailawalla, a few miles below the junc- 
 tion ; Fort M'Kay, at tlie mouth of the Urcqua 
 River, latitude 43" 30', and longitude 124" west. 
 
 In aiidition to these establishments, thev have an 
 immense number of boats and canoes, for trading 
 on all the lakes, and rivers, and stinjams of the in- 
 terior, by means of which they hold communica- 
 tion with their possessions east of the Rocky Moun- 
 tains, and cany up the communication to Hudson's 
 Bay, along a distance of several thousand miles. 
 Besides these, they have po»yerful i.i 'amers, heavily 
 armed, whicli run along the coftvi, nd among its 
 bays and inlevs, for the double purpose of commerce 
 and protection against aggressions in those seas. 
 They have likewise several sailing vessels for these 
 purposes, varying from two to five hundred tons 
 burthen, completely armed and equipped; besides 
 barges for the conveyance of goods to the lower 
 part of the river ; and other craft, during the salmon 
 season, tor the conveyance of supplies to the fishing 
 siaHous on the parts of tiie river unnuvigable to the 
 i.\;;^!^i crai't. 
 
4*1 
 
 <■%■*■'* 
 
 167 
 
 CHAPTER Xll. 
 
 Wappatoo Island and Wallainelte Settlement. 
 
 Five miles below Fort Vancouver, and on the op- 
 posite, or southern side, there is an island called 
 Wappatoo Island. It lies between the two entrances 
 of the river Wallamette, which flows into the Co- 
 lumbia ; and is nearly triangular. Its northern 
 side, facing the Columbia, is about fifteen miles long; 
 the side bounded oy the eastern branch, or mouth 
 of the Wallamette, is about seven miles long ; and 
 the side bounded by the western branch of this river 
 is about twelve miles. It derives its name from its 
 great abundance of an esculent root called Wap- 
 patoo; a name which the Indians gi^e the potatoe. 
 This root is oblong, about one inch long and half 
 an inch thick, resembling the lower end of a small 
 parsnip. The Indians use it for food ; and I have 
 seen flocks of swans, whicli abound in these parts 
 dig it up with their hills, as it grows only a few 
 incites below the Hurfaee. Its tistt- resembles 
 that of the potatoe. 
 
M\H 
 
 Oil this island, and on an ck^ated situation, near 
 the point where the mouths of the Wallainettc 
 branch off, Captain VVycth, of Boston, founded a 
 settleraent, when he commenced liis fisliing and 
 I'ur trading pi'oj(3cts ; but whidi has since been 
 abandoned, with the abandonment of his projects. 
 The vegetation is generally good ; but in the central 
 parts there av • marshes, in which the water rises 
 and falls with tht; tide, and overfloods the land. 
 It is covered, in most parts, with different kinds of 
 timber, b'lt principally oak and pine. A few hogs 
 placed on it a tew years ago by thr- company have 
 increased to iarge herds, which subfiat on the wappatoo, 
 acorns, &c. ; and art- become a source of profit, by 
 supplying pork for the home consumption, and for 
 exportation. O i the island the company have also 
 estabhsiied a large djiiry t'.rra. 
 
 The upper, or eastern mouth of the Wallamette 
 is about hiiir the breadtli of the Columbia; the 
 river i;t-f 'f, wln.h flosvs nearly duo north, is navi- 
 gable to the tUsta. ce of twenty-five miles for large 
 vessels, and irf .4uih.*ed with numerous islands, on 
 wliic]i the t'luber is chiefly oak, very little pine (if 
 anyj a'owing tlcre. The further navigation of the 
 rivo' is ohstrucLed by ra})ids, and is completely 
 barred hv cataract,, or falls, about a mile above the 
 
 I 
 
100 
 
 -: ir>' 
 
 rapids. The tide ascends as far as these rapids, which 
 can be pjissed only by canoes. Tlie Cow country, 
 on tlie western banks, is generally high land, covered 
 with wood, principally pine, rising from the water 
 side. The land on the eastern side is undulating, 
 and admirably calculated for cultivation. TJic river 
 receives many tributaries; but one of the most 
 considerable is one which flows from the east, 
 and rushes into the WaUamette with such force, 
 just below the rapids, as to create a heavy and 
 dangerous swell. As far as the rapids the breadth 
 of the river is about five hundred yards. The falls 
 consist of three successive cascades, in which the 
 water is precipitated through deep gidlies worn 
 into ledges of black rock, running in an irregular 
 diagonal across the bed of the river. The noise 
 of the water is almost deafemngs resembling the 
 roar of the loudest thunder ; and the appearance 
 of the spray, acted on by the sun's rays, is almost 
 dazzling. The eastern shon , for some distance 
 below the falls, is a perpendicular chtf, thirty feet 
 high. On the top of this clift' there is a sort of 
 small plain ; and as the valley of the Wailamette 
 is the most fertile district in all Columbia, 
 and best calculated fur the production of corn 
 (since the country round about abounds in (excellent 
 
170 
 
 timber ol' different kiuds) aud as the falls can be 
 approached from above, as well as from below, by 
 sloops, schooners, steamers, &:\ ; this small plot of 
 level ground on the precipitous bank of the river 
 itt the lowest cascade is admirably calculated as a 
 site for flour and saw mills. When I left the 
 country the company, seeing all these advantages, 
 were forming a raceway at the falls ; and were 
 drawing timber to tlie ground, with a view to erect 
 some such works there. Formerly it was necessary 
 to unload at the commencement of the falls ; and 
 convey canoes, luggage and all, overland to the 
 other cud, till there was deep and smooth water 
 found again. 
 
 It is ii curious sight to observe the salmon as- 
 cending these waterfalls. They seem to measure 
 the height and distance, and their own strength, 
 accurately. They appear to put their tails in their 
 mouths ; and having drawn the body to the proper 
 curve, and produced the necessary tension and poise, 
 they let go their hold and spring upward (outside 
 the descending sheet of water), like an arrow shot 
 from a bow, and reach the next basin into which 
 the M'ater is precipitated. Having there, as it were, 
 taken breath, and recruited their strength after such 
 an effort, they renew the attempt, over the succes- 
 
171 
 
 sive cataracts, until they reach the siuouth river 
 above. They generally succeed ; some, however, 
 fail, and get sadly battered against the rocks. 
 
 A short distance above the Falls, the mountains 
 immediately rise from the water's edge, and are 
 clothed with forests of the largest timber, to the 
 distance of about fifteen mil is along the river ; and 
 after that the country opens on both sides into 
 rich level, or undulating ground, spreading to a great 
 extent. This section of the river is navigable nearly 
 for as large vessels as can navigate the section be- 
 low the Falls. 
 
 It is in this fertile district, near the banks of the 
 river, at the distance of about fifty miles from its 
 entrance into the Columbia, that the Wallamette 
 settlement has been established. 
 
 The Americans make a great boast of this settle- 
 ment as an American establishment ; and speak of 
 it in their public papers and speeches, as if it were 
 H, settlement exclusively American,' and founded by 
 Americans, capable of being made the nucleus of a 
 great community — that it is a most thriving 
 colony — that it continues the right of possession 
 to the government of the States — that it owes no 
 favour to, and is independent of, the Hudson's 
 Bay Company — that there it stands, and will 
 
172 
 
 stmul, a momoriul of Aniericau right — that it 
 is the duty of tho American government to pro- 
 tect it; while it holds out every incentive to in- 
 dustrious and euterprisin«5 citizens to join it. All 
 this, and much more, has been said and written 
 by gasconading traders on the passions and weak- 
 ness of the populace, about this vaunted establish- 
 ment : and has been believed. It is not very sur- 
 prising that any extravagant story, which flattered 
 the vanity, or excited the hopes or the cupidity 
 of such a people as the Americans, shovdd gain 
 credence in the States ; especially if it be seasoned 
 with bitterness against the " Britishers." Much 
 of this misreproseatatiou and exaggerating nonsense 
 lias been believed too in England; simply because 
 the public could not imagine that statements so 
 pertinaciously reiterated could be without, at least, 
 some foundation; and because no attempts were 
 made by those acquainted with the real state of the 
 case to disabuse the British public of their miscon- 
 ception, on this, and other points of importance; 
 such as the right of possession. 
 
 The Hudson's Bay Company, who had the best 
 means of refuting the statements of the United 
 States' writers, evidently despised and disregarded 
 those statements. They were content, not only 
 
I 
 
 \7'^ 
 
 with the posse.Hsiou of tlic country, us the chief part- 
 vers, and with the ahnost exdusive enjoyment of 
 it8 trade ; but rested on the consciousness of tlieir 
 juHt, moral, and judicious conduct as traders, and 
 occupiers under their riglit of injperiiU tenure : 
 and tl;ey fairly and naturally concluded that it 
 would tend to throw a doubt on the justice of 
 their claim, if they were to enter into a contro- 
 versy about it. Their claim tliey considered to 
 be undeniably just ; and its vindication to b(^ the 
 duty of the lep:i8lature alone. 
 
 Now the plain history of the origin and progress 
 of this settlement is simply this. 
 
 About seventeen or eighteen years ago, when the 
 settlement at Vancouver, as the western head- 
 quarters of the company, acquired a distinguished 
 and very prominent position, and became the rally- 
 ing point for all the servants of the ccmpany far 
 and near ; when the surrounding country became 
 well explored; when, from the long and undisputed 
 possession of it by the company, it began to be 
 considered by the company's servants as British 
 land — British, too, as to its climate, and the capa- 
 bilities of the soil — some of the company's servants, 
 when they had determined to enjoy the tranquillity 
 of independent retirement after their long and ar- 
 
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 duous services, fixed on the banks of the Walla- 
 mette as their last place of residence; rather 
 than return to Canada, or Scotland, or England, 
 from which they were weaned by long absence. 
 The company gave every encouragement for the 
 formation of a settlement ; giving them stock, &c., 
 to start with. > 
 
 By and bye, some of the company's officers (I 
 may especially mention one — Mr. M'Kay, the well 
 known and meritorious director of the Rocky Moun- 
 tain trapping parties) thought this commencement 
 afforded a fair opportunity of becoming settlers, con- 
 secutively with the retention of their conuexioa 
 with the company; and they opened farms there. 
 The speculation went on thrivingly : and the opi- 
 nion spread abroad, even to the United States, 
 through means of the American free trappers, that 
 a rising coljay would be soon established in that 
 locality; and that the success of this, under such 
 powerful auspices as those of the company, would 
 gradually lead to the colonization of the whole 
 lower region, where it was capable of colonization. 
 This impression the company's chief officers did not 
 attempt to remove. They, on the contrary, rather 
 wished to afford every encouragement and facility for 
 the progress of improvement and civilisation. 
 
 
175 
 
 The Americans, who had already made nutn^ afc« 
 tempts to effect a lodgment in the country, but 
 on every occasion failed, either from their want of 
 skill, or of capita], or of integrity in their dealings 
 with the natives — whether they attempted fur trading 
 companies or fishing companies — ^having now seen 
 that a fair opportunity of securing a possession r as 
 opened to them under the company's shelter, be- 
 thought them of despatching missionaries, wi'th the 
 ostensibly benevolent and christian view of giving 
 religious culture to the rude, and iU-edncated ser- 
 vants of the company, and the denizens of this 
 growing little community. 
 
 A few missionaries did arrive : and they, as was 
 becoming their professed purpose, received every en- 
 couragement and favour from the gx>vemor of Fort 
 Vancouver — Dr. M'Loughlin ; and, as became their 
 true purpose, commenced resident farmers — teaching, 
 it is true, the natives the great elements of 
 Christianity, and forms of prayer — but using their 
 gratuitous labour for the cultivation of their fields. 
 These missionaries did not " hide their lamp under 
 a bushel," but, on the contrary,. " proclaimed their 
 light before all men," and sent to the States flat-' 
 tering accounts of their success. The consequence 
 was, that some adventurers, with a little property, 
 
 I li 
 
 -^ 
 
*.mm.-A mU t**«W»^|Ff!4t.«' 
 
 '9 
 
 m\^ 
 
 176 
 
 were induced to brave the perils of the long and 
 formidable journey (leaving millions of more fertile 
 acres at home, requiring less capital and labour 
 for cultivation) to the Oregon. Some of these set- 
 tlers came in their real character of farmers ; but 
 they were very few. Others came in the guise of 
 missionaries — such missionaries as their predeces- 
 sors — men who give a little preaching as an equiva- 
 lent for much bodily labour performed by the native 
 eonveris. Some of these have located themselves 
 in other districts : and hence there are, by Ameri- 
 can writers, given the most pompous accounts — 
 accounts, to those who are acquainted with the 
 real facts, sometimes laughable, and sometimes 
 calculated to excite indignation and disgust — of 
 American settlements. 
 
 While I was stationed at Vancouver ; and in the 
 detached forts ; and in the trading ships, the exces- 
 sively benevolent encouragement gnmted by the 
 governor to the new importation of American resi- 
 dents, under the designatioli of missionary-settlers, 
 used to be freely discussed. There were two par- 
 ties — the patriot, and the liberal. The arguments, 
 pro and con, may be summed up thus: the Brit- 
 ish, or patriots, maintained that the governor was 
 too chivalrously generous — that his generosity 
 
177 
 
 was thrown away, and would be badly requited 
 — that be was nurturing a rpce of men who would 
 by-and-by rise from their meek and humble po- 
 sition as the grateful acknowledgers of his kind- 
 ness, into the bold attitude of questioners of his 
 own authority, and the British right to Vancouver 
 itself. This party gi'ounded their arguments on an 
 appeal to the conduct and character of the Americans 
 whom they had seen — especially the free trappers j 
 and the remnants of the American companies which 
 still dodged about in the country. They did too 
 take into account the missionaries, who were then 
 tried ; and who, of course, did everything in their 
 po'-'^r to concilinte, at their first appearance on such 
 a new stage, the good opinion of those whose ap- 
 plause or condemnation could retain, or expel them 
 from the scene of their labours, and prospects. This 
 phrty had a very lively feeling for the improvement of 
 the Indians in all the arts of civilisation ; and thought 
 that if any attempts were made for the conversion 
 of the natives to Christianity, and to their adoption 
 of more humanised institutions (which they limited 
 to British institutions) a solid and permanent foun- 
 dation should be laid — the Indians should not be 
 instructed by halves — a thoroughly lasting system 
 should be adopted towards them ; which would make 
 
 5 * 
 
178 . 
 
 them not merely professed, but practical, christians. 
 Something more than making them the observers 
 of forms, and the repeaters of prayers, was requisite ; 
 especially as most of the tribes already believed in 
 many of the great cardinal points of Christianity — 
 such as the existence of a good and evil Spirit — tli ; 
 creation of the vforld by the Good Spirit — the im- 
 mortality of the soul — a future state of rewards 
 and punishments. They also maintained that the 
 missionaries should be missionaries in reality — men 
 looking to the successful termination of their labours 
 as their principal reward — men above the imputation 
 or suspicion of being guided by self-interest, in their 
 exertions — men who would not squat, as permanent 
 and fixed husbandmen, and occasional traffickers 
 in skins of animals, among the natives ; using them 
 as farm labourers : but that they should be bona fide 
 pastors of the christian church — going about in the 
 true spirit of primitive Christianity — instructing the 
 people in the cardinal doctrines of our religion, and 
 in the arts of civilised life. Furthermore, they used 
 to maintain, that, if missionaries at all were to be 
 introduced, or sanctioned in the country, this use- 
 ful class of men — a class calculated to exercise such 
 vital influence over the charac' sr and condition of 
 the natives — should come within the direct control 
 
179 
 
 of the dominant power, t. «., the British power; and 
 should he the countrymen of thoae who absolutely 
 occupied Oregon. Besides, they vsed. occasionally 
 to launch out against the character and institutions 
 of the Americans generally ; saying that, while they 
 proclaimed liberty, they practised slavery, in some 
 of its most odious forms, not as individuals merely ; 
 but that whole States adopted and defended the 
 prac ce — that it was then a fraud and a mockery far 
 Americans to profess any anxiety for the ameliorar< 
 tion of the Indians; since at home they enslaved 
 and hunted them down, keeping them in irredeem- 
 able bondage in the southern states, and driving 
 those who still retained their freedom, in the north, 
 and north-west, to the hills and deserts east of the 
 Eocky Mountains. They also used to urge the 
 8tr<mff facts of the repeated /af/Kre« of the Americans 
 to secure any extensive possession in the country; 
 and of the general repugnance of the natives to 
 them — repugnance caused by the experience which 
 the natives had of their habits and principles 
 — ^men who had no scruple about the means of 
 making money ; and who wouW, at the caprice of 
 the moment, hang up an obnoxious individual, 
 without judge or jury, by their Lynch, or mob law. 
 The other party, which was called the philosopki' 
 
 I. :| 
 I 
 
 ' il 
 
 ! 
 
 
 
180 
 
 cal and the liberal party, did not contravene these 
 general heads of argument. They admitted that 
 the Americans, not only as individuals, but ii* com- 
 munities of whole States, were not exempt from 
 the charge of fraudulency and tyranny ; in as much 
 as the Southern States are slave holders, and some 
 of the wealthiest states openly refuse to pay their 
 debts, though no people treat their own debtor 
 prisoners more cruelly ; — that the half apostolical, 
 and half agricultural character of the missionaries, 
 was not that best adapted to the purpose and 
 spirit of men going abroad to enlighten the heathen , 
 — that the Americans failed to secure a permanent 
 footing a» traders in the country, irom the dishonesty 
 of their dealings, and their habit of domineering over 
 the Indians, and corrupting them. But still they 
 asserted that the Americuiis ought not lo be ex- 
 cluded, in as much as they possessed some claims to 
 the right of occupancy — claims, though feeble, still 
 existing — and, until these were quashed or confirmed, 
 it would be unjust, and impolitic, to exclude them from 
 all possession. The Americans were, it was true, they 
 admitted, holders of slaves at home, and were every day 
 driving the Indians from their native lands; and, 
 though hypocrites, as to professions of freedom, on 
 that account, yet they could not enslave the Indians 
 
181 
 
 if I 
 
 
 of Oregon, or drive them further off, when there 
 mraa British power to check them. 
 
 Though the missionaries were not of the best 
 class, yet they were better than none at all; es- 
 pecially when England so grossly neglected the 
 natives. Dr. M'Loughlin may have acted inais' 
 erectly, but he acted justly, in sanctioning these 
 emigrants. He could not lay an iiiterdict on their 
 arrival; and even should they turn out as bad 
 as the rest of the motly groups that came from 
 the States, the British residents could not be dis- 
 appointed. But, above all, good would grow out 
 of evil in the end; for the Americans, by their 
 intercourse with the British, would become more 
 humanised, tolerant, and honest. Hence, they said, 
 it was philosophical and liberal to encourage the Ame- 
 rican missionary squatters. And as to the American 
 Lynch law, and other usages which were repugnant 
 to justice and humanity, they were rather excep- 
 tions to the American code, than examples of 
 American principles of legislation, which, in com- 
 mercial and civil matters, was, generally speaking, 
 just and humane; and from wliich even British 
 legislation derived some useful hints. 
 
 These debates, which embraced various other 
 points, too numerous to detail, would sometimes 
 
 \ I 
 
 ■■ I 
 
182 
 
 nir- 
 
 ran high; and show a great deal of acutenesa 
 and general knowledge, — more than would be ex- 
 pected from men who had spent most of their 
 time in the wilderness, and in communion with 
 tiavages. The Canadians and half-breeds generally 
 sided with the British, or patriot party, and turned 
 the scale. But I must confess, that though, on 
 the whole range of dispute, the patriot party were 
 the victors, yet. on one point, their antagonists 
 had a clear advantage — the neglect of the conversion 
 and . civilisation of the natives on the part of the 
 home government and of the British and Foreign 
 Missionary Society. But this subject is more fully 
 treated in another place. 
 
 The residents of this settlement of V^ailamette 
 are a mixed and motly group — retired servants of 
 the company— American missionary.farmers — some 
 few American farmers, not missionaries ; and free 
 trappers, who preferred an easy location on this 
 district, to the exciting and desperate perils of 
 solitary wanderings amid the hills and deserts, 
 and to occasional residence among the savages: 
 several of these latter have squatted there with their 
 Indian wives and children. The residences show dif- 
 ferent degrees of comfort., according to the property, 
 the intelligence, and industry of the occupiers ; from 
 
183 
 
 the rude log «tructure, of fifteen or twenty feet 
 square, with tbe mud chimney — a wooden bonch 
 in place of chairs — a beadstead covered with flag 
 mats — a few pott, and other trifling article, to the 
 large, tolerably well built, and equipped farm 
 house ; in which the owners enjoy, in rude plenty, 
 the produce of tolerably well tilled, and well stocked 
 fiurms. Those spots of cultivated land, of course, vary 
 in extent and quality of culture according to the 
 skill and resources of the owners. Some farms 
 cousist of not more than thirty acres ; some consist 
 of 100. The best appointed farms are those of the 
 company's servants. Mr M'Kay, who has farmed 
 under the company's sanction, has lately erected 
 a grist mill, the expense of which is reported to be 
 
 * 
 
 not less than £2000. These dwellings do not, pro- 
 perly speaking, constitute a village, but arc scattered 
 over a surface of several miles: though some few 
 are clustered together. Most of the missionaries 
 are Episcopalian Methodists. But half the civilised 
 population, if not more, are Roman Catholics, who 
 have their OM'n priest and their own chapel. 
 
 The colony has all the appurtenances of a set- 
 tlement — school houses — chapels — an hospital — a 
 meeting house— granaries, &c. But though there is 
 a considerable extent of land under cultivation, vet 
 
 r f 
 
 ■ill 
 
 'W 
 
ill 
 
 '. > ft 
 
 It' 
 
 the whole is nut perhaps more extensive than the 
 company's single farm at Vancouver; and in point of 
 management, and approximation to true farming, 
 (according to English principles and notion^) cannot 
 be even remotely compared to it. 
 
 Lieutenant Wilkes, who conducted the exjdoring 
 expedition appointed by the American government, 
 visited this settlement ; and in his report, lately 
 published by authority, says, — " About slrti/ fami- 
 lies are settled there, the industrious of whom ap- 
 pear to be thriving. They are composed of 
 American Missionaries, trappers, and Canadians, 
 who were formerly servants of the Hudson's Bay 
 Company. All of them appeared to be doing well ; 
 but I was, on the whole, disappointed from the reports 
 tvhich had been made to me, not to find the settle- 
 ment in a greater state of forwardness, considering 
 the advantages which the missionaries have had/' 
 Now this account of the settlement deserves to 
 be noticed. He says that the number of families 
 settled there was siwty — not more. Of these, many 
 were British subjects ; so that the number of sub- 
 jects of the United States was inconsiderable. The 
 American missionaries were merely speculating small 
 farmers. All were not thriving; but only the in- 
 dustrious portion. This, together with his mention 
 
 •»»»r<ii'»»r'-;'-- 
 
' *<■ imwm t »m> a^mk mti m»* " 
 
 186 
 
 of dmippointinnU, and of the ri'portM made to him, 
 clearly showH that there were circulated ia the 
 States, eia^^crntcd accounts of the prosperity and 
 importance of the colony ; and falne inducements 
 held out to citizens, to emigrate thither; and to th(; 
 Federal government, to sustain its riglits even at 
 the risk of a quarrel with Great Jirituin, in defence 
 of this fancied American colony — rights which 
 w«re not, and are not, invaded ; and are not meant 
 to be invaded by the company. This admission, 
 too, which is involved in his account, is the more 
 worthy of notice, consideriug the disposition which 
 this gentleman shows, to represent to his govern- 
 ment the Oregon territory as a prize, even in an 
 agricultural point of view, worth contending for ; 
 as appears from the extravagance of his general 
 picture, in his summing up. He says : — 
 
 " To conclude ; few portions of the globe, iu my 
 opinion, are so rich in soil, so diversified in surface, 
 or so capable of being rendered the happy home 
 of an industrious and civilised community. For 
 beauty of scenery, and salubrity of climate, it cannot 
 be surpassed. It is peculiarly adapted for an agri- 
 cultural and pastoral people : and no portion of the 
 world, beyond the tropics, can be found that will 
 
 if 
 
 
186 
 
 yield so readily, with moderate labour, to the wauts 
 of man." 
 
 All thio he asserts, although it appears from his 
 whole previous statement, that from the nature of 
 the soil and climate, he considered at least one half 
 cf the territory unfit for agriculture. With respect 
 to the entire of the eastern section, he says, " the 
 tempeiature during the day, differing from 50° to 
 60°, renders it unfit for agriculture ; and there are 
 but few places in its northern parts, where the cli- 
 mate would not effectually put a stop to its ever 
 becoming nettled. In each day, according to the 
 best accounts, all the changes are experienced, which 
 are incident to spring, summer, autumn, and win- 
 ter. There are places where small farms might be 
 located, but they are few in number." 
 
 Mr. Farnliara, the latest American writer, though 
 an undisguised partisan — a rampant anti-Britia dr 
 — and anxious to place the capabilities and value 
 of the country in the most favourable view before 
 his fellow-citizens, cannot avoid dissenting from 
 Mr. Wilkes' concluding remarks He says, " it will 
 be seen on reference to them, that the agricultural 
 capabilities of Oregon are placed above those of 
 any part of the world, beyond the tropics. This 
 
 .^^ 
 
187 
 
 is A most mrprinng conclmion — at war with his own 
 account of the several sections which he visited ; 
 and denied by every intelligent man living in the 
 country. What ! Oregon in this respect equal to 
 California, or the VaUey of the Missisippi i" 
 
 I beg to quote from Mr. Famham, who visited 
 this settlement, the following passage. Allu- 
 ding to the missionaries, he says, " their object in 
 settling in Oregon, I understood to be twofold — 
 the one, and principal, to civilise and christianise 
 the Indians — the other, and not less important, the 
 establishment of reiiffious and literary institutiongf 
 for the benefit of the white emigrants. Their plan 
 of operation on the Indians, is to learn their various 
 languages, for the purposes of itinerant preaching, 
 and of teaching the young the English liuignagt>\ 
 The scholars are also instrurted in agnculture, the 
 regulations of a well-established household, reading, 
 writing, arithmetic, and geography." 
 
 Then it appears, these missionaries were encou- 
 raged to settle in the country, in order that they 
 may open the way, and hold out inducements, for 
 an influx of emigrants from the States. No doubt 
 their published prospectus of benefits to come is 
 highly imposing ; and their promised zeal and effi- 
 ciency are very great, until they come to be tested ; 
 
 
 %\ 
 
188 
 
 but the following passage brings down their dis- 
 interestednesBj as disseminators of religion, and tlieir 
 prosperity as an agricultural community, to a low 
 standard. 
 
 '"They have many hundred acres of land under 
 the plough ; and cultivated chiefly by the native pu- 
 pils. They have more than a hundred head of 
 homed cattle ; thirty or forty horses ; and many 
 swine. They have granaries filled with wheat, oats, 
 barley, and peas ; and cellars well stored with vege- 
 tables." 
 
 This shows, that from their using the native pupils 
 as labourers, they did not mean to dispense their 
 blessings without receiving a little consideration — 
 that they are not altogether spiritual in their mo- 
 tives, and mode of life : and their many hundred 
 acres of land under the plough; their maximum 
 stock of horned cattle ; and thirty or forty horses, 
 are no great signs of their rising greatness ; especially 
 when it is considered that they have been now 
 located for many years in the country ; and had, as 
 Mr. Wilkes — the organ of the federal government 
 — assures us, " many advantages " — which me&ns, 
 that they received all American support, especially 
 from the funds of the missionary society of Boston, 
 in order to efl'ect American purposes. 
 
189 
 
 It is well worth while to quote here Mr. Wilkes. 
 Under the general head of "Missionaries" (and 
 he indeed weighs in the balance the entire class 
 — not those of the Wallamette settlement alone, 
 but those too scattered about in other localities), 
 he says, " Little has as yet been effected by them 
 in christianising the natives. They are principally- 
 engaged in the cultivation of the mission farms, 
 and in the care of their own stock; in order to 
 obtain flocks and herds for themselves. As far as 
 my observation went, in the parts of the country 
 where the missionaries reside, there are few Indians 
 to engage their attention; and they seemed more 
 occupied with the settlement of the country, and in 
 agricultural pursuits, than in missionary labours." 
 
 Every word of this is undeniably true : and not 
 the least remarkable and important part of the 
 statement is the accident (query, fortuitous?) of 
 their having selected localities for residence, where 
 they had no spiritual flocks to tend. 
 
 But though they have not as yet thriven as well as 
 Mr. Wilkes expected, yet Mr. Famham, in the follow- 
 ing paragraph, threatens the execution of great pro- 
 jects ; and holds out the hope that they will, by and 
 by, erect a community, with all the concomitant insti- 
 tutions, worthy of the mother republic. It is true, the 
 
 
xOJ'H if- 
 
 190 
 
 
 paragraph, from its boast and xnagniloquence, will 
 appear to sober Englishmen^ ridiculous; but it is 
 quite characteristic ; and is well calculated to foster 
 the pleasing and voluntary delusion of American 
 vanity — ^the purpose for which it was designed. 
 
 " A site had been already selected for an mo- 
 demical building. A court of Justice had been or- 
 ganised by the po^iular voice, A mUtary corpt was 
 about to be formed for the protection of settlers — 
 and other measures were in progreM : at once show- 
 ing that the American, with his characteristic 
 energy and entoprise; and thd philanthropist, with 
 his holy aspin^ons for the improvement of the hu- 
 man condition — ^had crossed the snowy banier of 
 the mountain; to mingle with the dashing waves 
 of the Pacific seas, the sweet music of a busy and 
 virtuous civilisation " ! ! 1 
 
 He then gives a sketch of the plucky patriotism 
 of the settlers : — 
 
 " During my stay here, several American citizens 
 called on me, to talk of their father- land; and 
 enquire as to the probability that its laws would 
 be extended over them. The constantly-repeated 
 enquiries were, * why are we left without protection 
 in this part of our country's dominion ? — why are 
 foreiynera to domineer over American citizens — 
 

 191 
 
 drive their traders from the country — and make us 
 as dependant on thera for the clothes we wear, as 
 their own apprenticed slaves ? ' I could return no 
 answer to these questions, exculpatory of this na- 
 tional delinquency; and therefore advised them to 
 embody their grievances in a petition to Congress. 
 They had a meeting for that purpose : and after- 
 wards put into my hand a petition, signed by sucty- 
 seven citizens of the United States, and persons 
 desirous of becoming such — the substance of which 
 was a description of the country — tlieir unpro- * 
 tected situation — and, in conclusion, a prayer that 
 the Federal government would extend over them 
 the protection and institutions of the republic. 
 Five or six of the settlers had not an opportunity 
 to sign the paper. The Catholic priest refused to 
 do it." 
 
 Setting aside the silly abusiveness, and anti-- 
 British animus evinced in the whole paragiaph, 
 and especially in the application of the epithet 
 slaves to the apprentices and agents of the ^lud- 
 son's Bay Company, the reader cannot fail to ob- 
 serve the important fact, that, notwithstanding all 
 the zeal of the settlers and of Mr. Famham j 
 and all the efforts to make a demonstration, the pe- 
 titioners to congress were not more than sixty-seven 
 
 '1 
 
Ilpli J 
 
 192 
 
 — educated and uneducated — civilised, half-breeds, 
 and wild trappers, with their Indian wives. Even all 
 these were not citizens, but embraced "persons 
 desirous of becoming such ;" How manj the latter 
 class consisted of he does not say. 'f the number 
 was at all important he would not fail to mention 
 it. But suppose these were all Americans; add 
 to them the five or six settlers who had no op- 
 portunity of signing this petition, and who, it is fair 
 to presume, were Americans, yei. *.he aggregate could 
 not exceed eighty souls. Now as this petition was 
 evidently a got up affair (for this gentleman went 
 to the settlement with American colours flying — 
 there were harbingers to herald his arrival, as a 
 great American writer and champion, visiting them 
 in order to inspect their condition, and improve 
 it), it is to be regretted that he did not give us 
 an assurance whether the sixty-seven names were 
 the bona fide names of persons come to the age 
 of discretion ; no matter whether the petition- 
 ers could write their own names or not. But 
 let it be conceded, that every one of the sixty- 
 seven was a full grown man, of mature under- 
 standing, wishing to retain the privileges of citizen- 
 ship, and receive the exclusive protection of the 
 Federal government ; yet the whole matter s a clear 
 
193 
 
 \ 
 
 admitsion of the insignificance of the settlement 
 (so far as its Americanism is concerned), and of 
 the fallacious representations industriously propa- 
 gated about it, with the view of giving factitious im- 
 portance to American rights and American posses- 
 sion. He says the Catholic priest refused to sign 
 the petition. No doubt he did ; and prudently 
 too; for he knew well, that he was sufficiently 
 free and secure already; and that it would not 
 be clearsightedness to surrender the steady light 
 and certainty of British freedom and protection, for 
 the will-o'-the-wisp of expected American licen- 
 tiousness. 
 
 Now Mr. Wilkes gives a quietus to all these 
 lamentations about the absence of republican laws, 
 and federal protection, in these plain terms. " When 
 there, I made particular enquiries whether laws were 
 necessary for their protection: and I feel assured 
 that they require none at present, besides the moral 
 code which it is their own duty to inculcate." He 
 next adds, " The catholic portion of the settlement 
 are kept under good control by their priest." This 
 little paragraph is doubly bignificant; as shewing 
 the reason why the priest did not consider that his 
 flock required these American laws and institutions ; 
 and showing the marked contrast between the 
 
 ill 
 
Ifl! 
 
 :rf 
 
 194 
 
 li ^1 
 
 
 priest, who effected much for hii congregation, and 
 the Methodist missionaries, who effected but little. 
 
 But Mr. Famham is somewhat inconsistent with 
 himself; as men generally are who become parti- 
 sans — take a distorted view of things — and labour 
 only to carry a point, and bespatter their adver- 
 saries. After his elaborate eulogy of the noble ob- 
 jects and successful labours of the missionaries, 
 in improving the moral condition of the natives; 
 aicd after holding forth glowing prospects of the 
 rising greatness of the settlement, — in as much aa 
 they had already selected a site for an academical 
 building — organised a court of justice — were about 
 to form a military corps, for the protection of the 
 settlers; and after his talking so poetically, about 
 the American "enterpriser and philanthropist ming- 
 ling the dashing waves of the Pacific seas with the 
 sweet music of busy, and virtuous civilisation." 
 After all this, he descends rather awkwardly and 
 suddenly from his high positiim, and, in plain terms, 
 says : — 
 
 "The civil condition of the territory being such 
 as virtually to prohibit the emigration, to any ox- 
 tent, oi useful and desirable citizens, they have 
 nothing to anticipate from any considerable increase 
 of their numbers, nor any amelioration of their 
 
 l^'^ 
 
196 
 
 •tate to look fur, from ike accessiou of female 
 ■ociety. la the desperation incident to their lonely 
 lot, they take wives from the Indian tribes around 
 them." 
 
 Then if there is likely to be no extensive emi- 
 gration of useful and desirable citizens, there can- 
 not be much cf the sweet music of a bust/ and 
 virtuous dvilisaiion, and no great need of academic 
 eal buildings^ and a military corps for the pro- 
 tection of settlers; though there may be for a 
 court of justice, as the settlers, it would appear, 
 from the absence of useful and desirable citizens, 
 must be a class among whom such an establish- 
 ment would be desirable. The present settlers are 
 useful and desirable citizens, or they are not. If 
 they are, why may there not be an accession to their 
 numbers from the States ? If they are not, what 
 is the use of the boasted missionaries? "Why do 
 not these men labour to render them useful and 
 moral? 
 
 He further says, " The reader will find it difficult 
 to learn any sufficient reasons for their being left 
 without the institutions of civilised society !" Now 
 there are the institutions of British society, and 
 laws in full force, in the country ; and of which 
 they have the benefit and protection. But as we 
 
 ! 4 
 
 ■^\ 
 
 I 
 
 i ;j 
 
i! 
 
 ( 
 
 I 
 
 1 1 
 
 196 
 
 were, before toid that 
 
 b Officers and other em- 
 ploytcs of tlie Hudson's Bny Company were "ap- 
 prenticed slaves," so now it is uot smTprising that 
 British institutions should be denied to be those of 
 civilised society. 
 
 But the crowning hardship of the American citi- 
 zens in Oregon, it seems, is that they must pay 
 their debts incurred to the British, and aie liable 
 to punisliment for the commission of crimes. 
 
 He says, " Their condition is truly deplorable. 
 They are liable to be arrested for debt or crime, 
 and conveyed to the jails of Canada. For in that 
 case the business of British subjects is interfered 
 with, who, by way of retaliation, will withhold the 
 supplies of clothing, household goods, &c., which 
 the settlers have no other means of obtaining." 
 This certainly is a cool mode of claiming a license 
 for the free citizens to cheat, and injure their 
 neighbours with impunity. So forsooth, it is but 
 a mere interference with the business of British 
 subjects to rob them; and it is a great hardship 
 if the British withhold supplies from the Americans 
 when they refuse to pay them. Had any English- 
 man said, or written, that this was the opinion of 
 the Americans in Oregon, or out of it, he would be de- 
 nounced as a prejudiced misrepresenter. But here the 
 
107 
 
 opinion is broadly avowed, by the organ of th6 de- 
 mocratic and dominant party in the United States. 
 
 It is necessary to mention two rivers to the south 
 of the Wallamette, which flow through the same 
 fertile and picturesque section of the country, as 
 the Wallamette does (that section which is encircled 
 by the Columbia ridge of hills on the north — by 
 the ridge which runs along the shores of the Pacific 
 on the west — by the towering Klamet range on 
 the south — and by the southern links of the Presi- 
 dent's range, on the east). These rivers are the Um- 
 qua and Klamet. 
 
 The Umqua runs into tb Pacific in nearly a 
 westerly direction, from its source in the Presi- 
 
 4 
 
 denf s range ; and is lined for about 100 miles by 
 precipitous and rocky banks, covered with woods. 
 It is nearly a mile wide at its mouth ; and about 
 three fathoms deep. The tide runs up about thirty 
 miles ; and is then checked by rapids and cataracts, 
 which are to 1 le found, even when the lower cataracts 
 are passed, up the course of the river to its moun- 
 tain source. Its entire length is about 170 miles. 
 Perhaps, on the face of the earth, there are 
 not larger specimens of the pine tree than can 
 be found here. Some of these trees are 250 
 feet high, and 50 feet in girth. The seed vessels, 
 
 ii 
 
 m 
 
 1 1 
 
 ^ I 
 
 h\ 
 
«»! i 
 
 ]M 
 
 which are oval, are oftcu more than a foot long, 
 and the seeds are as large as a castor bean. I hare 
 seen some of these seeds brought to the fort that, 
 from my observation of the many petty things ex- 
 hibited in the British Museum as curiosities, would, 
 if exhibited there, be considered absolute tvondert. 
 I ought to say, that the largest pine trees do not 
 yield the hardest, closest, and most valuable wood 
 for use. Cedar trees there are often twenty- six feet 
 in girth, and high in proportion : and the gardens 
 attached to the company's fort produce turnips, often 
 five pounds in weight each. Indeed, the natural 
 capabilities of the soil ore surprising. 
 
 The Klamet, further south, runs nearly due west 
 from the President's range into the Pacific, about 
 fifty miles south of the Umqua; after a course of 
 about 150 miles. This is the most southerly river 
 of any note in the whole region ; and the one that 
 may be called the natural inland water-boundary, 
 on the south-west, between Oregon and California. 
 
 Two peculiarities of the country around, and r.ear 
 its banks, deserve notice. First, the face of the 
 country is less undulating; and the country itself 
 seems to rise higher in its agricultural and pastoral 
 capabilities: and secondly, the enormous pine and 
 Cfdar trees gradually disappear; and groves of short 
 
 
 
f 
 
 109 
 
 myrtle, which diffune a mutt dahcioas fragranot, 
 line the baakt, and beautifully dot the country. 
 
 The company have a lettlement near the mouth 
 of the Umqua : and have there commouced forming 
 establishments, which promise (considering the great 
 fecundity of the soil, and the genial and salubrious 
 character of the climate), if pushed on with the 
 usual vigour and judgment exhibited in other es- 
 tablishments, farther to the north, where soil and 
 climate have been comparatively unfavourable, to 
 succeed amazingly. 
 
 As Mr. Famham loses no opportunity of (to use 
 an Ameri('an phrase) making a slap at the BrUishen 
 in general, and the Hudson's Bay Company in par- 
 ticular — although he acknowledges the kind and 
 hospitable entertainment which he received at Fort 
 Vancouver, — he treats his readers to the following 
 accusation. Speaking of a Captain Young, an 
 American, who. after failing in many trading specu- 
 lations in the west of the continent, settled as a 
 •mall farmer in Wallamette district, and whom he 
 designates as the " excellent old captain,'' he says, 
 " He related to me many incidents of his hardships, 
 among which the most surprising was that the 
 Hudson's Bay Company refused to sell him a shred 
 of clothing; and as there were no other traders in 
 
200 
 
 the country he was compelled, during their pleasure 
 to wear skins. A false report that he had been 
 guilty of some dishonourable acts in California was 
 the alleged cause for this treatment. But perhaps a 
 better reason would be that Mr. Young occasionally 
 purchased beaver skins in the American territoiy." 
 To assert a false fact is bad enough; but to fol- 
 low t up by gratuitously hazarding a false opinion 
 in support of it, is most reprehensible and un- 
 justifiable. The company, so long as this man con- 
 ducted himself properly as a free trader, gave him 
 every assistance. Of his alleged dishonourable con- 
 duct in California, and other places (though reports 
 very much to his discredit were confidently circu- 
 lated about him, and by his own countrymen, who 
 had no inducement to accuse him falsely), the com- 
 pany took no cognizance. They judged of him as 
 they had experience of him. The company inter- 
 dicted, all through their range of operations in the 
 Oregon, the use of spirituous liquors, as an article 
 of trade among the natives, from a knowledge of 
 its injurious influence upon them ; or as an article 
 of gensral use and luxury among their servants. 
 Young, thinking a trade in spirits would be a 
 good speculation, set up a distillery, and began to 
 induce, not alone the natives, but the servants of 
 
201 
 
 the company, to deal with him. When the com- 
 pany expressed their disapproval of thia and other 
 proceedings, he commenced an agitating course 
 among the settlers, and defied the company. The 
 company then quietly left him to his own resources. 
 As to the insinuation which Mr. Famham makes 
 that the gravemen of his offence was his trading 
 in American territory, as if Oregon was exclusively 
 such, the reader can easily J draw his own infer- 
 ence : — it was intended to work a purpose in the 
 States. 
 
A« 
 
 30» 
 
 • CHAPTER Xltl. 
 
 General outline of the Oregon Territorj. 
 
 The natural limits of this extensive and important 
 region, are strictly defined by nature. On the wesc, 
 it is bounded, along its whole length, by the Pacific 
 Ocean; and is indented by numerous bays and 
 inlets— on the souths by the fertile country of Cali- 
 fornia, and the Klamet range of hills, which are an 
 oifshoot from the rocky mountains, and run in a 
 parallel of 43" — on the whole of the east line, by 
 the main ridge of the towering Rocky Mountains — 
 and on the north, as the boundary between it and 
 the Bussian territories, ^ by many spurs from the 
 Rocky Mountains, and by a chain of lakes and 
 rivers. 
 
 The extent of the whole region in its widest 
 sense, is about four times the area of Great 
 Britain. It is remarkable, that all the rivers which 
 flow through this territory, take their rise and are 
 emptied within these limits : so that it mav be said> 
 
i 
 
 203 
 
 that it scarcely haa any natural communication with 
 any other country. It extends from latitude 42" to 
 that of 54° north. For beauty of scenery, salubrity 
 of climate along the Pacific, and general adaptation 
 for commerce, it can scarcely be surpassed by any 
 country in the world. There are, too, in many places, 
 great fertility of soil, and agricultural capabilities. 
 
 The natural character of the whole country, is a 
 succession of mountain ridges, and valleys, and 
 plains : and though there are many fertile districts 
 within it, especially towards the ocean; yet it may 
 be safely averred, that as a whole, it is not favour- 
 able for agricultural cultivation. 
 
 It is, in a word, chiefly valuable for trade; and 
 for the advantages of the Columbia, and other 
 maritime stations, to the north ; which s'icure 
 for the possessors a command of the northern Pa- 
 cific, and an easy way to China. Of this the Ame- 
 ricans are fully aware ; and hence their extraordinary 
 anxiety, and exertions to effect a lodgment there. 
 Hence too their exaggerated claims — their misre- 
 presentations — contemptible bluster j and impotei^.- 
 menaces. 
 
 Though their writers and speakers have been for 
 years deceiving, not alone the British public, but 
 even their own ; by holding forth the country as a 
 
 / 
 
|S{ 
 
 204 
 
 f n^>! ' 
 
 new paradise^ in the remote wilderness of the west, 
 to which the Americans alone had an undisputed 
 right, while it was wrongfully invaded by the 
 " grasping and oppressive Britishers ;" and most 
 criminally inciting the ignorant populace to raiae 
 a ferment throughout the whole confederation; in 
 reference to the questioned — and indeed most ques- 
 tionable — claim of the Americans to the territory; 
 and inciting their countrymen to encounter almost 
 incalculable privations and hazards, in order to fix 
 settlements in the country: yet the knowing ones 
 of them must have been ail-along sensible that it 
 is valuable mainly for trade. 
 
 As nature has given the country external bounda- 
 ries, of mountain, sea, lake, and river : so it may 
 be internally divided into three natural sections. 
 
 First, the western section ; lying between the 
 Pacific ocean, and Cascade mountains — sometimes 
 called President's range. This range runs parallel 
 with the coast, the whole length of the territory, 
 from north to south, rising in many places in high 
 peaks, from 12,000 t) 16,000 feet above the level 
 of the sea. Their distance from the coast varies 
 from 120 to 150 miles. 
 
 Second, the middle section, lying between the 
 Cascade Mountains on the west, and the Blue 
 
20^ 
 
 Mountain range, on the east, Tlie Bl le Mountains 
 are much broken and irregular in then* course. 
 
 Third, the Eastern Section, which extends from 
 the zigzag line of the Blue Mountains to the chain 
 of the Rocky Mountain. Though each division or 
 section may be aaid to be separated from another, 
 there are numerous communications between them 
 by the large rivers, valleys, and passes. Thus, while 
 the country is divided into parts, yet these parts 
 are bound and consolidated by one vast belt of ex- 
 ternal boundary. 
 
 Mountains. — The Cascade range, as being that 
 which bounds the western section of the country, 
 and the most fertile and valuable section, is the 
 most interesting and important range. Its northern 
 termination may be taken from Mount Elias : it 
 diverges thence eastward ; and winds afterwards 
 southward, to the gulph of California ; showing, 
 along its course, numerous lofty peaks ; and, like 
 most of the other mountains, strong signs of vol- 
 canic action, at a remote period. The American 
 writers and authors give many of these peaks the 
 names of American presidents. Says Mr. Farnham, 
 in his usual gasconading style, " All the principal 
 peaks should bear the names of those distinguished 
 men, whom the suffrages of the people that own 
 
I I 
 
 206 
 
 Oregon (!) have from time to time called to admi- 
 nister their national government/* 
 
 Hence we have, from north to south, on American 
 authority, Monnts Tyler, — Harrison. — ^Van Buren, 
 — Adams, — Washington, — Jefferson, — Maddison, 
 — Munroe, — Quincy Adams, — Jackson ; names that 
 are, for the most part, new to the Britishers, 
 
 But however, as they designate certain distinct 
 conical eminences, I adopt them for the present pur- 
 pose. 
 
 Mount Tyler lies in latitude forty-nine, and 
 about thirty miles from the eastern waters of Van- 
 couver's Island. Mount Harrison, about thirty 
 miles east of Paget's sound. Mount Van Buren, 
 on the isthmus between Paget's Sound and the 
 Pacific. Mount Adams, about twenty-five miles 
 north of the Cascades of the Columbia. Mount 
 Washington, about twenty miles south of the Cas- 
 cades. This is the loftiest peak of all, and is about 
 16,000 feet high. Mount Jackson is the most 
 southern peak of the range, lying in latitude forty- 
 one, beyond the southern boundary of the Oregon. 
 
 These heights present a general sameness of 
 appearance and character. They are covered with 
 snow, and their sides are in general bare, rocky, and 
 precipitous. This chain of mountains runs almost 
 
t07 
 
 parallel with the Rocky Mountains; and, at an 
 average, is about 400 miles distant from them ; so 
 that the main breadth of the country, from the 
 Rocky Mountains to the ocean, is, on a loose cal- 
 culation, about 500 miles. The hill* intervening be- 
 tween these towering conical mountain peaks are 
 covered, from bottom to top, with forests of enormous 
 trees — consisting of pine, fir, cedar, &c. ^$any 
 of these present a bare shaft of 200 feet high, 
 before a limb shoots off; and near the base have a 
 circumference of from six to eight fathoms. On the 
 north side of the Columbia, near the Cascades, there 
 runs westward a spur, varying from 1000 to 1500 
 feet high above the river, from this great chain, 
 covered with the huge trees indigenous to the coun- 
 try, as far as Cape Disappointment. This spur com- 
 mences near Mount Adams. On the south side of 
 the river a smaller spur, commencing at the Cascades, 
 runs, from near Mount Washington, westward as 
 far as Fort George; so that the Columbia, from 
 the Cascades almost to its mouth, runs through a 
 deep valley, of unequal breadth, walled in by high 
 mountains. These two parallel spurs decline in alti- 
 tude westward. Again, there is another range of 
 mountains, running along the brink of the Pacific 
 coast from upper California, northward as far as the 
 
 •J 
 
208 
 
 i 
 
 Straits of Fuca. Tliis range is, for the most part, 
 a bare and barren ridge of dark rocks. But the 
 eastern sides of the southern portion are covered with 
 heavy timber, such as pine, fir, spruce, &c. 
 
 That portion of the Oregon which is bounded on 
 the north by the Columbia — by the President's range 
 on the east — ^by the Californian boundary on the 
 south — and by the Pacific on the west, is by far the 
 most fertile, and beautiful, and genial; and. in truth, 
 not only comparatively with the other parts of the 
 region is it so ; but it is so abstractedly. Though 
 undulating and broken in its surface, it may be 
 designated as a vast rich plain, embedded within a 
 circle of mountains : for on the west it is guarded 
 by the Pacific ridge of mountains — on the south by 
 the Klamet range of the towering, snow-capped 
 mountains, on the east by the rocks of the President's 
 range — and on the north by the Columbian hills. 
 This vast valley possesses every facility for pasturage, 
 and every capability for cultivation. The land is in 
 general open — delightfully interspersed with clumps 
 and groves of trees — well stocked with deer, elk, and 
 all sorts of game ; and is studded with small lakes, 
 and rivers, which yield, in innumerable quantities, 
 all sorts of fish. 
 
 The principal rivers are the Wallamette, the 
 
209 
 
 Urnqua, and Klnraet; wliicli, with the productive- 
 ness of the soil, liave been already noticed. 
 
 Rivers, — The principal river is the Columbia, which 
 rises in the Rocky Mountains, in latitude 50" north, 
 and longitude 116" west ; and during its course to the 
 ocean, receives a great number of large tributary 
 streams. After receiving Canoe River, uid flowing 
 in a south-westerly direction, and expanding into a 
 line of lakes ; it receives at Fort Colville, the River 
 Colville, which rises in the Rocky Mountains ; and 
 takes a north-westerly direction. At Colville, it is 
 2500 feet above the level of the sea. To the south 
 of this, it winds to the westward, receiving the Spo- 
 kan River from the east. Thence it pursues a west- 
 erly course for about sixty miles ; and at its bend to 
 the south, it is joined by the Okanagan — a river 
 that has its source in a line of lakes, affording 
 boat-navigation for a considerable extent north- 
 ward. Thence it passes to the southward, until it 
 reaches "Wallawalla, in the latitude of 45"; receiv- 
 ing, among other streams, its great south-eastern 
 bnmch, the Snake River, called also the Saptin or 
 Lewis River, which has its source in the Rocky 
 Mountains. Though this latter river flows a distance 
 of 500 miles, and brings a vast accession of water to 
 the Columbia, yet, from its numerous shallows. 
 
210 
 
 
 rapids, and eddies, it is not navigable for any con - . 
 tinned extent. At Wallawalln, the Columbia is 128G 
 feet above the level of the sea, and about 3500 feet 
 wide. It thence takes its last turn, to the westward, 
 pursuing its rapid course for eighty miles, until it 
 reaches the range of the Cascade Mountains. Through 
 these it flows in a series of falls and rapids, that 
 form insurmountable barriers to the passage oi boats 
 during the floods. However, these difliculties are 
 overcome by portages. From thence there is a still- 
 water navigation, for forty miles ; when its course 
 is again obstructed by rapids. Thence to the ocean 
 — 120 miles — it is navigable for vessels of twelve 
 feet draught of water, at the lowest state of the 
 river. In this part, it receives the Wallamette from 
 the south, and the Cowlitzc from the north. The 
 former is navigable for small vessels, for twenty 
 miles, to the mouth of the Klackamus ; the latter 
 is navigable only for canoes and barges. 
 
 The next river in importance is Frazer's River. 
 It takes its rise in the Rocky Mountains, near the 
 source of Canoe River, taking a north-west course 
 of eighty miles. It then turns to the southward, 
 receiving Stuart's River, which rises in a chain of 
 lakes in the northern boundary of the territory 
 It then pursues a southerly course ; and after re- 
 
211 
 
 cciving mauy tributaries^ breaks through the Cas- 
 cade range of hills, iu a Herios of falls and rapids ; 
 and after a westerly course of seventy miles, empties 
 itself into the Oulph of Georgia, in latitude 49" T 
 north. This latter portion is navigable for vessels 
 that can pass its bar drawing ten feet of water. 
 Its whole length is 350 miles. 
 
 The principal rivers are rapid, and sunk much be- 
 low the level of the country, with perpendicular banks, 
 speaking generally. During the seasons of the rise, 
 they frequently overflow their banks, in consequence 
 of bars, and other obstructions, and submerge the ad- 
 jacent low grounds. These rises are produced by 
 the rains, or the melting of the snow on the upper 
 mountains ; and are sometimes very rapid. The 
 rise in the Columbia takes place in May and June ; 
 and at Vancouver is about twenty feet. The rise 
 in the Wallamette takes place in February. 
 
 There are numerous lakes scattered through the 
 several sections. The country is all well watered ; 
 and there are but few places where an abundance 
 of water cannot be obtained, either from lakes, 
 rivers, or springs. 
 
 Climate. — The climate of the western division is 
 mild throughout the year — neither the cold of winter, 
 nor the heat of summer, predominating. The main 
 
212 
 
 tit 
 
 1^1*1 
 
 temperature is about 51", Fnhronhcit. Tlic prevail- 
 ing windH, in aummer, are from the northward aud 
 westward ; and in winter, from the west, Houth, and 
 south -oast. The winter lasts from about November 
 till March, generally Hpeakiug. During that time, 
 there are frequent falls of lain, but not lieavy. 
 Snow seldom lies longer than a week on the ground. 
 There are frosts so early as September; but they 
 are not severe, and dq not continue long. The 
 easterly winds are the coldest, as they come from 
 across tlie mountains ; but they are not frequent. 
 Fruit trees blossom cai'ly in April, in the neiglibour- 
 hood of Nasqual'y and Vancouver; and in the middle 
 of May, peas are a foot high : and strawberries in 
 full blossom : iideed, all fruits and vegetables are as 
 early there as in England. The hills, though of 
 great declivity, have a swird to their tpps. Lieut. 
 Wilkes says, that out of 106 days, seventy-six were 
 fair, nineteen cloudy, and eleven rainy. 
 
 The middle section is subject to droughts. Du- 
 ring summer, the atmosphere is drier and warmer, 
 and the winter colder, than in the western section : 
 its extremes of heat :.nd cold being greater and 
 more frequent. However, the air is pure and 
 healthy ; the atmosphere, in summer, being cooled 
 by the breezes that blow from the Pacific, 
 
213 
 
 The eastern section, whieh nins nlong the Hestorr. 
 base of the Rocky Mountains, and partly liei* with- 
 in their winding projections, is extremely variahlo 
 in climate : all the changes incident to spring, sum- 
 mer, autumn, and winter, being sometimes expe- 
 rienced there in a Hingle day. 
 
 Soil. — The soil of the western section varies from 
 a deep black vegetable loam, to a light brown, loamy 
 earth. The hills are generally basalt, stone, and 
 slate. The surface is generally undulating, well 
 watered, well wooded, and well adapted for agri- 
 culture and pasturage. The timber consists of pine, 
 fir, spruce, oaks (white and red), ash, arbutus, cedar, 
 arbor-vitae, poplar, maple, willow, cherry, tow ; with 
 underwoods of hazel and roses. All kinds of grain, 
 wheat, rj'c, barley, oats, and peas, can be procured 
 there in abundance. Various fruits, such as pears, 
 apples, &c., succeed there admirably ; and the dif- 
 ferent vegetables pi'oduced in England yield there 
 most abundant crops. 
 
 The middle section, which is about 10(X) feet 
 above the level of the western, is not so well 
 wooded or fertile ; yet in the southern parts cf 
 it, where the missionaries have established settle- 
 ments, they have raised excellent crops, and reared 
 large stocks of cattle. Notwithstanding the occa- 
 
214 
 
 siohal cold, their cattle are not housed, nor is pro- 
 vender laid in for them in any quantity, the country 
 being sufficiently supplied with fodder in the natural 
 hay that is everywhere abundant in the prairies, 
 which the cattle prefer. 
 
 The eastern section, from the coldness of the 
 climate and comparative sterility of the soil, which 
 is much impregnated with salts, is but little adapted 
 for cultivation. No attempts at agriculture have 
 been made there, except at Fort Hall. Here, by 
 care, small grains and vegetables have been produced 
 in sufficient quantity to supply the wants of the 
 post; aud the cattle, notwithstanding the severity 
 of the climate, are found to thrive «vell, and not to 
 require housing in winter. 
 
 At Nasqualiy, the Hudson's Bay Company have 
 a farm which has been recently brought under 
 cultivation. It yields fine cropa of wheat, oats, po- 
 tatoes, peas, &c. It is principally intended for 
 a grazing and dairy farm, They have already 100 
 milch cows, and make butter, &c., to supply the 
 Russians. They have also brought another farm 
 under cultivation at the Cowlitze River, about 
 thirty miles from the Columbia. This farm, in 
 184)1, produced 7000 bushels of wlieat. In this dis- 
 trict several Canadians, and other British subjects. 
 
215 
 
 
 
 have established themselves ; — work small farms of 
 tibout fifty acres, and live very comfortably. The 
 company have also other farms, at the different 
 posts in the interior, all of which are well stocked; 
 and the produce of the several farms is made a lu- 
 crative article of trade (after supplying the wants of 
 their servants) with the Russians. They have also 
 introduced large herds and flocks from California; 
 and thus they are gradually cultivating the country, 
 and civilising the natives. 
 
 Mr. Wilkes says, " In comparison with our own 
 country, I would say, that the labour necessary in 
 this territory ' to acquire wealth or subsistence is in 
 the proportion of one to three ; or in other words, a 
 man must work throughout the year three times as 
 much in the United States to gain the like com- 
 petency. The care of stock, which occupies so much 
 time with us, requires no attention there ; and on 
 the increase otily a man might find support." He 
 further says, ** there will be also a demand for the 
 timber of this country, at high prices, throughout 
 the Pacific. The oak is well adapted for ship-timber, 
 and abundance of ash, cedar, cypress, and arbor-vitse, 
 may be had for other purposes, — building, fuel, 
 fencing, &c." He also adds, *• no part of the world 
 affords finer inland sounds, or a greater number of 
 
216 
 
 #1 
 
 harbours, than are found within the Straits of Juan 
 cle Fuca, capable of receiving the largest class of 
 vessels, and without a danger in them which is not 
 visible. From the rise and fall of the tides (eighteen 
 feet) every facility is afforded for the erection of 
 works for a great maritime nation. The country also 
 affords as many sites for water power as any other." 
 On the northern coast there are a number of 
 islands, which belong to the territory. The largest 
 ai-e Vancouver Island, which is 260 miles long, and 
 50 broad, containing 15,000 square miles, and 
 Queen Charlotte Island, which is 150 miles long, 
 and 30 brond, containing 4000 square miles. The 
 climate is mild and salubrious, and the soil well 
 adapted to agriculture. They have also an abund- 
 ance of line fish in their waters. Coal, of a very 
 good quality, is found there close by the surface ; 
 and they also contain numerous veins of valuable 
 minerals. 
 
 All the rivers abound in salmon of the finest 
 quality, which run twice a year, beginning in May 
 and October, aud appear inexhaustible. The Co- 
 lumbia produces th . largest. The great fishery of 
 this river is at the Dalles. Tlie last one, on the 
 northern branch of the Columbia, is near Colville, 
 at the Kettle Falls j though salmon are found above 
 
217 
 
 this both in the river aud in its tributaries. In 
 Frazer's River the salmon are very numerous. The 
 bays and inlets abound with several kinds of salmon, 
 stxirgeon, cod, carp, sole, flounders, perch, herring, 
 and eels; also with shell fish — orabs, oysters, &c. 
 Whales and sea otter in numbers are found along 
 the coast, and are frequently captured by the Indians 
 in and at the mouth of the Straits of Juan de 
 Fuca. 
 
 Ciamc abounds in the western section, such as elk, 
 deer, antelopes, bears, wolves, foxes, musk-rats, mar- 
 tins. And in the spring and fall the rivers are 
 covered with geese, ducks, and other water fowl. 
 Towards the Rocky Mountains buffaloes are found 
 in great numbers. 
 
 From the advantages this country possesses it bids 
 fair to have an extensive commerce, on advantageous 
 terms, with most parts of the Pacific. It is well 
 calculated to produce the following staple commodi- 
 ties — furs, salted beef and pork, fish, grain, flour, 
 wool, hides, tallow, timber, and coals ; and, in re- 
 turn for these — sugars, coff'ce, and other tropical 
 productions, may be obtained at the Sandwich 
 Islands. Advantages that, in time, must become 
 of immense extent. 
 
218 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Astoria, OP Fort George. 
 
 As the Americans have vaunted much about this 
 settlement at the mouth of the Columbia, I shall 
 give its history briefly. 
 
 Astoria, (now Fort George,) was founded in 1811 
 by Mr. Astor. This gentleman was a German, 
 born near Heidelberg, on the banks of the Rhine. 
 His parents were humble agriculturalists. He 
 quitted his native village ; and after residing some 
 time in London, went, as an adventurer, to the 
 United States. There he met a countryman of his, 
 who had some knowledge of the fur trade ; and by 
 his recommendation he was induced to embark in 
 this species of commercial enterprise. From small 
 beginnings, he gradually rose to considerable im- 
 portance as a fur trader j and became a bold and 
 active speculator. It is unnecessary to detail the 
 stages of his gradual progress and success ; but in 
 1809 he obtained (after several ineflFectual attempts 
 
4 — 
 
 219, 
 
 had been made by the Americans, to secure a mo- 
 nopoly of this North-American trade) a charter from 
 the legislature of the State of New York, incorpo- 
 rating a company, under the name of " The Ameri- 
 can Fur Company." lie himself, however — accor- 
 ding to his biogta^.' . , Washington Irving — in fact, 
 const)' nted the cc ^iany; for though he had a 
 board of directors, they were merely nominal. 
 
 In 1811, he founded a settlement near the mouth 
 of the river, which was called Astoria : his object 
 being, according to Washington Irving, "to carry 
 the fur trade across the Rocky Mountains, and 
 sweep the Pacific" At this time, he became natu- 
 ralised ; and was a citizen, from whose patriotism, 
 energy, and skill, much was expected for the asser- 
 tion of American rights, and the promotion of 
 American commerce. 
 
 Mr. Astor's plans were certainly well conceived, 
 for extending the trade inland by a line of stationary 
 posts, and rambling parties, from the mouth of the 
 Columbia to the confines of the United States ; and 
 coast>vise, from California to the Pole — in brief, of 
 monopolising the traffic of the whole northern con- 
 tinent. One part of his plan was, that a vessel 
 laden with goods for the Indian trade, should every 
 year sail from New York to the Columbia ; and, hav- 
 
220 
 
 r 
 
 ing discharged her cargo at the establishment there, 
 take cin board the produce of her year's trade ; and 
 thence proceed to Canton, bringing back the rich 
 productions of China. Other ships were to be des- 
 tined for New York and London ; as no doubt was 
 entertained, that all the British fur trading com- 
 panies would be soon blown into thin air by this 
 gigantic American project ; and by the superior en- 
 terprise, skill, and integrity, of the free citizens ! 
 
 Another part of the plan, Mr. Irving thus des- 
 cribes : — "As in extending the American trade 
 along the coast to the northward, it might come 
 into the vicinity of the Russian Fur Company, and 
 produce a hostile rivalry ; it was part of the plan of 
 Mr. Astor, to conciliate the good-will of that com- 
 pany, by the most amicable and beneficial arrange- 
 ments. The Russian establishment was chiefly 
 dependent for its supplies, on transient trading 
 vessels from the United States. These vessels were 
 often, however, of more harm than advantage. Being 
 owned by private adventurers, or casual voyagers, 
 who cared only for present profit, and had no inter- 
 est in the permanent prosperity of the trade, they 
 were reckless in their dealings with the natives, and 
 made no scruple of supplying them with fire-arras. 
 The Russian government had made representations 
 
to that of tlie United States, of these mal practices 
 on the part of its citizens : but as they did not in- 
 fringe any municipal law, our government could not 
 interfere." 
 
 It is not necessary for me to fix attention here 
 to the testimony borne by a reputable and patriotic, 
 though reluctant, witness, to the iufamous mode of 
 conducting business, adopted by the Americans, at 
 least in_those regions ; or to the curious fact, that 
 a despotic and semi-barbarous government should 
 have been constrained to make a r< monstrance to 
 a professedly free, and boastedly enlightened, govern- 
 ment, on the infraction by its citizens of the com- 
 mon principles of humane, honest, and liberal 
 dealing. 
 
 When the establishment was once founded, and 
 the company was in working order, the most extra- 
 vagant reports were circulated, about the wealth to 
 be found in Columbia by the new adventurers : not 
 a moment, it was said, was to be lost ; and conse- 
 quently, many were lured to the enterprise. 
 
 The first ship chartered by this company was the 
 Tonquin, which sailed from New York in September, 
 1810, commanded by Captain Thorn. There were 
 on board a few British subjects, going out to join 
 the company. But so inveterate was the anti- British 
 
 •-•t.^fc'.-^-*'*'"** XHWtft. , , 
 
222 
 
 spirit of the captain, that he treated them with 
 every indignity ; which led to constant quarrels 
 during the voyage. On arriving at the Falkland 
 Islands, some of the British went on shore. The 
 captain, seeing this, gave orders to sail oflf ; deter- 
 mined to leave them to perish. But a Mr. Robert 
 Stuart, nephew of one of those gentlemen, who 
 luckily remained on board, brought the citizen cap- 
 tain to a sense of humanity and justice, by holding 
 a brace of pistols to his head, and threatening to 
 blow out his brains, unless he took his uncle and his 
 party on board. 
 
 On arriving at the mouth of the Columbia, on 
 the 23rd of the following March, the captain, against 
 all remonstrance, as it blew a stiif breeze, sent the 
 chief mate and four men to sound the channel. 
 These all perished. The captain, on the 35th, des- 
 patched one of the officers, accompanied by four 
 men, in the jolly boat, to sound again. This boat 
 was also wrecked ; but two of the crew escaped mi- 
 raculously. At last the ship, with great difficulty, 
 was worked into Baker's Bay. In July, she was 
 despatched on a coasting and trading excursion 
 northward. Having luichored opposite Newettee, 
 in the vicinity of Nootka, they commenced a brisk 
 trade with the natives. But the captain, by show- 
 
233 
 
 iiig a tyrannical disposition, and inflicting chastise- 
 ment on one or two of the principal Indians, for 
 some trifling offence, their hostility and revenge 
 became excited. The captain was warned, by his 
 interpreter, and others, of the imprudence and dan- 
 ger of his conduct : but he spurned all advice, and 
 did not relax from his stern conduct. 
 
 In a day or two the natives, with a show of friend- 
 ship, renewed the trade j and went on board in great 
 numbers, carrying large quantities of furs ; and 
 wearing short fur-skin cloaks, contrary to their 
 usual custom. He was again warned of danger ; 
 and he again rejected all advice — expressing his con- 
 tempt of any attack made by half-naked savages 
 against such a bold crew as his ; who had plenty of 
 cutlasses and fire-arms, ranged belov^ deck, liut 
 he soon found that his arbitrary self-confidence was 
 imprudent ; and that arms ready for use aboi^e deck 
 were better than when stowed away below. The 
 Indians began, from their growing crowds, and their 
 conduct on board, to become troublesome : and he 
 ordered the deck to be speedily cleared. Then a 
 loud ivhoop was raised ; and from beneath every short 
 cloak was suddenly snatched some formidable weapon ; 
 and, before the arms could be procured from below, 
 the captain and the crew were slaughtered on deck, 
 
 r; 
 
if 
 
 224 
 
 with the exception of tliree. Tlieae three contrived 
 to escape from the ship in a boat, during the melee 
 — having previously set a train to the powder store. 
 Soon after they qnitted the ship, she )dew up ; and 
 above 200 of the principal savages perished with 
 her. In the consternation produced by the explo- 
 sion, among the crews of the numerous boats sta- 
 tioned around the ship, they were enabled to reach 
 shore; but being prevented, by the state of the 
 weather, from getting in;o the ocean, they were 
 compelled to try an overland journey to Astoria. 
 However, in a couple of days they were all cap- 
 tured, and slaughtered. 
 
 While these sad tidings reached the fort from the 
 Pacific, other news of misadventure reached it from the 
 interior. Their parties having been attacked by the 
 Indians, failed in cither establishirg settlements, or 
 securing a profitable trade. Though Mr. Astor had a 
 good head, and spirit for projecting boldly and ex- 
 tensively, he either did not adopt, or could not adopt, 
 the means of securing an effective enginery to work 
 out his large and complex plans. In short, to use 
 a vulgar, though very expressive designation, his in- 
 struments were " a rum lot" The rise of his Oregon 
 speculation was marked by misconduct and disaster ] 
 and its fall was equally inglorious. 
 
225 
 
 
 
 This company next chartered a ship, which had 
 been sent out from America the following year, "the 
 Beaver," freighted with a rich cargo of furs, and other 
 valuable commodities — the produce of thecountry — for 
 China ; neither expense nor pains having been spared 
 to equip her so as to make a favourable impression on 
 the Chinese. The company hugged the sanguine 
 hope that they had laid the foundation of a perma- 
 nent and lucrative trade with that people, and would 
 soon, by spreading the sphere of their operations 
 and settlements along the Pacific, outrival the British 
 in that market. But their high-blown expectations 
 were dashed all at once : for the disastrous intelli- 
 gence arrived that war had been declared between 
 Great Britain and America, and that the British 
 had blocked up the Beaver in the port of Canton ; 
 nay, more, that they had blocked up every foreign 
 port against the Americans. The desperate state 
 of their affairs was now evident. They could hope 
 for no succour by sea — all expectation of return of 
 profits by "the Beaver," to which they mainly 
 trusted, was at an end. They had no communica- 
 tion with their fellow-countrymen overland ; and 
 even if they hod, the delay in announcing their con- 
 dition and receiving back supplies would be too 
 great ; their own resources were fast wasting away : 
 
226 
 
 but, above all, as the British flag had swept every 
 sea — occupied every port — and penetrated every in- 
 let, they were in daily apprehension of the arrival 
 of a British force to capture and demolish their 
 settlement, and seize on their persons and property. 
 Their apprehensions were well grounded; for the 
 British government considered them as enemies, 
 and despatched a ship of war to take possession of 
 Astoria. But they anticipated such a visit, and, be- 
 fore the arrival of the ship, had sold their establish- 
 ment, whole stock in trade, implements, &c., to the 
 North-west Company ; some of the members having 
 enlisted in the service of this company, most of the 
 res^ having returned to the States. Thus the set- 
 tlement was entirely broken up ; and the only duty 
 the commander had to perform on his arrival, Avas 
 to change the name of Astoria into that of Fort 
 George. 
 
227 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Extension of tho British to the north of the mmith of thft 
 Columbia — Contrast between the Dritiih »nil Amcri* 
 can mode of trading — Cape Flattery — Native tribes— 
 The country — Settlements at Nasqually and Cowlitze 
 — Frazer's River. 
 
 The extensioii of the company** trade northward, 
 along the Hoc of coast from Cape Flattery, and 
 their establishment of a chain of trading stations, 
 coast wise and inland, became the necessary conse- 
 quence of their mercantile importance, enterprise, 
 and rivalry with the few American traders who 
 hovered on those seas, and who, by introducing a 
 sort of buccaneering commerce with the natives, 
 tended much to the demoralisation of the people, 
 and tended, but little, eventually, to the profit of tho 
 Americans themselves. These trading stations, 
 therefore, were not established more for the objects 
 of trade, than they were for the purposes of civilisa- 
 tion ; and while they have fully effected the first 
 purpose, tliey arc gradually and surely effecting the 
 
'■[.T 
 
 228 
 
 other. The consequence is — what may be expected 
 from the i dative position and conduct of the parties — 
 the Americans, who twenty years ago carried on an 
 extensive trade with the natives (though it was not 
 on tlieir side conducted on the soundest principles 
 of morality) and who had considerable traffic with 
 the Ri ssians in their positions beyond the 54th de- 
 gree of latitude, are now totally shut out from both. 
 Whereas the British, A\ho have ever dealt liberally 
 and honestly with the natives, have a monopoly of 
 the native trade ; and have entered into such a con- 
 tract with the Russians that they may be said to 
 have .V monopoly of this trade as well, 
 
 In the Ameiican mode of commerce with the na- 
 tives there was no u uity of purpose — no communion 
 of interest — no fraternity of feeling — no system — no 
 guiding spirit to direct and controul it ; but it was 
 a loose, dissipated, jealous sort of thing — jealous, 
 not only of British rivalry, but even of American 
 rivalry — and eager to grasp at any article of trade, 
 however worthless, and by any means, however un- 
 woi'thy; and heuce losing the attaimnent of im- 
 portant objects. But the company's mode of com- 
 merce was the very reverse. It was conducted on 
 the most judicious and most methodical principles ; 
 and was guided by one master spirit, which ruled 
 
li^ 
 
 229 
 
 it even in its minutest operations, and absolutely 
 interdicted the practice of any effort that was re- 
 pugnant to justice — knowing that this would even- 
 tujilly recoil on themselves ; and thus, by their 
 example, holding out, even to their opponents, a 
 practical lesson. 
 
 The Americans were not so much rivals of the 
 company as they were of one another ; indeed they 
 conld never be said to be, in the strict sense of the 
 word, rival of the company, for they had not the 
 power, either as to capital, union, or sound notions of 
 trade. T had many opportunities of witnessing this, 
 when I was stationed on the northern posts, or em- 
 ployed in the .company's trading ships on that coast. 
 Some of these maritime American traders, finding 
 their own independent mode of trriding a failure, 
 have sold their shij)S to the company, and enlisted in 
 it as salaried servants or officers. T may mention 
 one, — Capt. William M'Nell, of Boston, commander 
 of the brig Lama. This gentleman has now, under 
 the company's principle of giving promotion as the 
 reward of merit, risen to the station of chief 
 trader. Indeed most of the American traders now 
 feel it their interest, if not guided by any sentiment 
 of humanity, and conscientious duty, to follow in 
 the wake of the companj-, — to imitate its hoirest 
 
230 
 
 and prudent mode of dealing, — to conciliate its good 
 opinion by this imitation ; and to establish among 
 the natives the persuasion that the white men 
 practise what their religious men inculcate, i. e., 
 honest discliarge of the duties of this life, accoi'ding 
 to which there will be a commensurate reward here- 
 after. This is the invariable belief of the native 
 tribes ; and according as the white men swene from 
 or follow in practice this great maxim of religion — 
 a maxim which is, they say, the foundation of the 
 white man's theology — they despise and hate, or 
 respect and trust them. While I would shrink from 
 attributing to the Americans, as a great national 
 community of civilised men, the infamy of falsifying 
 in practice, their professions of humanity, justice, 
 and freedom ', yet I must, as the honest recorder 
 of things as I have seen them, say that the American 
 traders, taken in the aggregate, in the Oregon, have 
 not cither corresponded with those principles of re- 
 ligion which even their own missionaries inculcate, 
 or contributed much to raise the moral reputation of 
 white men in the estimation of the natives. Their 
 general conduct has come upon them with the retri- 
 butive justice of its own reward. They are hated 
 and distrusted by the natives, and have lost the 
 great object of their cupidity — the trade. 
 
231 
 
 Along the coast to the northward, after leaving 
 Columbia River, the next important point ia Cape 
 Flattery — the southern entrance to Juan de Fuca 
 Straits. The natives inhabiting this part are the 
 Clatset tribe. They have not been so much affected 
 with the fever and ague as the Chinooks, and there- 
 fore are more numerous. Salmon, and all kinds of 
 wild fowl, are plentiful. The natives manufacture 
 some of their blankets from the wool of the wild 
 goat; which is done with great neatness. The sea 
 otter is plentiful about these parts. The mode 
 usually adopted in killing it is t)ji^s : the natives, 
 or the half-breeds, who now adopt all the customs of 
 the natives, row out to the parts frequented by this 
 anima], whose habits resemble those of the seal. 
 Two men manage the canoe, while a third stands 
 ready ; and the moment the otter rises to the surface 
 he is unerringly shot. Wlien he feels himself hit 
 he dives, and the boatmen dart after him, well aware 
 of the direction he will take ; and keep pace with 
 him until he ris^s again. Then, unless he floats a 
 dead carcass, he is a second time shot, and the chase 
 is renewed, until he is at last killed. He is then 
 hauled into the boat. Sometimes a sort of screen 
 is erected on the shore, behind which the marksman 
 
 li 
 
lurks, and, when the animal comes to bask on the 
 sands or the rocks^ he is shot. 
 
 The Clatset Indians disfigure themselves by run- 
 ning bone rings, and other ornaments, tl )ugh the 
 lower division of the nose, and flatten their heads 
 similar to the Chinooks and the Indians of the lower 
 Columbia, and exhibit all the leading characteris- 
 tics. The country here is covered with pine trees. 
 
 The jioutli side of the straits from Cape Flattery 
 takts a south earterly direction. On the south side, 
 and at some distance from the cape, there is a beauti- 
 ful harbour, called New Dungeness. The country 
 is high and Avoody, chiefly covered with pine trees. 
 In the back ground there are very high mountains, 
 the tops of which are completely enveloped in snow. 
 The land, b;^ the shore, is low and sandy, although 
 high in the interior ; yet there tire beautiful plains, 
 apparently as if they had been cleared by hand; 
 which yield excellent pasturage, and are capable of 
 high cultivation. 
 
 Further rJong the south shore there is another 
 beautiful harbour, called by commander Broughton, 
 Port Discovery ; and as a shelter for this harbour 
 from the north-west winds there is an island close 
 by, called Protection Island. The land on this part 
 
233 
 
 
 of the straits abounds with doer and wild fowl, and 
 the waters with fish. The shores round the harbour 
 are low and sandy, in summer covered vrith bushes, 
 growing all kinds of berries. The Indians are not 
 numerous ; and, like the Chinooks, are rather dirty, 
 the women bedaubing themselves with salmon oil, 
 and Vermillion clay. Besides these harbours there 
 are several beautiful Islands, at intervening dis- 
 tances, up the straits. 
 
 The country in the neighbourhood of Port Disco- 
 very is moderately high, bounded on the west by 
 mountains. The laud, from the water-side, rises 
 gradually ; and is generally considered good. The 
 wood is chiefly hemlock, which grows to a great 
 height, pine, poplar, oak, and ash. 
 
 A few miles further up the straits, and from the 
 north shore, there runs an inlet, called Admi- 
 ralty Inlet. Up along this inlet, the country is 
 beautiful ; displaying plains interspersed with trees. 
 Vancouver says, " To describe the beauties of this 
 region, will, on some future occasion, be a verj' 
 grateful task to the pen of a skilful panegyrist." 
 The Indians in this neighb»urhood resemble the 
 other southern tribes. 
 
 Keeping along the straits, you approach Puget's 
 Sound, running to the southward. Nearly at the 
 
234 
 
 
 V 
 
 southern oxtrcmity of this Sound, the company has 
 atat.oned a fort, called Fort Nasqually. This place 
 was governed by a Mr. Kitson, in ray time : he 
 formerly Avas a lieutenant in a Canadian regiment, 
 during the last American war, and then obtained dis- 
 tinction. Ills wife was the daughter of the Red-head 
 chief, M'Donnel ; about whose adventures many 
 stories are told. This fort is surrounded by an 
 extensive prairie countrj\ The company has a 
 large farm here, for growing wheat, and other kinds 
 of grain, potatoes, and all sorts of vegetables. 
 They have al'so established there an extensive gra- 
 zing farm, and sheep walk. The land is rather 
 stony, but well adapted for a grazing fai'm. 
 
 The company's agricultural and grazing projects 
 here, which are on a large scale, are every day 
 extending and improving. Besides all this, an as- 
 sociation has been formed, on a large scale, for the 
 purpose of rearing sheep ; and laying the com- 
 mencement of an extensive foreign wool trade. I 
 have recently had a communication from that coun- 
 try, respecting this settlement ; and the result is 
 very satisfactory. The numerous flocks of sheep 
 are thriving admirably ; and there is every prospect 
 of large exportations of wool, in a short time. 
 
 Some of the natives here live in the plains, and 
 
235 
 
 others on the l)ank9 of the Sound. Both these ob- 
 serve a marked aversion to mutual incorporation, 
 and confine themselves to their distinct localities : 
 the plain tribes not approaching the Sound; and 
 the tribes bordering on the Sound not extending 
 their rovinga into the plains. This is the general 
 rule. Their habits and food are in conformity with 
 their condition : the one are fishers — the other, 
 hunters, living on roots, dried, pounded, and 
 kneaded into cakes j and on deer's flosh. All this 
 country, both maritime and inland, abounds in all 
 sorts of game — geese, ducks, plovers, partridges, &c. 
 These are not only used for food ; but are bartered 
 with the company's servants, for articles of use and 
 ornament ; such as blankets, tobacco, ammunition, 
 and trinkets. 
 
 From this fort, to obviate the necessity of passing 
 up the Sound, tben westward along the Fuca Straits, 
 and thence southward to the mouth of the Colum- 
 bia, and crossing the bar in a vessel; there is a 
 portage way across the land : the distance being 
 about ninety miles from here to the banks of the 
 Cowlitze River. This river runs from the north- 
 ern interior into the Columbia, about forty-nine 
 miles below Vancouver, in a south-westerly direc- 
 tion. At the end of this portage, on the river's 
 
 m 
 
 ' I 
 
 
23G 
 
 banks, the retired servants of the company are again 
 numerously locating themselves, and forming an 
 exclusively British settlement ; as, at the Walla- 
 raette, the original settlers belonging to the Com- 
 pany's service were intruded on — and, in a great 
 measure, swamped — by the Americans. This settle- 
 ment is about eighty miles from Vancouver, and 
 ninety from Nasqually ; making it about 1 70 miles, 
 by portage, from Nasqually to Vancouver. It pro- 
 raises great success. The settlers all fraternise with 
 each other — are experienced and enterprising men 
 -—are well acquainted with the whole region of the 
 Oregon, throughout its length and breadth — are 
 attached to the interests of the company — and are 
 proud, and tranquil, every man of them, in living 
 nnder the secure and unchangeable protection of 
 British power, and British laws. 
 
 The first settlers were two Canadians, Fancault and 
 Plomondeau, active and enterprising men belonging 
 to the company. Their contracts having expired, 
 and they wishing to become farmers, were encouraged 
 by Dr. M'Loughlin in their project to settle on the 
 banks of the Cowlitze, rather than on the WaUamette; 
 as in this place they were more likely to be un'ier the 
 exclusive protection of the company. They were 
 first rate awe-nien, capable, each, of cutting the 
 
287 
 
 iistonishmg quantity of six chords of wood per day 
 with ease. They were, while in the company's ser- 
 vice, overseers of the men employed in the erection 
 of the wooden forts throughout the district. I men- 
 tion their names, as the meritorious founders of 
 a community, which promises so mueh prosperity, 
 deserve to be recorded. 
 
 Frazer's River rises in the Rocky Mountains, between 
 latitudes 55" and 56" aorth, near the source of Canoe 
 River (which is the first large tributary of the Co- 
 lumbia, after the latter issues from its source ; and 
 at first runs about north-west for a distance of about 
 eighty miles. It then takes a southern direction, 
 receiving the waters of Stuart's River, which rises 
 in one of the chains of lakes that abound in New 
 Caledonia. It continues its southern course by west, 
 receiving the waters of the Chilcotin, Pinklitsa, and 
 several other minor rivers flowing from the lakes or 
 hills of the west ; and also the waters of Thompson's 
 River, Quisnell's River, and others which flow into 
 it from the east. In parallel 49° it breaks through 
 the cascade range of mountains in a succession of 
 falls and rapids, and, running westward about 
 seventy miles, is emptied into the Gulph of Georgia, 
 in 49° 07' north. During this latter part of its 
 course, for about seventy miles, it is navigable for 
 
238 
 
 vessels, after passing its bar, that draw twelve feet of 
 water. Its whole length ia about 400 miles. The 
 country along its lower section is hilly, and covered 
 with forests of white pine, cedar, and other ever- 
 green trees ; and the soil is, generally, well fitted for 
 pasturage, and, in many places, for tillage. But 
 along the other, and more southern, sections, the 
 country is more ungenial and unproductive ; being 
 cut U|) by mountains, ravines, torrents, lakes, and 
 marshes. Yet it is well wooded; yielding all the 
 varieties of trees growing in that region — fir, 
 spruce, pine, poplar, willow, cedar, cypress, birch, 
 and alder. 
 
 The climate is very variable ; and the transitions 
 are, though periodically regular, remarkably sudden, 
 if not violent. During the spring, which lasts from 
 April till June, the weather^ and the face of the 
 country, are delightful. In June, there are almost 
 incessant rains, drifted furiously along by a strong 
 south wind. In July and August, the heat is in- 
 tense; and the ground, previously saturated with 
 moisture, produces myriads of annoying flies and 
 insects. This heat, and glaring sunshine, are suc- 
 ceeded, in September, by fogs of such palpable dark- 
 ness, that, until noon, it is seldom possible to 
 distinguish objects, at a longer distance than 100 
 
230 
 
 yards. Iii November, the winter sets in, speedily 
 freezing the lakes and smaller rivers. The cold, 
 however, is not so intense as miglit be imagined iu 
 such a country and climate. 
 
 In the interior, and upper country, the company 
 have forts in diftercnt parts stretching from the 
 forty-eighth degree of latitude to the fifty-eighth, 
 and have formed numerous establishments. The 
 following are the names of some of the principal 
 forts. Okauagan, Thompson's Fort, Fort St. James, 
 Fort Alexander, M'Leod's Fort, Frazer's Fort. I 
 should observe that Fort Langley is twenty miles 
 from the river's mouth. Trees in this district are 
 plentiful J but in most parts provisions are scarce ; 
 ' as at such an immense distance from Vancouver 
 they cannot be carried in large quantities, the trans- 
 portation being by land and horses. Mr. Peter Skine 
 Ogdeu is the governor of this vast district. The 
 principal food is salmon and various other fish; 
 edible land animals and wild fowl are scarce. 
 
 The Gulph of Georgia is connected with Johnson's 
 Straits, and divides Vancouver's Island from the 
 main land. At the north-east end of the Island 
 there is a numerous tribe called the Coquilths. The 
 beaver and sea otter are plentii'ul, as well as the 
 hallibut fish, deer, and game. 
 
240 
 
 I may lierc mcntiou, that on my next expedition 
 to this coast, in my former capacity of trader and 
 interftreter — while Mr. Finlayson commanded as 
 chief factor — in The Beaver, trading steam sliip, 
 which anchored in this place, we made a very im- 
 portant discovery — a rich mine of coal near the snr- 
 face. The cause of the discovery was as curious 
 as the discovery itself was important. Some of the 
 natives at Fort M'Loughlin having, on coming to 
 the fort for traffic, observed coal burning in the 
 furnace of the blacksmiths ; and in their natural 
 spirit of curiosity made several enquiries about it ; 
 they were told that it was the best kind of fuel ; 
 and that it was brought over the great salt lake — 
 six months' journey. They looked surprised ; and, 
 in spite of their habitual gravity, laughed and 
 capered about. The servants of the fort were sur- 
 prised at their unusual antics, and enquired the 
 cause. The Indians explained, saying, that they 
 had changed, in a great measure, their opinions of 
 the white men, whom they thought endowed by the 
 Great Spirit with the power of effecting great and 
 useful objects ; as it was evident they were not 
 then influenced by his wisdom, in bringing such a 
 vast distance and at so much cost that black soft 
 stone, which was in such abundance in their country. 
 
241 
 
 They thon pointed out where it could be found of 
 the richest (juality close by the surface, rising ia 
 hillocks, and requiring very little labour to dig it out* 
 This intelligence having been reported at Vancouver, 
 we received instructions to make the necessary ea- 
 (juiries and explorations. Mr. Finlayson with a 
 part of the crew, went on shore, leaving me in the 
 ship, to conduct tho trade ; and after some enquiries 
 and u small distribution of rewards, found, from the 
 natives, that the original account given at Fort 
 M'Loughlin Mas true. The coal turned out to be 
 of excellent quality, running in extensive fields, 
 and even in clumpy mounds, and most easily worked 
 all along that part of the country. 
 
 The natives were anxious that we should employ 
 them to work the coal ; to this we consented, and 
 agreed to give them a certain sura for each large 
 box. The natives being so numerous, and labour 
 80 cheap, for us to attempt to work the coal would 
 have been madness. They were greatly surprised 
 when they first saw the steam boat, saying she could 
 do any thing but speak ; and the white man must 
 have been assisted in the work by the Great Spirit, 
 The company has, since I left the country, esta- 
 blished alarge cattle farm in this island. 
 
 The country here, is, in point of beautiful scenery 
 
242 
 
 and fertility of the plains, although not so large, 
 even superior to the Wallamette valley. It has 
 beautiful runs of water^ and clumps and groves of 
 trees, of various kinds, scattered through the level 
 lands — pine, oak, cedar, and spruce. 
 
 A little further along the straits from the Coquilths, 
 and at the northern extremity of the island, is the 
 Newettee tribe. This tribe, which now is rather pacific 
 in its character, and not physically powerful, has 
 been reduced to a skeleton of its former st)I, from 
 the inroads of the savages who co le from the north- 
 ern and eastern continent to kidnap them, when on 
 their fishing excursions, and then enslave ihem. 
 
 Some years ago an American vessel, whicii drifted 
 on shore in foul weather, and through bad pilotage, 
 was out off here by the natives ; and all hands were 
 mui'dered, with the exception of the armourer and 
 sail-maker. These they spared, thinking they would 
 be of service to them. They compelled them to join 
 in their wai* parties. One of them scon died. 
 Should a vessel come in to trade, they would not 
 allow the survivor to go on board. But after several 
 years had past in this miserable slavery, an American 
 vessel came in to trade ; and the survivor managed to 
 make his condition known to the captain. The captain 
 enticed several of the chiefs on board — placed them 
 
243 
 
 in safe keeping ; and told them then, that unless they 
 gave up the white man in their possession, he would 
 run them up to the yard-arm. This intimidated 
 them. Tlje poor fellow was soon brou^^ht on board, 
 to the great delight of the ship's company. 
 
 The length of the gulf and straits from point Mudge 
 is upwards of MX) miles. The channel, although 
 narrow, is free from rocks and shoals, but in some 
 parts a most tremendous current runs. The land, 
 in some places, both on the main land and the island, 
 is very lofty ; covered with pine trees, actually grow- 
 ing out of bare rocks. The natives of tliis island 
 amount in number to upwards of 5000, Their 
 houses are large, and are thus constructed. Im- 
 mense logs are driven into the ground with large 
 rafters, for the roof, placed in a slanting direction. 
 The roof is covered with immense cedjir boards, split 
 from cedar trees with wooden wedges made from 
 knots of trees, and the sides are of cedar likev/ise, 
 with curious figures, resembling men and animals, 
 fantastically painted on them. Some of the principal 
 houses mil accommodate from two to three hun- 
 dred people. 
 
 The chiefs ofter, in the winter months, give feasts 
 to their people. The food consists of dog, seal, and 
 whale blubber, with berries, &c. 
 
244 
 
 They manufacture blankets made from the inside 
 bark of the cedar tree. This is soaked in water for 
 several days, then beaten between two pieces of bone. 
 They set the thigh bone of a deer, or a bone of 
 similar size and strenjrth, firmly, in a horizontal po- 
 sition, in a &cand ; on this they lay a large piece of bark, 
 and keep beating it until it becomes soft like hemp. 
 It is then woven together, and dyed with various 
 figures upon it. They make their dye from roots. 
 The blanket takes two women ten days to complete. 
 
 Gulls are very numerous about this place, as there 
 are several rocky islets. Three or four of these 
 lying near the north end of the island are called 
 Scott^s Islands. By going on shore in the months 
 of June and July, in a short time bushels of eggs 
 may be gathered on them. 
 
 Nootka Sound is to the west side of Vancouver's 
 Island, in the 49" of latitude. The company's ves- 
 sels seldom visit this place for traffic, as there is now 
 scarcely any fur to be found there. The land is 
 higli and woody, principally covered with large pines. 
 And the natives resemble the more southern tribes 
 in their customs, and general character. 
 
 At Mill bank Sound, in June, 1833, the company 
 commenced building a fort, and were assisted by 
 the crews of the vessels Dryad and Lama, the former 
 
245 
 
 commanded by Captain Kipling, the latter by Captain 
 McNeil. The land department was superintended 
 by Mr. Donald Manson, assisted by a Mr. Anderson 
 and myself ; Mr. Anderson superintending the 
 men. I had charge of the Indian department ; 
 and with a complement of between forty and fifty 
 Canadians and Scotchmen set actively to work. 
 The point pitched upon was a bay about twenty 
 miles up the sound, in latitude 53" 6'. When the 
 men first went on shore, it was Uke entering an 
 impenetrable forest. They had not been there long 
 before the trees began to fall, and in a few days a 
 large open space showed itself. A place was soon 
 cleared for tents to be pitched ; and in the course 
 of a month or two sufficient ground was cleared for 
 the erection of the pickets, or posts, which arc 
 eighteen feet high, placed close together, for the in- 
 closure of the fort. These answer instead of brick- 
 work. As soon as the enclosure was finished, we 
 despatched the brig Dryad to the southward, the 
 Lama having previously left. 
 
 During the Dryad's stay with us, our men nearly 
 came to battle with the Indians. One of the sailors 
 cutting wood, on shore, had his axe stolen ; and 
 to obtain it, another of the men took a blanket 
 from an Indian. This exasperated the natives > 
 
 ■■"?«!»*%-*»*»l*--W 
 
246 
 
 and they gave their signal. The Indians then be- 
 gan to muster fi-om all quarters, furnished with fire- 
 arms, knives, and axes ; some of them taking position 
 amongst the trees — others on the beach. Our land 
 party being exposed to them, Mr. Manson thought 
 it prudent to come to a parley ; and hostUitie* 
 ceased. 
 
 After the Diyad left, we pursued our work v 
 the building of the fort progressed with great 
 vigour; and during its erection, we pushed on a 
 brisk trade in furs. I was appointed to the post of 
 trader, acting under Mr. Manson, as governor of 
 the fort. My instructions were to lower the price 
 of skins f give in payment useful, s Jostantial,. and 
 lasting articles ; and endeavour to do away, if pos- 
 sible, with the injurious and degrading article of 
 spirits, as a medium of barter : as the American 
 vesselsi had previously been hero, and had given 
 immense prices, and sold spirits, so that the company's 
 vessels should be debarred from the whole trade. 
 This exasperated the Indians against me j and they 
 gave me the name of " Shloapes" i, c, " stingy :" 
 and when near them, if I should spit, they would 
 run and tiy to take up the spittle in something ; for, 
 according as they afterwards inlbrmed me, they 
 intended to give it to their doctor or magician ; and 
 
 
 
247 
 
 he would charm my life away. But they were much 
 disappointed to fiml me there for sixteen months 
 afterwards. 
 
 Everything went on favourably until the month 
 of October; when, to our surprise, one of our 
 men deserted and joined these savages. He 
 was a Cauadian. And, as we were given to under- 
 stand that he was with one of the tribes in the 
 neighbourhood of the fort, called " Kyete's tribe ;'* 
 (Kyete being the chief's name. — ^but nicknamed by 
 an American captain, Boston;) we sent for this 
 chief: but previous, however, to this, we offered 
 to give them blankets, ammunition, and other arti- 
 cles, if they would bring him back; but to no 
 purpose. We, therefore, knowing the value the 
 natives set on their chief, detained him in the fort, 
 thinking this would induce them to come to terms : 
 and we informed them unless our man was given up, 
 we should send their chief to the governor at Van- 
 couver. During this time we were living in the 
 enclosure, which was not farther than ten feet fi-om 
 an impenetrable wood, in boarded, temporary houses 
 and tents. The bastions were built ; but we had 
 not our big guns properly placed. Having so many 
 men in the fort, our water became scai'ce ; and to 
 
 ••''Ti1'Trir'''r^'t~"rTl~riiKiiiniiii ii n n 
 
248 
 
 get more we were oljliged to go 120 yards from the 
 barrier. 
 
 On a particular day, seeing no Indians about, we 
 proposed to allow some of the men to go out with 
 buckets to get water. Mr. Anderson and myself 
 went outside to see after thera, while Mr. Manson 
 kept a look out within the enclosure, from a high 
 temporary watch tower. Wc had not been out many 
 minutes, when, looking around the bay, and on a 
 point of land about a (juarter of a mile to the south- 
 ward, we perceived a fire. At that instant several In- 
 dians rose up — gave the war whoop, and the fort was 
 then surrounded with hundreds of these savages, 
 — some aimed with knives, others with guns and 
 axes. Mr. Manson cried out to arms. Mr. 
 Anderson and myself rushed as fast as possible to 
 the fort, and then to the bastions ; from whence we 
 commenced firing, along with the men that remained 
 in the fort. This threw the Indians into confusion, 
 and made them retreat, with some loss of life, into 
 the woods. The whole of mir outside men escaped 
 unhurt into the fort, with the exception of two. 
 One of these was a half-breed, who was surrounded 
 by eight Indians. He was cut in the shoulder se- 
 verely by an axe aimed at his head ; after this blow 
 
249 
 
 lie managed to wrest the axe from the Indian, and 
 keep his assailants at bay ; but another Indian 
 coming up with a gun, was in the act of shooting 
 him, when Mr. Anderson rushed to the fort gate, 
 and, Avith his rifle, shot the Indian. The others de- 
 camped, and the lialf-breed made liis way into the 
 fort. The other, a Canadian, had, before the distiwh- 
 ance, fallen down, with an axe in his hand, which had 
 injured him. This man they took prisoner; drag- 
 ging him, face downwards, to the wat(;r-side, and 
 placed him, tied hands and feet, in a canoe ; it 
 being that night their full intention, had we not had 
 their chief in custody, to have burnt him. During 
 the night they kept up a continual whoop and firing 
 of guns ; but kept a long distance from the fort, 
 fearing we should get our big guns to bear upon 
 them. Having this poor fellow in their posses- 
 sion all night, they brought him in the morning 
 under the fort, and announced a desire to speak to 
 us : and finding their chief was safe, said if we would 
 give their chief freedom they would return our man. 
 The deserter they persisted they knew nothing of. 
 Finding we could not get back the deserter, we 
 proposed to give them their chief, provided our man, 
 whom they had taken prisoner, was returned ; and 
 likewise we proposed that they should give us two 
 
250 
 
 inferior chiefs as liostages. Tliis was done for a 
 guai'autee, to prevent any of our men from being 
 attacked by them^ in case they were compelled to 
 go o\it ■ he ibrt. This was agreed to. The chief 
 ha\ !»€ : let free, our Canadian returned next 
 morni.^j ai ' the two Indians were kept as hos- 
 tages to ensure safety to our men on quitting the fort 
 for business. The Indians requested us to hoist our 
 flag, as a signal of peace. They informed us, that 
 one or two Indians had been wounded in the pre- 
 vious conflict ; and wished to know if they came, 
 since peace had been proclaimed, whether we would 
 dress their wounds; to this also we willingly con- 
 sented^ and the patients were restored quite recovered. 
 This conduct on our part, in recei\ing and healing 
 their wounded, made a very favourable impression 
 on them; and they exhibited every pacific dispo- 
 sition. We kept, however, within the fort for several 
 weeks, until their vindictive feehng would com- 
 pletely have cooled down ; and by that time we be- 
 came mutual friends. Trade then again commenced 
 at a brisk rate; and we went on building and 
 clearing ground as usual, for the completion of the 
 fort, and the preparation of our little farm. As I 
 began to spea^.: their language, so I increased in 
 favour with them. 
 
^>51 
 
 
 Tliese Indians differ greatly from the soutlieni tribes 
 ill the prominence of their countenances ; and the re- 
 gularity of their features, thus resembHngthe nortliern 
 Europeans. They are rather dirty, using quantities of 
 oil for the hair ; and daub t heir %ce8 with vorrailliou : 
 this they use from their infancy. The shores here are 
 high, and covered with trees. * A . . tL. vay in the in- 
 terior are j)atches of plains, bui rod y and covered 
 with short grass and moss. In the neiglibourhood, 
 the wood consists of pine, h-^mlock, cedar, spruce, 
 small fniit, crab, birch, and tarious kinds of berry 
 bushes The Indians arc numerous, and divided into 
 three different tribes. The chiefs arc Wacash, 
 Oyellow, and Kyete. Hallibut and salmon abound 
 here — the salmon far inferior, and much smaller than 
 the Columbia salmon — herrings, too, are found there 
 in abundance : the spawn is gathered by the natives, 
 and dried on sea-leaves for their wiuter provision. 
 They likewise take the tender rind from the inside 
 bark of the hemlock tree, and pound it into cakes, 
 whicb they dry in the sun. The salmon is split 
 down the back, and smoked, and dried for winter. 
 Blankets are made, by the women, from cedar bark, 
 in the same way as those made by the Coquilths, 
 already mentioned. They have several villages that 
 they shift to at different seasons of the year. Their 
 
 w 
 
 I 
 
252 
 
 winter villages are strong built houses, particularly 
 those belonging to the chiefs. Here, as well as iu 
 Johnson's Straits, the cliiefs entertain, at a public 
 feast, the members of their several tribes. At these 
 feasts the men sit on benches ranged on one side, 
 near the wall ; and the women are ranged opposite 
 them. They also give public entertainments to the 
 chiefs of the more inland tribes. 
 
 In their marriages, the Indian taking a wife, 
 generally makes her friends presents, — a war canoe, 
 dressed elk skins, beaver skins ; and English goods, 
 such as blankets, ammunition, &e. ; receiving pre- 
 sents from her friends in return. On the wedding- 
 day they have a public feast, at which they dance 
 and sing, sometimes in separate groups ; sometimes 
 all dance and sing together — men and women. In 
 their singing, which is a sort of irregular chaunt, 
 they all keep to the same key, and therefore it is 
 not easy to distinguish any individual excelleuce 
 among them. In their dances they throw their 
 bodies into a variety of fantastic attitudes, and 
 move their hands, keeping time to the music. On 
 these occasions thcv are decked off in their best 
 dresses and ornaments. They have one curious 
 custom iu their dances : at stated periods, they 
 keep puffing from a painted tube, one end of which 
 
253 
 
 is inserted in the mouth, the other pointed upwards, 
 quantities of fine down, which flies about their 
 heads, presenting the imitation of a snow shower. 
 In the winter mouths these, as well as the neigh- 
 bouring tribes, assemble iu great numbers in the 
 chief's house, for the purpose of witnessing the chief 
 imitate different spirits, whom they are supposed to 
 worship. He puts on, at intervals, different dresses ; 
 and large masks, of different kinds, entirely covering 
 his head and neck. The masks are made to open 
 the mouth and eyes by means of secret springs, in. 
 visible to the spectators; and different noises are 
 sent forth. He dresses for each character beliind a 
 large curtain, drawn quite across the room, like tho 
 drop curtain in a theatre ; and then comes forth, 
 and stands on a sort of stage iu front of it, while 
 the spectators are ranged on benches placed along 
 the side walls. In one of his characters he imitates 
 the rising sun, which they believe to be a shining 
 man, wearing a radiated crown, and continually 
 walking round the earth, which is stationary. He 
 wears, on this occasion, a most splendid dress of 
 ermine, and other valuable furs; and a curiously 
 constructed mask, set round with seals' whiskers, 
 and feathers, which gradually expand like a fan ; 
 and from the top of the mask swan-down is shaken 
 
 ii 
 
 -Vr*rTW tW !f>^:.*T UMMMln^ipilfellitn 
 
254 
 
 out in great ciiiantitics, according as he moves his 
 head. The expanding seals' bristles, and feathers 
 represent the sun's rays ; and the showers of down, 
 rain and snow : the Indians cliaunting at the same 
 time, in regular order and in a low key, showing 
 reverence, devotion, and awe. 
 
 Sometimes the various divine personages are 
 represented hy one man ; sometimes there are two 
 or three personators on the stage all at once, repre- 
 senting different divinities. Our men were often 
 invited to witness these religious exhibibitions ; but 
 the greatest silence, attention, and decorum were 
 expected from them, Our attendance they con- 
 sidered a high compliment; and they invariably 
 made us presents, generally of skins, before we de~ 
 parted. One of our people, a half-breed, a funny 
 volatile boy, son of Mr. Manson, used to imitate, 
 on a sort of many barred fife, the noise made by the 
 sacerdotal chiefs on the stage. The Indians, when 
 they used to come to the fort, and hear this, seemed 
 much amazed j and often begged of me to check 
 him. After the conclusion of the ceremony they 
 have a feast, consisting generally of seals' and dogs' 
 flesh, salmon, boiled and roast, and different kinds 
 of berries. During the representation and the feast, 
 there is a large wood-fire in the centre of the room. 
 
255 
 
 As I acquired a knowledge of their languago, I 
 was admitted to much of their personal confidence, 
 and soon became interpreter. 
 
 There is one very remarkable peculiarity of their 
 religious customs which deserves to be noticed : and 
 if I had not personal evidence of its reality, I should 
 be slow to bring myself to a belief of its actual 
 existence. The chief, who is supposed to possess 
 the " right divine'* of governing, and to be the in- 
 termediate agent between the great solar spirit — the 
 Creator and Supreme liuler — and his creatures here 
 below, retires at times, whenever he fancies himself 
 summoned by the divine call, from the tribe, without 
 giving them any previous intimation of his mission ; 
 and takes up his abode in the lonely woods and 
 mountains, taking clandestinely with him a small 
 stock of dried salmon for sustenance. When he is 
 missed by his family, the report is spread abroad ; 
 and then it is known that he has gone to hold 
 familiar converse with the Great Spirit, who will, 
 within a short time, descend to give liim an interview. 
 Intelligence has then been procured, from the Indian 
 who saw him last on that day, as to his route, and 
 the district of the woods and hills to which he is 
 likely to confine his wanderings; and a s.- '^;d 
 boundary Hne is drawn round this district, within 
 
256 
 
 which it is a crime of profanation to pass, on hunt- 
 ting or fishing excursions, on pain of death, Sliould 
 any unlucky Indian even meet this compound of 
 chief and priest in his excursions, he is sure to be 
 put to 'death; either by the chief himself, for he 
 must be perfectly passive in the infuriated chiefs 
 hands ; or, should the chief in his abstracted mood 
 not attack h^m, he n:ust, on his return to the tribe, 
 acknowledge the guilt, and resi'^u himself a volun- 
 tary victim. Should he conceal the fact of his meet- 
 ing the chief, and should the chief, on his return, 
 charge him with the fact, then he would undergo 
 the most shocking torture. The duration of the 
 chiefs absence on this mission is irregular — at least 
 it is long enough to exhaust his small stock of food, 
 even with the utmost economy. It is often three 
 weeks. When hunger pinches him (and he gene- 
 rally selects the most desert and dreary region, 
 destitute of esculent fruits or roots) his imagination 
 becomes inflamed ; and Avhat was before religion or 
 superstition, becomes now frenzy ; during which the 
 fancied interview with the Great Spirit occurs. He 
 returns at last to the village, the most hideous ob- 
 ject in nature, with matted hair, shrunken checks, 
 blood shot eyes, and parched lips — his blanket, 
 which is his sole covering, all hanging in shreds 
 
257 
 
 about him, torn by boughs and braml)les — his 
 face all begrimed with filth ; animated with all 
 the unnatural ferocity of a demoniac. His return 
 18 by night, and as uncertain as his departure, 
 lie does not first ai'rive, generally, at his own 
 house : but rushes to some other, according to 
 the blind caprice of his wildness ; and instead of 
 entering it by the door, he ascends the roof — tears 
 off one of the cedar-board coverings, and plunges 
 down into the centre of the family circle ; he then 
 springs on one of the full grown inmates, like a 
 famished wolf — wrenches with his teeth a mouth- 
 ful of his flesh, from bis limbs or body, which he 
 convulsively bolts down, without any process of 
 mastication, but barely chopping the lump once or 
 twice for the purpose of easier deglutition. No re- 
 sistance is made, for the sufferer thinks that he has 
 been ordered by the Great Spirit to yield up a part 
 of his flesh ana blood, as a sort of peace or sin of- 
 fering to the priest. The chief then rushes to 
 another house in the same way, and makes the same 
 hurried repast. He continues t\is process along 
 other houses ; until, in a few hours, he bix^oraes ex- 
 hausted, from the quantity of human living flesh 
 that he has devoured. lie is then taken home in 
 a state of torpor ; and thus remaii:s, like an over- 
 
258 
 
 gorgod beast of prey, for a couple of days. After 
 his rcsiiscitsition lie is languid and sickly ; and, as 
 he must not partake of the Uvsual food for a certain 
 time after he has got his fill of the human sacrifice, 
 he goes on but slowly to convalescence. 
 
 1 have been, more than once, in close connexion 
 with one of these chiefs, after his restoration ; and 
 his breath was like an exhalation from a grave. 
 The wounds inflicted by his bite, though held as 
 sacred trophies, often proved mortal. Their mode 
 of cure is this ; — They apply eagle-^lowii as a stiptic 
 to check the hemorrhage ; and then apply a plaster, 
 made of pine-tree gum. Sevenil of the wounded 
 and consecrated persons, after we established our 
 fort, finding their own mode of treatment ineffectual, 
 came to our surgeon (applying to me first, as inter- 
 preter) to have their rankling sores healed. They 
 \ised to present a most hideous appearance ; being 
 jagged and torn, and often showing the clear inden- 
 tations of the humuTi teeth ; and besides the fetor 
 issuing from them was most noxious. The daughter 
 of one of the chiefs (who practised this abomina- 
 tion), the wife of one of oui' men, told me that her 
 father, on his return to the; village, after his sojourn 
 in the woods and mountains, met an Indian, on 
 whom he flew, and wliose side he continued to bite 
 
259 
 
 and devour until his bowels protnided. The ludian 
 made no resistance; and, when the chief ran off, 
 he crawled to the village ; and though every effort 
 was made to heal his wounds, they were found to 
 be too mortal for human remedy. He died soon 
 afterwards, in their idea, a consecrated person. So 
 much importance and pride do these Indiana attach 
 to these lacerations, that the youngsters, who have 
 not had the good fortune to be thus scarred, apply 
 lighted gunpowder to their limbs; and use other 
 means to produce a holy gash. 
 
 An American vessel, some years previous to our 
 visiting this place, was attacked by the natives, 
 and part of the crew, as well as the captain, killed. 
 About eight o'clock in the morning the vessel was 
 boarded by some of the chiefs ; and numerous In- 
 dians mustered round the vessel in canoes showing 
 quantities of furs. Most of the sailors were up aloft, 
 loosing the sails to be aired. The chiefs called the 
 captain to the gangway to look at the furs ; and while 
 he was in the act of looking at them, one chief on 
 each side of him plunged a knife in his side, after 
 that they pitched him overboard. The women in the 
 canoes cut him to pieces with their sharp paddles, 
 when he rose to the surface. The natives, on this 
 signal, rushed on deck, and a terrible conflict ensued. 
 
260 
 
 After many of the crew were slaughtered, with a 
 great number of the savages, the remaining sailors 
 contrived to slip the anchor and sail off to the nortL • 
 ward. They were picked up, in a very crippled 
 state, by another American ship, who afforded them 
 every assistance, and enabled them to reach Boston. 
 I often mentioned this shocking occurrence to 
 the natives, with the object of sounding their dis- 
 positions and feelings. The general tenour of their 
 remarks showed me that they regretted it as au im- 
 prudent act, which would recoil on theinsehes, by 
 awakening the apprehensions of the white men, and 
 urging them to a more guarded, and lesM liberal 
 mode of dealing ;— -that they considered it, in the 
 abstract, cruel and treacherous, but then they used 
 to palai&te the ac f> strong insinuations that, aa 
 the class ot white \uea to whom the ship belonged, 
 had no great sympathy with them ; and indeed showed 
 every disposition to cheat and harass them, there 
 ought not to be raised such an outcry about the 
 matter ; for sooner or later they should be obliged to 
 fight in their own defence ; and that they then thought 
 a favourable opportunity should not be lost. Kyete, 
 the chief who gave the captain his mortal blow on 
 deck, ' ften told me, that plunder was not their ex- 
 clusive object ; but that he was induced, in a fit of 
 
261 
 
 rage, to strike the captain, when he found him ex- 
 hibiting a dishonest and domineering disposition. 
 He regretted, he said, the occurrence deeply; and 
 it would never have occurred, he was sure, if the 
 ship belonged to the great company ; for the com- 
 pany would not wish to rob the Indians, as the 
 captain intended. And he iiaed to appeal to me, 
 whether I did not think, that, from the conduct of 
 the tribe to us, our whole crew would be safe- (even 
 if the ship were left unguarded to swing at anchor) 
 before one of his remote villages. I used to give him a 
 reply of general consolation and civility, without ex- 
 pressing any decided opinion on the matter. I cer- 
 tjunly had n > fear of a similar attack, for three gf "><1 
 reasons : we were too much on the alert ; we df'iH 
 liberally and honestly with them ; and the gener Uy 
 believed power of the company was a tower of 
 strength. 
 
 I often conversed with these people on the cardinal 
 points of religion ; and they always seemed glad to 
 hear the subject. They used to say, we know the 
 Great Spirit is good, and that he made us and the 
 world J — that the evil spirit is bad, and haa hoofti 
 and horns; and that the bad will be punished 
 hereafter. 
 
 of 
 
262 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Fort M'ljouglJin — Voyage from it all along the intricate 
 inlets or canals — Various tribes — their appearance, and 
 twSitoms. 
 
 Fort M'Loughlin is about 120 yards square, having 
 two bastions standing at right angles ; in each of 
 these are four nine-pouud guns, with a quantity of 
 small armu, ready for action. It is surrounded 
 with picket? ; i, e., trees, cut eighteen feet long, 
 wbrre no branches have run out, and about 
 twenty-four iuches in circumference. These pickets 
 are mortised into a large square log placed firmly 
 in the earth. The pickets are placed so close to- 
 gether tliEi: they cannot even be seen through. 
 '^"ler^ are ir^uble gates at the entrance, with a 
 BBiaii vcicket gate in them. At the top of the pick- 
 ets there is another large log, into which the 
 pk\ets are mortised, and at- the top are placed long 
 spikes. Inside the fort, round the pickets, and 
 about four feet and a half from the top, is a gal- 
 
263 
 
 ler^ ruu round the fort. Here a watchman is con- 
 tinually kept on the look out, and a one-pound 
 swivel placed over the gate : this protects the gate- 
 way. On the inside of the gate, on entering the 
 fort, stands the Indian hall. A certain uuui])cr of 
 Indians are only allowed to enter for trade at a 
 time ; this hall is intended for them to wjiit in until 
 they trade. Another man is constantly kept at the 
 gate to let the Indians in and out. Adjoining the 
 hall are the trader's house, and a house for the officer 
 in charge of the men. On the left, on entering 
 the fort, is the Indian shop and store, for the Indians 
 to trade, and the trader's outfit. Adjoining this is 
 a place for holding provisions traded from the na- 
 tives, such as deer, hallibut, salmon, and wild fowl. 
 On the right hand side of the fort is a long build- 
 ing, divided into rooms, for the men. At the end 
 of this is a very neat house, pai't of which is con- 
 verted into a mess-room. At the further end of the 
 fort, fronting the entmuce, is Mr. Maa^n's house, 
 divided into several rooms, aii of which are very 
 neat and compact. On the left of the fort is a long 
 warehouse for the reception of the general outfit 
 which is sent once a year, by a vessel, from Van- 
 couver. There are other small buildings, such as 
 the blacksmith^s shop, and carpenter's shop, and 
 
26i 
 
 tlie kitchen, to v;liicli are attached the cook's and 
 steward's rooms. The Indians are all kept near the 
 gate and Indian hall ; they are not allowed to enter 
 the fort square, with the exception of the chiefs. 
 These arc sometimes allowed to visit the governor's 
 house ; where they get some biscuit and molasses 
 and a little weak spirits and water. The Indians 
 generally behave themselves very well, when in- 
 side the fort; but as they are much addicted to 
 thieving (at wliich they are most expert), we kept 
 a constant watch over them. But all our vigilance 
 was often futile. I have known vessels when ly- 
 ing in the neighbourhood of this place trading, to 
 have been pilfered of both canister-shot and pow- 
 der, taken out of the big guns. 
 
 Having quitted Fort M'Loughlin in 1834, in the 
 brig Dryad, I returned to the Columbia, and was 
 there stationed till the middle of 1836 ; hating pas- 
 sed some time at Fort Vancouver, and been sta- 
 tioned at Fort George as superintendant. I then 
 returned to Fort M'Loughlin, in the " Beaver" 
 steamer, in the character of trader and interpreter, 
 and was happy once more in the society of its first 
 governor^ — my old I'riend Mr. Manson, than whom, 
 I must say, there is not in the company^s service a 
 more persevering, acute, zealous, and honourable, 
 
265 
 
 and therefore efficient, trader ; — feared and trusted 
 by the natives, and esteemed by the servants. I am 
 happy, too, in saying thau he has had his long-merited 
 reward, in official promotion, and in the company's 
 increased estimation of his excellent qualities. Dur- 
 ing the interval between my departure and return, 
 I found that Mr. Manson, although reduced to a 
 short complement of men, had made many great im- 
 provements at the settlement. A large tract of 
 ground had been cleared round the fort, where po- 
 tatoes, and other vegetables were growing. Several 
 large buildings had been erected inside the fort. 
 The bastions were all complete, with the large nine- 
 pounders staring us in the face. And the Indians 
 were brought to a quiet and well-behaved course of 
 conduct. No further disturbance had occurred in 
 my absence. 
 
 Chief factor Finlayson was on board the steamer 
 with us, reconnoitring the coast ; Captain Home was 
 commander, late of the East India service, Mr. Dodd 
 chief officer. We had on board upwards of thirty 
 hands. 
 
 It was the intention of Mr. Finh.yson, under 
 whose instructions all our scheme of proceeding was 
 to be conducted, to push on along the numerous and 
 intricate inlets (that interlace the whole country) as 
 
266 
 
 far as possible inland, iu order to come m niucli 
 witluu reach of the interior tribes Jis possible. There- 
 fore we ran into their uttermost extremities, along 
 almost the whole of the labyrinth ; stopping some- 
 times to trade, and ascertain the capabilities of the 
 country, and the character of the natives, who had 
 never seen a large vessel (and especially a steamer) 
 or a white man before. The country had the main 
 characteristics of that about Millbank Sound. Some 
 of the natives showed a flattened forehead, but not 
 H compressed head. Indeed, generally, they are a 
 well- featured and musculai* race, but suspicious and 
 rather treacherous. Along these inlets, many of 
 which are the mouths of rivers, the tribes ju'e clus- 
 tered in villages, — especially towards the interior. 
 
 At Fort M'Loughlin we took on board about 
 twenty-six cord of wood, for fuel, which was ready 
 cut for us ; this generally lasted us, when run- 
 ning on, between three and foiu- days. From here 
 we ran inland, up different inlets, called canals, 
 which run out of Fitzhugh's Sound, a little to the 
 southward of Fort M'Loughlin. Up these canals 
 we proceeded about a day's voyage. The land along 
 these canals is lofty, and covered with pine, ap- 
 parently growing out of rocks. In some places 
 these canals arc clear running all through ; at 
 
2«7 
 
 other placus the iiavigatiou is occaHionally ob- 
 structed. 
 
 About twelve at noon, on tlic second day, we 
 reached a place called, by Vancouver, " Bentick's arms" 
 — inhabited by a tribe of Indians — the BellayhchooloH. 
 Their village is ncai* Salmon lliver ; whcr Sir 
 Alexander M'KeuKie came down from the i .t?'" 
 rior, during his survey, and, by observation, fouiul 
 he must be near the Pacific Ocean : and in case any 
 vessel should run to this place to trade, ho made a 
 mark on a large rock ; which was partly distinguish- 
 able when we were there. He named this Salmon 
 River, on account of the quantities of salmon he saw 
 in it. Though we arrived in the salmon season, we 
 could not prevail upon the natives to sell us one> 
 unless cooked by themselves; as they, as well as 
 the Chinooks, and other tribes, fancy that cutting 
 the salmon crossways " sends them away," and they 
 will have none for their winter provisions. We 
 traded numbers of furs from thern^ but nothing 
 else. 
 
 The land here is high ; as in other parts, entirely 
 covered with trees — not a patch of cleiu: i.md to be 
 seen. 
 
 We likewise visited another large tribe of Indians 
 to the southward, up a canal running out of John- 
 
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 son's Straits, far into the main land. We took, from 
 MUbank, an Indian, as interpreter. It took us, 
 from the straits, a day and a half to reach its ex- 
 tremity. The land along the shore was high and 
 woody — completely covered with pine trees — ^not a 
 patch of clear ground to be seen. The natives ap- 
 peared to be milder-looking tribes than those nearer 
 the ocean. It runs upwards of 100 miles inland, 
 from Fort M'Loughlin, in a south-easterly direction. 
 On running, with the steam-boat, up this canal aa 
 far as possible, on the second day, we came to a stop 
 — the water became shallow ; and we anchored in 
 a small bay. Several natives came to us in canoes, 
 and told us the village was up a small river, and en- 
 treated us to go thither : but our Indian interpreter 
 wished us not. However, the captain was anxious, and 
 pressed me to accompany him ; to which I consented. 
 We manned our whale boat; and we were well 
 armed, No one had been up this place since Cap- 
 tain Vancouver'is boats were up here, surveying; 
 and the Indians, after we had been there a little 
 time, began to muster in great numbers. We put 
 ourselves on our guard, and set a regular watch to 
 mark their manoeuvres. 
 
 The village we visited was up a small shallow 
 river, about two miles long, with scarcely water 
 
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269 
 
 sufficient for our boat to go up. In this river, we fell 
 in with two large canoes, on their way to the vessel. 
 When we arrived within a quarter of a mile of the 
 village, the Indians flocked from the bush in great 
 numbers, on to the banks of the river, armed with 
 guns, and bows, and arrows. Seeing oiir boat full of 
 men, and our musketoons fixed on the gunwale of 
 the boat, they got an impression that we were como 
 ing to attack their village, and exhibited a hos- 
 tile spirit. They understood a little of the Mil* 
 bank tongue. I th^srefore gave them to undero 
 stand that we were peaceably inclined, and had 
 only come to trade with them, and to visit their 
 vUlage. Having eleven men in the boat, the cap^ 
 tain, myself, and three men, went on shore to visit 
 the houses ; leaving six men in the boat, and giving 
 them instructions to pull into the middle of the 
 stream, and lie abreast of the village. The natives 
 there appeared to be friendly towards us ; and made 
 us presents of some skins and shells ; but expected 
 something in return — which they got. They showed 
 us different wooden idols, som^ resembling the dog 
 —and some^ men, The village was very large, and 
 enclosed with pickets, about eight feet high. This 
 was to preserve the village from being attacked by 
 the interior tribes. I sa^, on a tree> a small coffiq, 
 
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 270 
 
 with a covering over It, and a hnman image, cut 
 out of wood, and painted. They informed me that 
 this was the corpse of a child that had been killed 
 by their enemies when attacking thsir fort, aome 
 time before ; and they had placed it there with this 
 idol by its side, as a mtnorial of their cruelty in 
 slaying an innocent. Quantities of berries and 
 dried salmon were stowed away in their houses for 
 winter. There could not be less than from 600 to 
 600 I jdians belonging to this village. The women 
 seemed to be much afindd of us, as were also the 
 children. I asked the reason; and was informed 
 that it was the first time th^ had ever seen a white 
 man in their lives. They seemed anxious ta detain 
 us at the village as long as possible : but our men 
 informed us that the water was fast foiling ; and that 
 we should not, if we remained longer, be able to 
 get back. I had no doubt that they wished to de- 
 tain us, from some sinister dengn, until the tide had 
 ebbed, so as to bar our departure: and we rowed 
 off. On our arrival at the ship, our interpreter in- 
 formed us that some of the Indians had been there, 
 and said we should never return again. He (the 
 interpreter) had been — we were informed by Mr. 
 Dodd, the chief officer — a long way up the rig- 
 ging, with the spy-glass, anxiously looking out 
 
271 
 
 for U8. The officers, and likewise the men, were 
 glad to see us heave in sight with the boat. 
 
 The country up the river, as far ns the village, 
 appeared low, covered with berry bushes. Pine and 
 alder appeared to be the principal wood. ITie in- 
 terior, I have not the slightest doubt, is a plain 
 country. 
 
 We sent our wood-cutters on shore at this place, 
 and renewed our stock of wood ; the Indians assiot- 
 ing in caiTying it to the beach, and bringing it 
 alongside the vessel in their cunoes ; for which we 
 gave thifsm some tobacco : and having procured 
 what furs we could, we again run down the canal 
 into Johnson's Straits — from thence along Fitzhughes' 
 Sound 'to Port M'Loughliu ; where we again took 
 in our complement of wood, and ran for the north- 
 ward, after leaving Milbank Sound. The entrance 
 of Milbank Soimd is by low rocks, and a rising 
 laud, called Cape Swain, and lies in latitude 52° 13'; 
 the north-west point of entrance is Point Day, off 
 which lie several rocky, barren islets. In passing, 
 numerous seals, aea elephants, and sea lions, with 
 other monsters of the deep, can be seen lying, when 
 the sun is out, basking on the rocks. 
 
 The Indians at the Milbank Sound, called Belbel- 
 lahs, wre very ingenious and imitative. They 
 
 i !1 
 
272 
 
 'Si 
 
 watched 8hari)ly all our proceedings^ and gave us 
 striking examples of their native talent. They 
 promised to construct a steam-ship on the model 
 of ours. We listened, and shook our heads incredu- 
 lously ; but in a short time we found that they had 
 felled a large tree, and were making the hull out 
 of its scooped trunk. Some time after, this rude 
 steamer appeared. She was from twenty to thirty 
 feet long, all in one piece — a large tree hollowed 
 out — resembling the model of our steamer. She was 
 black, with painted ports ; decked over ; and had pad- 
 dles painted red, and Indians, under cover, to turn 
 them round. The steersman was not seen. She 
 was floated triumphantly, and went at the rate of 
 three miles an hour. They thought they had nearly 
 come up to the point of external structure : but then 
 the enginery baffled them ; and this they thought 
 they coidd imitate in time, by perseverance, and the 
 helping illumination of the Qreat Spirit. 
 
 They bury their dead amongst rocks, placing in 
 their coffins, as the Chinooks do, articles for their 
 use in the next world. Thoy believe, that after 
 they are dead, they are taken in a canoe along a 
 dark lake, for a long distance; and then come to 
 large gates. These gates are opened as they ap- 
 proach. There are, beyond those, two rivers — one 
 
 
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273 
 
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 branchiag to the right ; the other, to the left. If 
 they have done good, and not committed murder, 
 they will go to the right ; where there is salmon iu 
 abundance, berries of all sorts growhiQ continually, 
 and the sun always shining. On the left, there 
 is continual snow and frost, misery, and starvation. 
 
 These Indians deal in slaves, purchased from the 
 southern tribes— the original kidnappers — and then 
 sell them, at a profit, to the northern tribes, who 
 come ^jwn to purchase them. A fall-grown, ath- 
 letic slave, who is a good hunter, will fetch nine 
 blankets, a gun, a quantity of powder and ball, a 
 couple of dressed elk skins, tobacco, vermillion paint, 
 a flat file, and other little articles. 
 
 Alter leaving Point Day, and taking a northerly 
 course ; instead of going out into the open ocean, 
 the company's vessels generally keep inland, along 
 the canals De Larado and Delprincipe. The country 
 along these canals is inhabited by a numerous tribe 
 of Indians, called the Sebassa tribe ; differing in many 
 points firam the more southern tribes. They are 
 more active and enterprising than the Milbauk 
 tribes, but the greatest thieves and robbers on the 
 coast. They are scattered about along the canals ; 
 but the principal residence of the chief is either at 
 Land Otter Harbour, or Seal Harbour, Ii; each of 
 
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 274 
 
 theiie harbours there is good anchorage for vessels. 
 They build their villages, chiefly^ upon liigh and 
 precipitous rocky islands, or promontories; having 
 steps cut down to the water. This is done to pre- 
 vent any sudden attack from an eneray. The chief, 
 SebassA, has twenty wives, and numerous slaves; 
 and is accounted to be one of the wealthiest on the 
 coast. They go in bands, in their canoes, to the 
 southward; and, unawares, kidnap the Indians, when 
 out fishing, or gathering berries. These are then 
 taken inland, and traded as slaves. Some of these 
 Indians, from their trading intercourse with the 
 British and American ships, speak a little English. 
 They bring large quantities of various kinds of fur- 
 skins for barker — beaver, bear, racoon, otter, fox, 
 seal. Their food, and manner of living, resemble 
 the Milbank tribe. They give feasts and dances; 
 and have religious ceremonies, and religious masque- 
 rades, or theatrical representations, similar to those 
 of the Nootka Sound tribes. The shores are high 
 and rocky, covered with pine and cedar trees. The 
 natives are great gamblers ; and, as well as the more 
 southern tribes, resemble the Chinooks in their 
 games. The seal ai« numerous ; and are either shot, 
 . when lying on the rocks; or most dexterously speared, 
 when doating, in the same Uianner as a whale. 
 
275 
 
 One day, running along these canals, we had ou 
 board one of tliese Indiana, to show ui the diflerent 
 harbours; but it became very foggy, so that we 
 could scarcely lee the ship's length before us. The 
 Indian, having a large hat on, resembling the t0'« 
 of a small parasol, mado of the twisted fibres of the 
 roots of trees, ivith an aperture in the inside, at the 
 brcadc? end, to fit his head. Kt stood upon the 
 quarter-deck — took off his hat-"- and informed ma 
 that he intended to charm the fog away ; for which 
 I was to give him some tobacco. To this I con- 
 sented. Up murmured some few words ; and with 
 his hand, preieuded to gather the fog into his liat. 
 He then, all of a sadden, dropped his hat on the 
 deck, as if he had something in it ; and, after hold-* 
 ing it, mouth down, for some minutes, and mur- 
 muring some more words, informed me that the fog 
 would soon be gone. The fog, in about half an 
 hour, did happen to clear away fast. He then as- 
 sumed a proud and self-confident air ; and assured 
 us that it was all the work of his " conjuration and 
 mighty magic." I saw no necessity for offending or 
 provoking him by any expression or sign of dissent 
 or incredulity ; as tf e were in a great degree under 
 his guidance, in those intricate and narrow guts. 
 Of course the fellow, from his knowledge of the 
 
27d 
 
 oliknate aud the locality, was weather-wise ; and 
 could tell the appearatice and disappearance of those 
 periodical fogs. I gave him his tobacco, and a 
 little more, with which he was highly pleased. 
 
 The only covering the men have, is a large blan- 
 ket thrown round their bodies. The women have a 
 loose, figured calico shirt over them, with a piece 
 of coarse cloth thrown across their shoulders — the 
 calico having lately superseded the former skins. 
 Both male and female daub themselves over with 
 Vermillion. They wear large rings through the nose ; 
 some of these rings being bone — others, silver ; made 
 by themselves, from dollars purchased from Ameri- 
 can traders. As ornaments for their wrists, they 
 have bracelets, made from brass wire. Their hair 
 is very long ; for which they use a great deal of seal 
 and salmon oil. When a relation, or parent, dies, 
 they put themselves in mourning, by cutting the 
 hair quite close, and blacking the face and neck, for 
 some months. Both men and women bore large 
 holes through their ears ; from which they suspend 
 red worsted threads, plaited and knotted, and hang- 
 ing dowu about eight inches, instead of earrings. 
 
 The old womeil disfigure themselves, by having a slit 
 cut right through their lower lip, crosswise, from one 
 end to the other. They then have a piece of hard 
 
977 
 
 wood, or bone, made the length of the cut ; rounded at 
 the end, about two inches long, half an inch broad, 
 and a quarter of an inch thick. Thii im inserted in 
 the slit, inside, between the lip and gum ; making 
 the lower lip project out about one inch beyond the 
 upper. The sight is hideous. Our men used jocosely 
 to say, this lower lip would make a good slab to lay 
 their trousers on, to be scrubbed. Shell-fish, of 
 every kind, k. e plentiful. 
 
 The general character of the country, as we pro- 
 ceeded northward, wore the same aspect — rocky, 
 woody, and mountainous. From the 47" to the 54*, 
 there is a complete net-work of inland navigation — 
 sounds, bays, inlets, harbours — safe all through, for 
 all vessels. This I can attest, as I have run through 
 the whole course several times, by steam and sail. 
 
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 278 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Fort Simpson — the surrounding country; and the various 
 
 tribes. 
 
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 At the tennination of the eanal* croMing Chatham 
 Sound, ii Fort Simpson, in latitude 64^, named after 
 Mr. Simpion (now Sir Qeoine Simpson), of York 
 Factory, and governor of the whole of the Hudson's 
 Bay Company's territory. This fort is situated near 
 Point Wales, on a small island in the sound, op- 
 posite Dundas Island, and near the northern termi- 
 nation of the British territory. 
 
 Fort Simpson is built after the model of most of 
 the other forts. The governor is John Work, Esq., 
 chief trader, an Irish gentleman, who has been for 
 many years in the Hudson's Bay Company. Sur- 
 rounding the fort, is a large and fruitful potatoe and 
 vegetable garden. The oflficer conducting the Indian 
 department is Mr. John Kennedy, a medical doctor, 
 son of the late chief factor Kennedy, many years 
 attached to the Hudson's Bay Company. The fort 
 
279 
 
 i« built in a beautiful bay, with excellent anchorage 
 for shipping. 
 
 The Indiaua are the ,N^ tribe, who are very 
 numerous, and in customs and language resemble 
 the Sabassa Indians, with whom they intermarry : 
 indeed, both these tribes appear to be offshoots from 
 one parent stock. The principal chief is llgeak; 
 whom they designate by the title of Wil-^ks Smo- 
 ket, i. e,, the mighty chief: and in truth, if a gi- 
 gantic person, a stately air, a noble mien, a manly 
 port, and all the characteristics of external dignity, 
 with a symmetrical figure, and a perfect order of 
 European contour, would qualify any one for that 
 title, he fully deserves it. Were he exhibited in 
 London, with his harran, he would beat all exhibir> 
 tiona of American Indians out of the field. The 
 whole race, generally speaking, are a fine body of 
 men. But the old women adopt the shocking cus- 
 tom of slitting the lower lip, and inserting the piece 
 of bone or wood. It seems that some preparation 
 has been mode for this in their youth : the young 
 women have small holes bored through the lower 
 lip, and a piece of round silver placed in it, project- 
 ing out about three-quarters of an inch. This aper- 
 ture gradually grows wider with age ; and affords a 
 facility for a final gash. They wear gowns, made 
 
 f^ 
 
280 
 
 of calico. These are made loose, similar to a shirt ; 
 but, to 2how their shape, they have stays, made of 
 cloth, ornamented with pearl buttons. These are 
 drawn round them quite tight. They also wear a 
 blanket, thrown across their shoulders. Their hair 
 is long, parted, in front, and, behind, is bound round 
 with a piece of scarlet cloth, which hangs down like 
 a tail. 
 
 These northern tribes bum their dead, and deposit 
 the ashes in a box, in a secluded spot in the woods. 
 When a chief dies, he is, before interment, dressed 
 up — his face painted — and placed, sitting up, in a 
 canoe, and paddled round the maritime village, look- 
 ing almost like life. The magicians, or doctors, wear 
 very long hair. They carry images of their gods 
 and spirits in a box, which is kept sacred, and is 
 scarcely ever seen by the vulgar. They have f 3at 
 power over the tribe ; aad some of the Indians stand in 
 great fear of them ; for if a doctor owes them a grudge, 
 he will, they think, charm away their life. I have 
 been told by a doctor himself, that sometimes an 
 Indian's wife, sister, or daughter, may die; and the 
 Indian, supposing the doctor to have charmed away 
 her life, will avenge himself on the doctor. Amongst 
 the southern tribes, murders have been committed 
 by the Indians on the doctors. 
 
■ iii W *' "J »— 
 
 281 
 
 The oil which they eat with the various kinxU of 
 dried iGish, ia made firom sprats^ and in the following 
 manner. In the centre of their huts they have a 
 fire ; and a quantity of these fish are placed in a 
 large square bucket with water : then hot stones are 
 kept constantly thrown in amongst the fish, with a 
 pair of wooden tongs. The oil rises to the top of 
 the water, and a person is kept in at tendance to skim 
 it off. After standing until cold, it is quite white 
 and thick. They also make seal oil from the 
 blubber. Quantities of deers' and goats' grease are 
 traded fix>m them. Bears' grease might be obtained 
 here in abundance; as the black and brown bear 
 are numerous. Deer, and all kinds of wild fowl, are 
 also plentiful. The principal fur is the beaver, mar- 
 ten, sea otter, land otter, minx, cross-fox, and silver- 
 fox, and squirrels. 
 
 About the month of September, various tribes, 
 who are friendly with the Ndss Indians, visit the 
 fort, and encamp around it: then the fort is sur- 
 rounded with hundreds of Indians. The principal 
 tribes visiting at this time, are the Tongarse, Ke- 
 garnie, Port Stewart, and Stikein. More northern 
 tribes come from the Russian possessions ; and the 
 Indians from Queen Charlotte's Island, called the 
 Massets, Comshewars, rjid Sketigcts. At this time 
 
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 282 
 
 there are all kinds of dancings smging, and feasting 
 amongst them. Trade is kept up at a brisk rate at the 
 fort, which is made in a manner a hvely show booth. 
 The Indians coming from distant parts to this 
 fort, have large canoes, from thirty to fifty feet long, 
 the paddles resembling those of the Chinooks, and 
 are managed in the same manner. Besides contain- 
 ing numerous Indians, their canoes are ^.iled up 
 with goods for barter. They remain mustered here 
 for some weeks, making the fort a complete fair. It 
 requires strict and good management, at this time, by 
 the companies of officers, to protect the fort. On 
 landing at the fort, their canoes are piled up in lai^ 
 heaps, covered over with mats, to keep the sun from 
 cracking them. They bring provisions with them, 
 to last during their stay and journey home. Feasts 
 are given by the chiefs ; and invitations sent regu- 
 larly round to the different guests. Should any of 
 the officers of the company be invited, stools are 
 placed by the side of the fire, covered over with 
 cloth and fine calico ; and they are introduced with 
 great ceremony — the chiefs standing to receive them. 
 Skins are given, as presents, to the officers ; and, in 
 the course of a day or two, the trader returns the 
 compliment, by making them presents of British 
 manufactured clotliing. 
 
283 
 
 :. After the variom tribes have finiahed their trading 
 speculations ; and paid their various visits of friend- 
 ship to one anothor, and the officers ; they launch 
 their canoes, laden with the return goods \ striking 
 up an Indian voyage song with great glee. 
 
 The Indians inhabiting the vicinity of the fort 
 are tall, well proportioned, and more active and 
 cleanly than the southern tribes. The women are 
 about the same height as the Chinooks ; but much 
 more cleanly, particularly the young women — all of 
 them better clad ; wearing, as before mentioned, a 
 loose gown. They have slaves, who do the principal 
 dradgery. These slaves, in barter, fetch a larger 
 price to the northward than they do to the south ; 
 and are sold by the Ndss tribe to the various inland 
 tribes, for furs. These fiirs they again soil to the 
 white traders for blankets, and other articles of use 
 or luxury. 
 
 Numbers of the young men among the northern 
 tribes speak broken English, picked up from the 
 various American vessels, that used to frequent 
 these parts, and from the company's servants. 
 Amongst these tribes are numbers of American 
 half-breeds, both men and women : some of the 
 latter as fair as English females: some with light 
 hair, ^nd some fey with quite red hair. 
 
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 Mf 
 
 284 
 
 The country surrounding the fort is high and 
 woody. The wood consists of pine, spruce, cedar, 
 and cypress. With various runt of water, coming 
 from the interior mountains. It abounds with deer, 
 duck, and geese: hallibut, salmon, and herring. 
 Berries, of all kinds, grow in abundance, whiuh are 
 gathered by the women, and dried for winter 
 provisions. 
 
 Their religion rtsembles that of the other tribes, 
 who think the sun is the great ambulatory spirit, 
 who makes his daily tour of inspection over the sta* 
 tionary earth ; and that the moon is his subordinate 
 nocturnal watchman. On one occasion I explained 
 to a chief that it was the earth that moved round, 
 and not the sun. He said he always put faith in 
 what I had previously told him, but never should 
 any more ; as I was only deceiving him. 
 
 They are very much afraid of the small pox, 
 which, in 1835, had made dreadful ravages amongst 
 them — more amongst the families of the chiefs, than 
 among the inferior classes ; perhaps because these 
 did not lead so sedentary a life, and were not so 
 highly fed. Most of the men employed by the 
 compHny here take wives, principally from the Ton- 
 garse, and Kegarnie tribes ; these being the most 
 cleanly of all the Indians on the coast. 
 
285 
 
 I 
 
 Their dress resembles, for the most part, that of 
 the N^ women, but is of finer texture — the cloak 
 ornamented with pearl buttons — ^the stays outside 
 the gown, of scarlet cloth, so as to show off the 
 shape, similarly ornamented — silver rings through 
 the nose, and on the fingers — several bracelets on 
 the arms, and strings of braided silk depending 
 fi!>om the ears. Both men and women have a hand- 
 some and regular expression of countenance: in 
 complexion and contour resembling Europeans. 
 This may be averred of most of the natives in these 
 latitudes. 
 
 During the time the opposition was kept up be- 
 tween the company and the Americans on this coast, 
 this tribe, as well as the other northern ones, used 
 to designate the Americans by the name of Boston 
 fellow, — ^the British, as King George fellow. And the 
 old chief of this tribe, named Neoccote, often told 
 me that he observed a small variation in phraseology, 
 and even in pronunciation, between the British and 
 Americans; which he used thus to express: " small 
 change 'em, speak 'em, king George fellov., Boston 
 fellow ;" i. e., the Bostonians and British speak the 
 same language, but with a small change. 
 
 This old chief was very much attached to the 
 British, and gave, as a legacy to Mr. Ogden, two 
 
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 286 
 
 1 ■ 
 
 beaver skins, stating, tha£ when he died he wished a 
 coffin to be made, and to be buried initafter tlie British 
 fashion, and in their burying-ground near the fort| 
 by the side of Lieatensnt Simpson — a gentleman who 
 was commander of the company's shipping in the 
 Oregon, and who was buried close to Fort Simpson. 
 But as I had left that part of the country before hij 
 death, I did not hear whether his family allowed 
 him to be buried as he wished ; or whether he was 
 placed in the woods amongst th<) dead remnants <^ 
 liis tribe. 
 
 The principal harbour of Tongarse, which lies 
 within tae Russian territory, is round like a bason, 
 with a sandy bottom ; the soundings from eight to 
 twenty fathoms. The land, for some distance, is 
 low, interspersed with the usual sorts of wood found 
 in these latitudes. The interior is dotted with 
 small pltuns and lakes. The soil is good. Deer, 
 salmon, ¥rith yarious other fish, as well as wild 
 fowl, abound here. This harbour is said to be 
 the best on this part of the coast 'whence to obtain 
 spars, and other wood, for shipping. The Ameri<»n» 
 as well as the British were preveLted visiting these 
 harbours for trade, as tlut Russians began to cast a 
 jealous eye upon them, and set armed vessels in the 
 various ports, which they called their terriiory, for 
 
287 
 
 the pTotection of their trade. Therefore the com- 
 pany and Americans had to confine themiteWes 
 within the 54* of latitude. 
 
 The Kegamie tribe, also in the Russian territory, 
 live on an immense island, called North Island. 
 They resemble the Tongarse Indians, both men and 
 women, in appearance, dress, and customs. The 
 country is rocky, and highly covered with pine and 
 ipmce trees, and with a light pasture mould. Fish, 
 seal, and berries constitute their principal food. 
 Some of the Indians' teeth are actually worn down 
 close to their gums, from continually eating hard 
 dried salmcn. There is a chief of this tribe who is a 
 half-'breed American, and goes by the name of 
 George Bennett ; and is said to be a son of Captaici 
 Bennett, who was, many years ago, in charge of a 
 vessel from Boston, trading on the coast. This 
 young Bennett speaks English very well. I asked 
 him if he would not like to go to America or 
 England ? He answered " no \" as he considered 
 we were slaves — even our chiefs — 'who were always 
 doing something from necessity; and as we were 
 always at work for a living. " I have slaves," said 
 he, " who hunt for me — paddle me in my canoes, — 
 and my wives to attend upon me. Why should I 
 wish to leave ?" * 
 
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 288 
 
 Although the jealousy of the Russians prevents 
 the British entering their ports for trade, the Indians 
 prefer trading with the British ; therefore they 
 travel for miles, with their large canoes Inden with 
 furs, to Fort , Simpson. 
 
 The Stikein tribe live much further north, 
 approaching the chief Russian settlement of Sitka, 
 at the top of Clarence's Straits, which run up- 
 wards of 100 miles inland. These Indians speak 
 the same tongue as the Tongarse, and are in- 
 termarried with them. Furs are numerous amongst 
 them, and of a good quality. It is a mountainous 
 country; some of the mountains continually co/ered 
 with snow, Here, as in other parts of the coast, 
 the wood consists of pine, spruce, and cedar. 
 
 A little to the northward of this there is a trihi 
 called the Chilkasts. In their country great quanti- 
 ties of virgin copper are found. Some of it is worked 
 by the natives into a kind of shield, about two feet 
 and a half long, and one foot broad^ with figures of 
 men and animals engraved upon i . The labour 
 and ingenuity expended in working one of these 
 shields, give them great value. One of them is 
 estimated as worth nine slaves ; and is transmitted 
 as a precious heir-loom from father to son. 
 
 Before leaving Fort Simpson, it mav not be un- 
 
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289 
 
 interesting to give a sketch of a slight disturbance 
 which originated through one of the Indian womjn. 
 Diuing the time a large body of Indians were en- 
 camped round the fort for trade, one of them, a 
 Port Stowart Indian, became jealous of his wife, 
 who was a Tongarse. In his jealous fit he beat his 
 wife most tremendously. Her sister, who saw this, 
 ran up with a clasp-knife in her hand — plunged it 
 in the man's mouth ; and cut his cheek close up to 
 his ear. He would eyentually have bled to death, 
 had not Dr. Kennedy, of the fort, attended him. 
 The woman fied. A regular feud was thus gene- 
 rated, and the friends of both parties prepared for 
 all the fihrntagems of barbarous revenge and warfare. 
 A fellow tribe-man, and particular friend of the 
 wounded man, lay day and night in wait for the 
 woman. This one of the woman's friends and re- 
 lations discovered ; and he, too, lay in wait for the 
 skulking assassin until he found him, and shot 
 him dead. These accumulated wrongs stopped ail 
 avenues of peaceful negociation ; and war, to tL.*^ 
 very pole of the battle awe, was declared between 
 the tribes. The Port Stewartites managed to come 
 upon part of the Tongarse tribe at night, near their 
 village, and killed several. The Tongarse Indians, 
 anxious then for peace, offered to make compensation. 
 
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 "111: 
 
 O**'^ 
 
 with slaves and blankets, to the dead man's friends, 
 as well as for the '' man injured in the mouth :" this 
 they readily accepted. But after this negociation 
 the Port Stewart Indians swerved from their con- 
 tract, and fitted out another war party to attack the 
 village. But some of the Tongarse tribe, being 
 in the wood, saw them, and roused the village. The 
 enemy, seeing thiu unexpected resistance, fled. But 
 the Tongarse Indians chased them, and, having 
 found thirty of them in a deep hole in the wood, 
 surrounded with rocks, commenced a deadly fire 
 upon them, and destroyed them as the Blackfeet 
 would a herd of buffalo. Thus terminated the war 
 at that time. But the Port Stewart tribe, when I 
 left the country, were filled with revenge, and only 
 waiting for their opportunity. 
 
 Their houses are of the same construction as those 
 of the Chinooks, but much larger. Their favourite 
 dish is seal, but they most frequently feed off dried 
 salmon and oil. The brown, black, and grey bear 
 are numerous in these northern parts ; as are wolves, 
 which, during the winter months, come near the 
 fort, howling in hundreds, with their whelps, for 
 hours. The Indian dogs resemble the wolf very 
 much, having a sharp nose, and a long, bushy tail ; 
 being a cross breed from the wolf they are famous 
 
SOI 
 
 dog! for running deer down in the wuodv, and are 
 often used by the Indiana fur that purpose — particu- 
 larly in winter, when the snow is on the groiind, 
 driving the deer from the woods on to the beach, 
 where the Indians lie in wait, and shoot them. 
 Their canoes are made from large trees, lioUowed out, 
 resembling those of the Chinooks, but larger. Every 
 chief keeps an Indian on his establishment for 
 making and repairing canoes, and making masks for 
 his religious representations ; this man they call their 
 carpenter. Their covering consists of blankets ex- 
 cept on state occasions : then the chiefs have splendid 
 dresses of prepared elk skins, orr^mented with por- 
 cupine quills, dyed in various col> urs produced from 
 boiled roots. 
 
 Mr. Peter Skein Ogden was the man who estab- 
 lished the first fort amongst these northern tribes— 
 who pitched his tent on a spot where white man 
 never did before and succeeded in bringing these 
 savages into to iitact with the white man's customs 
 — detached thf;m from the profligacy of American 
 trading to the useful and civilising intercourse with 
 Bk'tish merchants. He is descended from a most 
 respectable and wealthy family in Montreal. He 
 was educated for the law ; but preferred enlisting in 
 the North-west Company and passing his days in 
 
 h 
 
 i 
 
 If; 
 
 ! t») 
 
I II II m I t ■ II ^1 
 
 tbe wilds of America ; where he has beeu almott 
 from his youth. He is a man of great natural ta- 
 lent, humour, goodnature, and intelligence. He will 
 entertain a host of friends by his amusing anecdotes. 
 I sliouid very much like to see issued from the 
 press the " Memoirs of the eccentric Peter Skein 
 Ogden/' which would be amusing both to young 
 and old — learned and unlearned. 
 
 Queen Charlotte's Island is about 150 miles long. 
 The principal tribes upon it are the Sketigets, Massets, 
 and Comshcwars. These arc numcrouH ; and have 
 ieveral half-brued Americans amongst them. They are 
 expert thieves ; and will, if constant watch is not kept, 
 when visiting the vessels, draw bolts, staples, nails, 
 and other articles of iron, from the doors. I^ead is a 
 fancy article of theirs; sometimes they will en- 
 deavour to cut it oif the stem of a vessel. The only 
 thing that keeps these, as well as the other northern 
 tribes, in a little subjection, ia the nine or twelve- 
 pound cannons staring them in the face. A great 
 number of these Indians speak broken English. 
 This island, as well as numerous other places, has 
 never been examined; but samples of lead have 
 been given by the Indians to some of the company's 
 servants. There are various minerals found here ; 
 but it would require a large party of men to examine 
 
^ . 
 
 2!)3 
 
 tliis island, m the liidiaiiM are treacherous and sly. 
 A Moft kind of stone in found, resembling slate, which 
 the Indians make into pipes, ornamented with va- 
 rious figures cut upon them resembling men and 
 animals. From the flat file they make beautiful 
 fluted daggers ; some eighteen inches long, as highly 
 finished as if they had been turned out of a flrat-ratc 
 maker's hands in London. Tliny likovrise make 
 hats from white roots of trees, neatly platted toge- 
 ther, made into any shape. Their dress is not very 
 dissimilar from that of the Tongarse tribe. 
 
 When a vessel visits these tribes, which is seldom, 
 as fur is rather scarce (particularly beaver), and as 
 laud and sea otter, with a few small fiirs, arc the 
 only skins they have, and these not plentiful, they 
 will congregate, as near the vessel as possible, and 
 dance — throwing themselves into different postures, 
 and making all kinds of grimaces — having their faces 
 highly painted; and down from the eagle com- 
 pletely covering their hair, with a kind of rattle in 
 their hand, and a musical instrument resembling the 
 tamburine. The dance is generally accompanied 
 with a song. Their houses are neatly constructed, 
 standing in a row ; having large images, cut out of 
 wood, resembling idols. The dwellings have all 
 painted fronts, shewing imitations of men and ani. 
 
294 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 
 mals. Attached to their houses^ most of them 
 have large potatoe gardens : this vegetable was first 
 given to them by an American captain ; and is now 
 grown in abundance, and traded by them to the 
 vessels visiting their harbour, and to the traders 
 at Fort Simpson. I have known from five to eight 
 hundred bushels being traded in one season, from 
 these Indians, at Fort Simpson. 
 
 In the latter end of the yeai- of 1834, the Hudson's 
 Bay Company lost, on Rose Point, at the entrance 
 of this harbour, a fine schooner, of about 100 tons, 
 commanded by Captain Duncan ; which drove upon 
 the sandsj on her beam ends. As it was found im- 
 possible to float her, and as the natives, who congre- 
 gated in multitudes around Mr. Heath, the chief 
 officer, and his men, while attempting to clear away 
 the sand from her, were armed, and showed every 
 disposition to pillage and murder, the crew quitted 
 the wreck, at night, in the boats, and pulled for 
 Fort Simpson. After several days of toil, and after 
 some of the crew were frost-bitten, they, with hearts 
 full of joy, reached the fort ; not knowing, on their 
 journey, but that rounding every point of land they 
 might be cut off from a volley fired by the trea- 
 cherous Indiaus. Captain Duncan thought some 
 other vessel might be at the fort ; if so, he deter- 
 
295 
 
 mined again to return, to secure the vessel and the 
 cargo. But, no vessel being at the fort, the lost 
 schooner was left to the savages. We afterwards 
 learnt that their plot was laid ; and an attack was 
 to have been made early the following morning. 
 And in dividing the plunder amongst themselves 
 several quarrels originated, and numbers were killed. 
 The Hudson's Bay Company judiciously let the 
 matter rest, without chastising the natives, and gave 
 orders that no proceedings were to be taken against 
 them, but to allow the trade to proceed ai usual. 
 
 II 
 
296 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Relative claims of Oreat Britain and America to the Oregon 
 Territory considered. 
 
 ^Iiiiii 
 
 This subject has been abready much discussed. A 
 simple synopsis of the whole case may help t^^ lead 
 any right-minded, and dispassionate person to a 
 just conclusion which of the contending claimants 
 has the best right. 
 
 It is universally allowed that the right of any 
 state to the jurisdiction over a new country rests on 
 three grounds : — 1st, prior discovery ; 2nd, the 
 taking formal possession after discovery ; 3rd, settle- 
 ment ; this ground being strengthened if the formal 
 possession be continued by settlement. There is a 
 corollary often appended to these, ». c, contiguity 
 of territory. 
 
 Now I think it will appear, to any sober mind, 
 that, on each, and all of these grounds, the British 
 claim is unquestionable. Ist, As to discovery. I 
 
 ^M 
 
 imm&r, > 
 
297 
 
 shall mention only the chief navigators and ex- 
 plorers, avoiding all questionable and unimportant 
 statements. 
 
 In 1777, before the Americans had any existence 
 as a nation, Cooke, the Englishman, carefully ex- 
 plored the coast, as far as the forty-eighth degree : 
 examined Nootka Sound; and then proceeded on 
 his tour of survey northward to the Arctic Ocean, 
 until he ascertained that the continents of Asia and 
 America were separated by a strait. This strait 
 Beehring 3ubse(|uently passed, not knowing, as 
 Cooke did, its character and geographical relations. 
 However, most unjustly, the strait h^is been named 
 after Beehring. 
 
 In 1787, Berkeley, the well known English navi- 
 gator, explored the Strait of Fuca. 
 
 In the same year, Dixon, an Englishman, explored 
 Queen Charlotte's Island, calling it after his own 
 ship's name. 
 
 In 1788, Lieutenant Mears, R. N., who had long 
 been engaged in the British trade in China, and 
 was well conversant with the multitudinous branch ?< 
 of the Pacific intersecting this part of the coast, 
 took an accurate survey of the Strait of Fuca and 
 Nootka Sound ; taking formal possession of the cir- 
 cumjacent territory in his Britannic Majesty's name ; 
 
\ > ; 
 
 fi:r 
 
 m^ 
 
 298 
 
 and established a factory, or trading post, at Nootka 
 Sound. 
 
 In 1792, 1793, and 1794, the celebrated EnglUh 
 navigator Vancouver, being sent out by government, 
 explored, surveyed, and sounded the Strait of Fuc&, 
 to the head of Puget's Sound, and every mile of all 
 the intricate windings of this coast. It may be said, 
 without exaggeration, that, in the world, there is 
 not to be found a more extensive and complex system 
 of internal navigation. The labyrinth of bays, 
 sounds, inlets, creeke, and harbours, — promontories, 
 islands, and land tongues, with the countless smuosi- 
 ties of land and water, show it to be a perfect net- 
 work. 
 
 In 1792, Broughton, Vancouver's lieutenant, 
 commanding another ship, explored the Columbia 
 River, as far as 100 miles upwards, taking poMsesiion 
 (and in his sovereign's name) of the whole coast, 
 as British territory; and gave their present names 
 to several places. 
 
 In 1793, M'Kenzie was, in his inland expIora> 
 tions, nobly co-operatii .g with Vancouver, in fur- 
 thering the object of Great Britain. Perhaps, in 
 the whole history of inland discovery, there is nothing 
 to surpass M'Kenzie's amazing perseverance, courage, 
 and sagacity. At a time when most of the north- 
 
299 
 
 west coutinent was totally unknown, and considered 
 impassable, from the dreariness of the country, the 
 destructive rigour of the climate, and the ferocity of 
 the natives, he, a humble officer in the Hudson's Bay 
 Company, conceived the daring project of traversing 
 the whole continent, from ocean to ocean ; and not 
 only conceived, but — executed it ! Having crossed 
 the Rocky Mountains — whose existence was not be- 
 fore ascertained by civilised men, he descended part 
 of the Tacoutche Tasse river and reached the Pacific, 
 in latitude 52° 3'. 
 
 The other early explorers were the Spaniards — 
 the principal of whom was Heceta. In 1775, he 
 discovered the Columbia. In a Spanish map, printed 
 a few years after, the mouth of the river is called 
 Entreda de Heceta, and Entreda di Assuncion; 
 and the river itself, Rio di Sau Roque : because he 
 explored the lower parts of it on the fifteenth and 
 sixteenth of August ; which are the festivals of the 
 Assumption, and of St. Roch, 
 
 Now, as to the American discovery. Here is the 
 history of it, as given by Washington Irving ; who 
 puts the ver> best face on the matter, for his coun- 
 trymen : " Among the American ships which traded 
 along the north-west const, in 1792, was the Co- 
 lumbia, Captain Gray, of Boston. In the courie of 
 
1 
 
 r 
 
 1} 
 
 300 
 
 her voyage, she discovered the month of a large 
 river, in latitude 46° 19' north. Entering it, with 
 some f^ifficulty, on account of sand-bars, and break- 
 ers, she came to anchor in a spacious bay. . . , . Cap- 
 tain Gray did not ascend the river farther than the 
 bay in question, which still bears his name. After 
 putting to sea, he fell in with the celebrated disco- 
 verer, Vancouver, furnishing him with a chart, which 
 he made of the river. Vancouver visited the river '> 
 and his lieutenant. Broughton, explored it by the 
 aid of Captain Gray's chart ; ascending it upwards 
 of 100 miles, until within view of a snowy mountain, 
 to which he gave the name of Mount Hood, which 
 it still retains. The existence of this river was 
 known long before t?te visits of Gray and Vancouver ; 
 but the information concerning it was vaffue and 
 indefinite ; being gathered from the reports of In- 
 dians. It was spoken of, by travellers, as the Ore- 
 gon, and as the great river of the west." 
 
 Here it may be observed — Ist, that one of the 
 especial objects of Vancouver's mission was to explore 
 this river — which was well known to the English ; 
 and which England, by previous treaty with Spain, 
 had as good a right to settle on, as she had on the 
 Thames, or Huraber : the knowledge was not at all 
 vage, but definite enough. Nor was this knowledge 
 
301 
 
 gathered from the reports of the Indians, but from 
 the published accounts, and maps, of Ileceta's 
 discovery. — 2nd, that Gray wjis on'y a private spec- 
 ulating trader, dodging along that coast, bartering 
 for furs. — 3rd, that he never passed farther up than 
 twelve miles, as he himself says. — 4th, thaC his ob- 
 ject was not to explore, or occupy. — 5th, that he did 
 not explore ; for he remained in the river not more 
 than ten days ; and, during this time, was weather- 
 bound in the bay, where he took refuge ; and as to 
 his chart, Vancouver, with a quiet sneer, says, " it 
 was not much what it professed to be ;" and as to 
 taking possession, this poor cc aster never did it, or 
 thought of it. 
 
 In 1805-6, after, not merely the existence of the 
 river, but its general course, and the adjaoeiit locali- 
 ties, were well known to, and occupied by British 
 subjects, engaged in the fur trade, two American 
 citizens, Lewis and Clarke, who had travelled over- 
 land across the Rocky Mountains, nearly on the 
 parallel of the mouth of the Columbia, reached, by 
 means of the southern branch, the parts of it 
 already known. Their declared object was "to search 
 for a water communication for the purposes of com- 
 merce." 
 
 In 1811, Thompson, a scientific member of the 
 
 .^ 
 
i 
 
 i 
 
 Mm 
 
 1 
 
 ^^ffi 
 
 
 w 
 
 
 u 
 
 
 ^^Bi 
 
 f 
 
 ^Bp. 
 
 '; 
 
 IK ', 
 
 
 V 
 
 
 B 
 
 
 9k ] 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 mi\\ 
 
 302 
 
 Canadian North-west Company, explored and sur- 
 veyed the whole j from its source along its north- 
 ern, which is its principal, branch, to its mouth. 
 
 When Mears, in 1788, established his factory in 
 Nootka Sound, and laid the foundation of a very 
 extensive British trade along the coast, Spain, hav- 
 ing many previous causes of jealousy against Great 
 Britain, took this opportunity of evincing a hostile 
 spirit ; and despatched Admiral Martinez to sdize on 
 the property of the settlers, and dispossess them. 
 The British government took fire — demanded, and 
 received satisfaction for this invasion of British 
 rights, in a country to which Great Britain averred 
 she had as strong a claim as Spain : &nd, in truth, 
 a stronger claim, so far as exploration and possession 
 went. The consequence was, that a treaty — known 
 as "the Convention of the Escurial," was signed 
 between the two parties, in 1790 : the principal pro- 
 visions of which were — that the subjects of either 
 state should not be molested in fishing, or in landing 
 for the purposes of trading with the natives, or of 
 establishing settlements, in places not already oc- 
 cupied. And, by the fifth clause, it was agreed, that 
 " the subjects of either state should ' 'e &ee access 
 to the settlements then made, or thereafter to be 
 made ))y the other." Tliis treaty, which was laid be- 
 
tkm * wt^^* 1 1* *^»* 
 
 808 
 
 fore parliament by Mr. Pitt^ was censured, as limiting 
 the British right of settlement. The fifth clause 
 was the special subject for attack by the opposition ', 
 who contended that, under it, a British settlement 
 was liable to interruption and invasion every mo- 
 ment, at the caprice, or interest of the adverse 
 party. Mr. Grey (the present Earl Grey) said, " In 
 every place in which we might settle, access was 
 left for the Spaniards. Where we may form a set- 
 tlement on one hill, they may erect a fort on another. 
 A British merchant must run all the risk of discovery, 
 and all the expenses of establishment, for a property 
 which was hable to be the subject of continual dis- 
 pute, and which could never be placed on a perma- 
 nent and stable footing." Had this sagacious 
 statesman foreseen the present state of the Oregon 
 question he could not have spoken more correctly ; 
 and, if we substitute Americana for Spaniards, his 
 description will hold good. 
 
 Now, let it be recollected, that by this convention, 
 in 1790, the rights of Spain and Great Britain be- 
 came perfectly equalised ; and all differences, as to 
 priority of discovery and right of colonisation, were 
 completely settled. Be it observed, that no other state 
 had, or ever pretended to have, any right whatever 
 to possession in those countries. The discoveries, 
 
- wt •**• •»*»..*-^*w* 
 
 . 11 
 
 804 
 
 made by Russia in the more northern latitudes can- 
 not be made an exception, because they never did, 
 nor could interfere with the terms of the convention. 
 
 Great Britain, then, stands merely on her primi- 
 tive rights of discovery, of possession, and settlement. 
 And those rights she has, without one hint of con- 
 cession, maintained up to the present hour. Since 
 1790 she has made no new claim of settlement ; and 
 for the best reason, because her claim was as strong 
 as justice could make it. 
 
 In 1807, the pretensions of the Americans to the 
 Oregon became the subject of diplomacy between 
 the two governments. But nothing definite was 
 done. In 1814, pending the treaty of Ghent, the 
 subject was renewed; and it was then agreed on 
 that " the places seized on by either party should be 
 restored.** Now nothing was to be restored but 
 the bare walls of Astoria (the American settlement 
 before described), for the proprietor had already sold 
 his eflfects to the British North-west Company. 
 This shell of an insignificant fort they never after- 
 terwards occupied. In 1818 the subject was renewed. 
 And then it was agreed, that the country west of 
 the Rocky Mountains should be open to both powers 
 for ten years, without prejudice to their respective 
 claim. lu 1827 the former covenant was confirmed, 
 
 (■ 
 
m 
 
 with the additional stipulation, that either party waa 
 at liberty to annul it, on giving the other twelve 
 months' notice. 
 
 In a few months after the treaty of 1818, the 
 Federal government concluded a treaty with Spain > 
 called the "Florida Treaty;" by which Spain cedi 1 
 to these States all her claims and pretensions to ter- 
 ritory north of the forty-second degree of latitude, 
 by a line drawn from tiie sources of the Arkansas to 
 the Pacific. 
 
 It is on this cession of territorial right on the part 
 of Spain that America partly rests her sole right to 
 the territory of Oregon. But this assertion of right 
 is, on the very face of it, absurd and untenable. 
 Spain could not transfer what she did not then 
 possess. Spain never had exclusive possession of the 
 country ; and even if she had, she surrendered it, 
 by "the convention of the EscurifJ,*' in 1790. After 
 that she had no more than a right of joint occupancy 
 with Great Britain. But they assume another 
 ground of right, i. e., the discovery of the Columbia 
 by Gray. This ground is as untenable as the other ; 
 and almost inconsistent mth it. If the American 
 right be sufficiently strong (as it is not) when 
 founded on the cession by Spain, why resort to 
 another ground?— the priority of discovery, settle- 
 
 :i 
 
 I 
 
li 
 
 III 
 
 m\ 
 
 mf 
 
 306 
 
 meat, &;c. Now, this alleged diacovery did not take 
 place till two yean after the treaty uf 1790. And 
 for twenty-nje years after this alleged diicorery they 
 did not set up such a claim of ewclunve right. For 
 they only contended, in 1814 and 1818, that their 
 claim was as good as that of Great Britain. Be- 
 sides, Gray was not the discoverer of the river. 
 
 After the government ot the United States had 
 ooncluded the Florida treaty with Spain, it entirely 
 altered its tone with respect to the Oregon country ; 
 and when the negociations were next renewed, in 
 1827, between it and the government of Great 
 Britain, it piuhed its pretensions to the boldest 
 lengths. It then claimed, through its plenipotentiary 
 — Mr. Gallatin, from the 4i2nd to the 49th degree of 
 latitude, without reserve. 
 
 With respect to the discovery of the Columbia, it 
 has been already shown, that the first discoverer was 
 not Gray, but Heceta ; and that the first explorer 
 wa.' not Gray, but Broughton. 
 
 As to the surrender of all the rights of Spain to 
 America by the Florida treaty, the plain anower is, 
 that Spain only did, and only could, surrender what 
 she herself enjoyed after the convention of 1790, i.e., 
 the right of joint trading and occupancy with Great 
 Britain. An exclusive right she never had. And 
 
807 
 
 though a war broke out between the two couutriea 
 subsequently to 171X); yet in the treaty of peace, 
 afterwards signed, Spain did not rescind, or even 
 propose to rescind, the covenant of 1790, which waa 
 of a fixed and permanent character. 
 
 As to the surrender of Astoria; it ought to be 
 noticed, that the Americans showed some " sharp 
 practice." All the property of Astoria was sold to 
 the North-west Company, by its proprietor, who 
 anticipated the coming storm ; and sold before the 
 formal seizure of the fort by Captain Black, of the 
 British war sloop, the Racoon. The treaty stipulated 
 that "all the possessions taken by either party, 
 during or after the war, should be restored." 
 Strictly speaking, there was nothing, except a de- 
 nuded post, to be restored to the Americans; for 
 there was no property lost. The fort was, however, 
 restored : but it has not since been occupied by the 
 Americans; which shows their surrender of the 
 ground of occupancy. It is now used by the Hud- 
 son's Bay Company. 
 
 Lord Castlereagh, writing on the 4th of Febru- 
 ary, 1818, on this subject, to the British Min- 
 ister at Washington, says, " In signifying to Mr. 
 Adams the full acquiescence of your government 
 in the re-occupation of the limited position (t. e. 
 
 ',' f 
 
 
308 
 
 Astoria) which the United States held in that 
 river (the Columbia) at the breaking out of the 
 war, you will, at the same time, assert the claim 
 of Great Britain to thai territory, upon which the 
 American settlement must be considered as an en- 
 croachment." He also says, that the British govern- 
 ment " are not prepared to admit the validity of the 
 title of the United States to this settlement." Lord 
 Bathurst, in his despatch to the Korth-west Com- 
 pany on this subject, says, " without, however, ad- 
 mitting the right of that government (the United 
 States government) to the possession in question." 
 Could language more pointedly convey the opinion 
 of the British government, that the Americans had 
 not a shadow of title to the country, than these 
 despatches ? The simple truth is, that it was not 
 thought worth while to keep up a contention about 
 a paltry post. It was surrendered. But the sur- 
 render was accompanied by many protests, that it 
 should not be tortured into any recognition of a 
 right of occupation on the part of America. On the 
 contrary^ the settlement was declared to be an en- 
 croachment on British rights, in despatches publicly 
 addressed by British ministers to public servants, 
 and public companies. 
 
 As to contiguity of territory. — The American ter- 
 
309 
 
 ritory is not more contiguous to the Oregon than 
 the British is. In fact, it is less contiguous ; for the 
 undisputed possessions of Great Britain in North 
 America are absolutely dovetailed into that country ; 
 so much so, that if, by any fatuity or criminality of 
 British statesmanship, the country were to be sur- 
 rendered to the avarice of the Americans, it would 
 be almost impossible to strike a line of boundary. 
 But the case is very different as to the frontiers of 
 the United States. There nature h£^ erected a wide 
 and lofty barrier. After you pass the western limits 
 of the States, there is, for many weeks* journey, 
 a vast arid wilderness, yielding no sustenance for 
 even wild man, or wild beast. Then, after that, 
 there rises to the clouds, and above them, the ap- 
 palling range of the Rocky Mountains; towering, 
 sometimes, to the height of 18,000 feet, capped 
 with eternal snow. Then again, these being 
 crossed, the traveller has to pass over hundreds of 
 miles, through crags, defiles, and deserts, before he 
 approaches the valley of Columbia. This is con- 
 tiguity of territory ! In the same way may the 
 Pacha of Egypt claim the laild of the Niger as an 
 appendage to the land of the Nile. 
 
 The object of the Americans is to have the do- 
 minion of the whole continent, from the Atlantic to 
 
 & 
 
310 
 
 ■i 
 
 the Pacific ; and to exclude all Europeans, especially 
 British subjects, from all habitation there. This 
 they do not disguise: indeed, they are every day 
 growing bolder, and more exclusive in their tone. 
 The 49th degree of latitude was the extremest north- 
 em limit that the Americans ever set, formerly (even 
 in ] 827), to their claim, in their boldest assumption of 
 right. But now they have transcended all their former 
 pretensions by many degrees : for they claim as far 
 north as the 54th degree ! The President, in his 
 formal message to Congress, on the 5th tf December, 
 1843, says, — *'The United States have always con- 
 tended that their rights appertained to the whole 
 region of country lying on the Pacific, and embraced 
 within 42' and 54" 4ff of north latitude." 
 
 Commentary on so false and monstrous an assertion 
 as this is thoroughly use less. If concession be made 
 to this claim, they will, by-and-bye, claim as far as the 
 pole. In a word, nothing will satisfy tbsm, short 
 of the extinction of British power and influence 
 throughout the northern Continent of America. 
 And it only remains for the British government, and 
 the British people, to consider whether they will 
 tolerate this. 
 
811 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Flat-heads — Black-feet — Snakes — Piutes — Strange 
 probationary rites. 
 
 The Flat-heads are, comparatively, very fair in com- 
 plexion, and remarkably well made and active; with 
 oval faces, and a mild, and playful expression of counte • 
 nance. They are described, by those who have the best 
 opportunities of knowing them collectively, as well as 
 individually, as moral and honest in all their dealings 
 — brave in the field — amenable to their chiefs — fond 
 of cleanliness, and decided enemies to theft and 
 falsehood of every description. They aie also free 
 from backbiting and laziness, which are so common 
 among other tribes. The women are dutiful and 
 affectionate wives and mothers ; and conjugal infi- 
 delity is Scarcely known amongst them. The dress 
 of the men and women resembles that of other 
 tribes living in rude comfort. 
 
 The principal chief of the tribe is hereditary ; but, 
 from their constant wars, they have adopted the 
 
 'I ' ii 
 
iil 
 
 'i I i 
 
 m\ 
 
 312 
 
 salutary custom of electing, as their leader in battle, 
 that warrior in whom is combined the greatest por- 
 tion of wisdom, strength, and bravery. The election 
 takes place annually; and, after the expiration of 
 his period of military chieftainship, the leader sinks 
 into his original position, unless he be re-elected. 
 When at home this leader has no authority what- 
 ever ; but is as equally subject as any other warrior 
 to the power of the hereditary cliief. But when the 
 warriors set out on their hunting excursions to the 
 plains, he assumes the cliief command, which he ex- 
 ercises with absolute sway till their return. On . 
 their advance towards an enemy he always takes the 
 lead ; and on their return, or retreat, he brings up 
 the rear. Mis post h the one of the greatest danger, 
 as well as of responsibility and power. He carries 
 a long whip with a thick handle, which is decorated 
 with scalps, of those whom he himself slew, and with 
 feathers ; and he generally appoints two active war- 
 riors as his subalterns, or aides-de-camp. Great regu- 
 larity is observed during the march ; and if any war- 
 rior fall out of the ranks, or be guilty of any breach 
 of discipline, he always acts with strict justice and 
 impartiality ; and punishes one of his own officers, 
 if guilty of any disobedience or irregularity, with as 
 much severity as any other offender. Hence, as well 
 
 MV'' 
 
313 
 
 as from a sense of public expediency and duty, his 
 authority is patiently obeyed. After the conclusion 
 of the campaign, and on their arriving at their own 
 home, the hereditary chief convenes a public meet- 
 ing ; and they proceed to a new election. There is 
 no canvassing or iuL. ruing ; and if the last leader 
 be sup Tseded, he sl nits without a murmur. 
 
 They r-^reiy marry out of their own nation ; and 
 will not easily consent that any of their women 
 should become the wife of a white man. Their 
 marriages are contracted only with the consent of 
 the bride's parents or natural guardians, to whom 
 presents are made by the bridegroom. He, too, 
 in return, receives presents. This custom prevails 
 among most of the tribes west of the Rocky Moun- 
 tains. On the marriage day there is a meeting 
 of mutual friends at the lodge of the bride's father, 
 or next relation, who acts as her guardian; and 
 they smoke the pipe of peace and friendship. ^ Here 
 the bride receives a lecture as to her future duties 
 as a wife and mother. She is exhorted to be chaste, 
 discreet, industrious, and silent ; and when absent, 
 with her husband, among other tribes, always to 
 stay at home, and have no intercourse with strange 
 Indians. She then retires with tlie old women to 
 an adjoining hut, where she unilergocs ablution ; and 
 
 li 
 
 !' 1 
 
m^ 
 
 314 
 
 is decked out ia her bridal finery. She is then led 
 back to her father's or guardian's lodge — is com- 
 plimented, and receives another lecture of advice. 
 After this a procession is formed to conduct the 
 couple to theii* own lodge : the men, conducting 
 the bridegroom, move on first, bearing flambeaux 
 of cedar, in a slow and solemn pace, singing war 
 songs in praise of the bridegroom's bravery, and of 
 their own victories over their enemies — especially 
 the Black-feet. The bride follows at a short distance, 
 surroucded by a group of women, old and young; 
 some of whom are rejoicing at the prospect of hap- 
 piness before her j others — especially her young com- 
 panions — crying, at the prospect of losing her un- 
 restrained society thenceforward. When the whole 
 party arrive at the door of the young couple's lodge, 
 they form a circle, and commence dancing and sing- 
 ing for about twenty minutes. After this, the 
 pipe of peace goes round ; the company oflfer many 
 prayers for the future welfare of the bridal pair; 
 and depart. 
 
 The country of the Flat-heads presents a pleasing 
 diversity of woods and plains — valleys and mountains 
 — ^lakes and rivers; and is well stocked with deer, 
 mountain shee?>, beavers, otters, martens, wolves, 
 lynxes, &c., wild fowl and fish, besides esculent roots ; 
 
815 
 
 so that they have abundant means of subsistence and 
 clothing ; and of traffic as well. 
 
 The Flat-heads are polite and unobtrusive. When 
 one speaks, the rest pay attention ; and every one 
 very quietly gives his reasons for assenting, or dis- 
 sentingj from any proposition. Even the children 
 are more peaceable than other children ; and though 
 hundreds of them may be seen together at play, 
 there is no quarrelling among them. 
 
 There is among them a strong devotional feeling, 
 which is much encouraged by the Hudson's Bay Com- 
 pany. Sunday is inviolably kept sacred by them. They 
 will not raise their camp on that day ; neither will they 
 hunt, fish, trade, or perform any kind of labour, except 
 in cases of extreme danger on that day : they also 
 spend a part of it in prayer and religious ceremonies. 
 The chief, who is at the same time, generally, priest, 
 assembles the community, and commences a form 
 of prayer, in which they all join in an occasional 
 chauut, or chorus. He then exhorts them to good 
 conduct — to be diligent in providing for their fami- 
 lies — to abstain from lying and stealing — to avoid 
 quarrelling or cheating in their play ; and to be just 
 and hospitable to all strangers. During this time 
 of worship all business in the camp is suspended : 
 and if an Indian is riding by, he dismounts ; holds 
 
 II' 
 
316 
 
 his horse, and attends with devotion till all is over. 
 At the conclusion, the priest says, " I have done ;" 
 to which they all respond aloud. They have also 
 their prayers on week days, in the morning or 
 evening. Sometimes on an evening the chief, or 
 priest, delivers these prayers and exhortations on 
 horseback, moving slowly about the camp. 
 
 This devotional feeling, and respect for morality, 
 prevails among the Nez Percys also, and other 
 tribes in the midland region. And it may be 
 affirmed, that there are many leading points of 
 similarity between the Flat-heads and these tribes. 
 They aflford an ample and excellent field for 
 the labours of zealous and judicious missionaries; 
 who would have but little difficulty in converting 
 them to Christianity — the morality and benevolence 
 of which they already, to some extent, practise ; and 
 for the reception of which they are already, in a 
 great measure, prepared. But then the missionaries 
 should be men who would enforce the truth and 
 usefulness of their preaching by the purity of their 
 lives ; for as they themselves generally practise what 
 their preachers inculcate, they would at once keenly 
 notice any discrepancy between doctrine and con- 
 duct. 
 
 They believe in the existence of a good and evil 
 
ii ^ ^^ M i a; 
 
 r 
 
 317 
 
 spirit ; and in a future state of rewards and puuish • 
 ments. They believe that after death the good will 
 go to a country where there is perpetual summer ; 
 and delightful rivers and plains^ abounding in fish, 
 buffalo, and all kinds of game — that they will there 
 meet their parents, wives, children, and other rela- 
 tions and friends — and will there spend their time in 
 hunting, fishing, and amusement ; free lirom the 
 terrors of. war, or the apprehensions of cold, or 
 famine. But the bad, they believe, will be consigned 
 to regions of eternal snow; where they will be 
 shivering with cold, and sinking with thirst and 
 hunger — beholding, at a distance, fires, which they 
 caunot approach — water, which they cannot touch — 
 and herds of deer and buffalo, which they cannot 
 kill : in a word, Tantalised with the sight of. all the 
 good things of life, which they must not use. They 
 think the boundary between the dreary Tartarus 
 occupied by the wicked, and the Elysian fields of the 
 good, is a jungle full of panthers, wolves, and all 
 other noxious and dangerous animals. However, 
 they imagine that this place of punishment is rather 
 a purgatory than a hell ; and that according to the 
 different degrees of the crimes of the wicked, they 
 will sooner or later be emancipated ; and when their 
 
#1 
 
 318 
 
 offences are expiated, be permitted to join their for- 
 mer friends, in the happy regions of the good. 
 
 Their code of morality is very simple, and com- 
 prehensive. They say that honesty — bravery — truth 
 — dutiful submission to their parents — obedience to 
 their chiefs — and affection for their wives, children, 
 and families, are the virtues which entitle them to 
 a place of happiness hereafter ; whereas the opposite 
 vices condemn them tu a place of misery. 
 
 They have also some i lea of a fallen state. They 
 have a traditionary belief that beavers are a fallen 
 race of Indians ; who disobliged the good spirit, 
 and were therefore condemned to their present shape 
 — but that in due time they will be restored to their 
 humanity. They allege that beavers have certain 
 powers of speech; and that they have heard them 
 talk with each othec — holding council ; and sentenc- 
 ing offending mem!)ers to punishment. These no- 
 tions about beavers are held by several other Indian 
 tribes. 
 
 The Black-feet are a numerous tribe, and the best 
 looking of all the American Indians ; who roam far 
 and wide on both sides of the Rocky Mountains, and 
 are generally represented by natives and American 
 traders, as the sworn foes alike of white men and 
 red. But though they are, unquestionably, a fierce 
 
 ( 
 
V, 
 
 319 
 
 race, yet I have spoken to many free hunters 
 and trappers, as fierce and unscrupulous as them- 
 selves — men «rho would find no interest in under- 
 valuing the perils of their own pursuit, and would 
 not be disposed to soften down the character of 
 these Indians — men who knew the Black-feet well ; 
 and I have heard from them that they were not 
 devils so blcck as they were painted. They obtained 
 the character o( ferocity ; and they were therefore 
 considered as /air human game, to be hunted down 
 by the surrounding nations, whom they used to con- 
 quer in war ; and by the Americans, against whose 
 encroachments on Indian freedom and territory, they 
 offered, and offer still, the m^st formidable stand. 
 They are an austere and haughty race — occupy, 
 generally, countries (as they spread their predatory 
 and migratory rovings over a vast expanse, which 
 abounds in all thi means of subsistence) which bring 
 them on the American confines, and which are worth 
 preserving. They have, they say, heard of the Ameri- 
 cans ; who prv: ached liberty, and proved it by shaking 
 off the dominion of foceigners ; but hsve shown how 
 false are their pretensions and their professions of 
 general freedom, when the first use they have made 
 of the establishment of their own independence, even 
 in u strange land, was to rob those whose inde- 
 
 i 
 
f« 
 
 8S0 
 
 :|. 
 
 pendence in their own native land was never dis- 
 puted since they were created by the Great Spirit. 
 They say, too, that these white men did not come to 
 them originally in a candid guise — either as friends 
 or enemies j but that, contrary to all the notions 
 they entertained of truth and valour, they came 
 to them as treacherous liars. They smoked with 
 them the pipe of peace and fidelity — broke that 
 pledge — and then hunted the red men, like wolves, 
 from the plains and hills that were granted to their 
 fathers from all time. These white men pretended to 
 give them the great blessings which their own spirit 
 gave them ; but in place of this they gave them — 
 not more meat, nor more fruits, nor more bread 
 from roots, nor a better mode of making arrows, nor 
 softer beds — but burning water (spirituous liquors) 
 which the bud Spirit made ; and which made them 
 mad ; and not friends, but enemies, to each other. 
 They also say, that these white men who come from 
 the direction of the rising sun, (the United States 
 Americans,) have endeavoured to make them enemies 
 to the other white men, who come from other quar- 
 ters. These, and a thousand other justifications 
 for their hostility to the white men, especially the 
 Americans, I have heard from those who have had 
 opportunities of familiar converse with them. 
 
821 
 
 Independently of these abstract reasons for their 
 dislike of the citizen white men^ as the wanton 
 destroyers of the whole red race, tlie conduct of 
 tiie individual specimens of the American character 
 who creep in among them, would almost justify 
 their antipathy. 
 
 A well-principled and high-minded American 
 writer — Mr. Townsend, who made a journey through 
 these regions with an American party, sayt, 
 "This hostility is kept alive from year to year 
 by incessant provocations on the part of the 
 white hunters and traders, who are at best but 
 intrudera on the rightful domains of the red 
 men of the wilderness. Many a night have I sat 
 at the fire-side, and listened to the recital of 
 bloody and ferocious scenes, in which the narrators 
 were the actors, and the poor Indians the victims. 
 And I have felt my blood boil with indignation, to 
 hear the diabolical acta applauded by those for whose 
 amusement they were narrated :" (t. c, the company 
 of the American free citizens who accompanied him 
 in his route overland through the Rocky Mountains 
 to the Columbia, or Oregon territory.) " Many a 
 merciless marauder was made by these midnight 
 tales of rapine and murder — many a stripling, in 
 whose tender mind the seeds of virtue and honesty 
 
r 
 
 w^ 
 
 r 
 
 322 
 
 had never yet germinated, burned for an opportunity 
 of load'rg his pack-horse with the beaver-skins of 
 some solitary Black-foot trapper; who was to be 
 murdered, and despoiled of the property he had ac- 
 quired by months of toil and danger." The writer 
 proceeds to point out a darker feature in the cha- 
 MWJter of his countrymen — "those noble freemen 
 (to u/^e the words of a member of Congress) who 
 are the pioneers to prepare the road of civilisation, 
 of Christianity, and of our institutions, to our territo- 
 ries on the banks of the Columbia." (!) — Says Mr. 
 Townsend, in continuation of this subject, " Acts of 
 this \ind are by no means uncommon: and the 
 subjects of this sort of atrocity are not always the 
 poor In'iaT;^. White men themselves often fall 
 by the hands of their companions, when by good for- 
 tune and industry they hr 7e succeeded in loading 
 their horses with, fur! The fortunate trapper is 
 treacherously murdered by one who has eaten from 
 the same dish, and drank from the same cup with 
 him : and the assassin triumphantly returns to the 
 camp with his ill-gotten property. If his companion 
 be inquired for, the answer is, that some days ago 
 they parted company : and he will probably soon join. 
 But he is soon forgotten ; or perhaps only re- 
 membered by one, more steadfast than the rest, who 
 
<»i t l f m ;^f >i| f ' H > P 
 
 i.. » MWi w *i ' . ' >w«. rf> ''' '" w r" ' '-- 
 
 323 
 
 seizes with avidity the first opportunity of murdering 
 an unoffending Indian in revenge for the death of 
 his friend.*' 
 
 The ferocity of the Black-feet towards the white 
 man has, however, latterly been much mitigated by 
 intercourse with the traders and out-trapping parties 
 of the company. These act towards them with 
 uniform civiUty, liberality, and justice; and go 
 openly, and with known authority ; and also under 
 responsibility to the company : not in the sneaking, 
 thieving, bullying, and plundering character of the 
 Americans ; who can give little, and are disposed to 
 give less, in the way of trade, but cheat and plunder 
 as much i\s they can, and are not under any controul. 
 Mr. Townstnd, speaking of a trapping party in the 
 service of the company, and under the command of 
 Mr. M'Kay, consisting of thirty men, Indians, 
 French Canadians, and half-breeds, observes, " I ad- 
 mire the order, decorum, and strict subordination 
 which exists among Kis men, so different from what 
 I have been accustomed to see in parties composed of 
 
 Americans steady, determined perseverance, 
 
 and bold measures, aided by a rigid self- example, 
 made them as clay in Ids hand, and has finally re- 
 duced them to their present admirable condition.** 
 The Black-feet appreciate this mode of dealing and 
 
324 
 
 m 
 
 intercourse, and in general reciprocate fairly enough, 
 considering the short duration of time in which they 
 have been brought to even a remote knowledge oi 
 principle of fair dealing or humanity existing among 
 the whites. In their own peculiar districts they wiU 
 deal peaceably with the servants of the company; 
 but when they go abroad on " war parties/' or pre- 
 datory excursions, they do not conceive themselves 
 bound by any duty to act very scrupulously ; and 
 they will slay, or plunder, or trade, as their feelings 
 or interest may lead them. 
 
 The Snakes, and other tribes, do the same. They 
 think that, when conj5ne<l within their own country, 
 and when therefore in a state of peace, they are re- 
 sponsible for all their actions, and must eschew all 
 outrage ,* and their country and nation are free from 
 all imputation. But when they roam abroad into 
 other countries, in their marauding expeditions, 
 then they imagine that their own outrages must be 
 considered as the legitimate duties of their calling 
 and their necessities ; ai^d that any misdeeds of theirs 
 ought to be saddled on the proper occupants of the 
 invaaed country. If a white man, for instance, is 
 slain by the Black-feet in the Snake country, they 
 will justify themselves by the argument that he was 
 an enemy ; else why would the Snakes have him 
 
— M.>i^ . 4ij — ■ Up.M'^^j^ .iwy iiw A -i '^r ' . " 
 
 826 
 
 there ? The Snakes, in a similar case, would make 
 the same plea. 
 
 The Snake Indians, who embrace many tribes, 
 inhabit a wide extent of country at the head of 
 Snake River, above and below Fort Hall, and the 
 vicinity of Great Bear River, and Great Salt Lake. 
 They are a migratory race ; and generally occupy the 
 south-eastern portion of the Oregon. Horses and 
 dogs are their only domestic animals. Their clothing 
 does not differ much from that of other inland In- 
 dians. The hair, which, like that of the Black- 
 feet grows to an extraordinary length, is the only 
 covering for the head ; in general it ' is braided 
 and twisted round the head; and, thus managed, 
 forms a strong protection, not only against the 
 weather, but against an offensive weapon — far 
 better than cap or helmet. The females, for the 
 most part, wear it hanging down the back in queus. 
 Their lodges are of a conical shape, covered with 
 skins. Their weapons are bows, arrows, and guns. 
 Their general stock in trade consists of horses, the 
 skins of deer, elks, buffaloes, beavers, otters, and 
 fish. They are represented, by most persons, as 
 pacific and hospitable ; especially those races 
 within, or bordering on, the Rocky Mountains. 
 They have obtained credit from travellers and traders 
 
<il 6"! 
 
 i t 
 
 326 
 
 for hospitality, and honesty in all their dealings, 
 an'l for possessing high notions of morality and self- 
 restraint. Knowing the dangerous and degi^ading 
 consequences of the use of spirituouf t quors, they 
 refrain from them; saying, that, though exciting 
 for the moment, they eventually enfeeble them, and 
 render them unfit for the purposes of hunting, and 
 of defending themselves against their enemies — they 
 make them quarrelsome to their wives and children, 
 to whom they are bound to be kind ; and induce 
 them to fight amongst themselves, when, they ought 
 all to be united against the common enemy ; and 
 that their use reduces the bravest and most crafty 
 chief to the condition of the lowest Indian. 
 
 Though this general picture, given by some travel- 
 lers and writers, holds good in the main, of the va- 
 rious tribes classed under the head of Snake Indians, 
 and holds especially so in the fertile countries verg- 
 ing on the confines of the territories of the United 
 States, and in those bordering on that of their 
 enemiest, yet there are many sad drawbacks ; as in 
 the barren lands, within the Oregon territory, west 
 of the Rocky Mountains, many of the tribes wha 
 live on fish are filthy in the extreme — ill clad, and 
 selfish. Of the Kagouse, and Perces, who live farther 
 west, in a better soil and under a more genial climate 
 
-4~.«^ 
 
 327 
 
 and who have closer intercourse with the traders, 
 such a picture holds better still. The Percys are, 
 in general, a very good looking race, both men and 
 women. But, of all the inland races, the Flat-heads 
 hold the first rank, in point of intelligence and civi- 
 lisation, and social intercourse with the whites, and 
 personal comforts. 
 
 Among the many singular narratives of his own 
 adventures, and of the customs and superstitions of 
 the remote inland tribes, narrated by Mr. Peter Skein 
 Ogden, one of the chief factors, he mentions the fol- 
 lowing : Among many of the warlike tribes of 
 the Rocky Mountains there exists a remarkable 
 custom of initiatory probation for the young men, 
 in the arts of pillage and war. When arrived at 
 thfl age judged fit for bearing arms, and being use- 
 ful to the tribe, they assemble in bands, to the 
 number of thirty or fifty, according to circumstances, 
 in the spring ; and taking formal leave of their re- 
 lations and friends, depart to some secret place in 
 the woodlands. There they erect a tent, with a 
 number of poles, about thirty feet long each, planted 
 in a circle in the ground, and brought tu a point 
 at the top. This they cover closely with boughs 
 and leaves, so as to render the interior quite im- 
 penetrable to human observation from the outside. 
 
88ft 
 
 The entrance is by a closely-wattled door, equally 
 impervious to humau vision. This they make their 
 temple. Inside, from the top of the conical roof, 
 they hang a fresh buffalo-hide ; and below it, round 
 the sides, camp-kettles, and blankets; and some 
 arms, as the necessary accompaniments in their 
 expeditions — scalps, the emblems of victory — and the 
 skin of a white buffalo, (a most rare and precious 
 ai^imal,) — as offerings to the Great Spirit. Then 
 they commence the ceremony of invoking the aid 
 of this spirit ; and consecrating themselves to their 
 future pursuits^ and the general interest of their 
 tribe. Their principal ceremonial is the smoking of 
 the mystic pipe. The person appointed as priest 
 first uses the pipe — exhaling the vapour through his 
 nostrils — then touches the ground, and afterwards 
 his limbs, with the lower part of the bowl, and hands 
 the pipe round on the right hand, to the rest, who 
 do the same. This rite ended, they offer a solemn 
 supplication to the Great Spirit for success ; and 
 make a solemn vow, that if the evil one do not 
 enter and enfeeble them, they will never again return 
 to their relatives and tribe, except in garments 
 stained with the blood of their enemies. After 
 this, they dance to the music of a war chaunt, until 
 they become exhausted. They spend three days and 
 
329 
 
 nights in the performance of these rites, vrithout 
 eating or drinking. From the languor of body, and 
 the high excitement of the imagination, produced 
 during this time, their sleep must be broken, and 
 visited with visions adapted to their views. They 
 therefore imagine that the spirits of the brave dead, 
 allowed to descend by the Great Spirit, visit them, 
 and direct them in their future course of operations. 
 On the morning of the fourth day, at dawn, they 
 sally forth from their temple ; each separately, and 
 by a different route, to some distant spot which they 
 had previously agreed on as a rendezvous; where 
 they are to concert their future schemes of operation. 
 After they quit the temple, hungry and feeble, they 
 must provide, every man for himself, until they meet. 
 If they are unable to fulfil the terms of their vow 
 during the first season, from lack of an enemy, on 
 whom to flesh their maiden weapons, they retire to 
 vrinter-quarters to wait their opportunity. If no 
 human game is on foot, they are obliged to resort to 
 some ingenious mode of keeping the vow ; for the 
 quicker their return home the higher their reputa- 
 tion. A solitary trapper, well known to the tribe to 
 which a band of these disappointed noviciates be- 
 longed, once dropped in their way. They gave him 
 hospitable cheer. But he soon discovered that they 
 
830 
 
 
 began angrily to debate among themselves as to the 
 propriety of shedding his blood. One party con- 
 tended, that, though ho was the acquaintance dT 
 their fathers, yet he was a white man, and all white 
 men were their natural enemies ; and that though 
 he ate with them, he did not give them hospitality ; 
 and besides, that, when they were disappointed in 
 the wilderness, he was thrown in their way by the 
 Great Spirit, in order to enable them to fulfil the 
 the terms of their vow, and return to their homes 
 and friends. Against this, it was maintained that 
 the white men were not of necessity their natural 
 enemies, for some of them did them good service ; — 
 that as this man was called brother and friend by 
 their fathers, he ought to be so considered in reality ; 
 — that, as they invited him to eat, they pledged 
 themselves to the same friendship towards him as 
 was shown by their fathers ; — that thus to lure him 
 to destruction, was not the act of brave men, who 
 expected reward from the Great Spirit; or approba- 
 tion from their fathers; — that if he were at all 
 thrown in their way by any supernatural agency, it 
 was by that of the Evil one, who wished to tempt 
 them, by a cowardly and dishonourable act, to ex- 
 asperate the Great and Good Spirit in slaying a 
 friend and brother. A compromise was at last ef- 
 
■ ftiJir-' ^- ' ■ ■-' ^f'-"— ^ ,»ii>iiw ^ 
 
 331 
 
 fected between the parties^ by taking his blood witli- 
 out taking his life. A sharp flint lancet was applied 
 to his veins, which gave blood enough to dye their 
 garments : and thus they returned home with their 
 vow fulfilled, at least to the letter; and the trapper 
 returned to the mountains. 
 
 These temples are held sacred and inviolable. 
 They are suffered to remain, with all their valuable 
 offerings untouched, tis memorials of piety ; and it is 
 death for any one to take from them a single ar- 
 ticle. 
 
 Within the Colorado and the Great Salt Lake, 
 there dwells a tribe which is one of the most 
 degraded of the whole human race, physically 
 and mentally — the Piutes. They are entirely 
 naked — men and women : and their only food 
 is lizards, snails, and wild root*. When the 
 snow falls heavily, and these means of subsistence 
 fail them, for they are utterly improvident, they 
 burrow holes in the sides of the sandhills, and 
 there vegetate in a state of somnolent torpor till the 
 opening of the season. Then they crawl abroad, 
 "anatomies of death," to eke out their wretched 
 living; and, until they acquire sufl&cient strength 
 to forage at large, eat grass on their hands and 
 
 '')• 
 
 i :| 
 
 
f 
 
 332 
 
 knees like lieaats. The trappen say that, after 
 a severe season, the ground about their caverns may 
 be seen covered with the bodies of famished dead. 
 Their only weapons are clubs, and in the use of even 
 these they are unckilful. 
 
 \i\' 
 
<^. 
 
 333 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 
 Fort Hall — Trappers — Buffalo — Shooting the rapids — Passage 
 from the United States across the Rocky Mountains. 
 
 Fort Hall, one of the remotest stations^ situated in 
 the third section, on the south-east, near the Rocky 
 Mountains, was built in 1832, by Captain Wyeth, an 
 American, who first tried the speculation of a salmon 
 fishery at the lower parts of the Columbia, and failed ; 
 he then tried a fur-trading speculation, and also failed, 
 from want of skill, or capital, or liberality of dealing. 
 The company purchased this post from him on 
 liberal terms ; and the purchase to him was almost 
 equivalent to a gratuity; as he had no means of 
 otherwise disposing of his stock, and receiving any 
 remuneration for his outlay. At this station, which 
 commands a wide range of trading operations, 
 clothing of every kind, provisions, and ammunition 
 are supplied to the Indians and the free traders ; as 
 are also horses, accoutrements, and other necessaries, 
 
834 
 
 for that wild and desolate country. So liberal is tho 
 company, and so strong is the mutual confidence be- 
 tween the parties, that the horses are given as a 
 loan ; and tho other articles are sold on credit, and 
 at a moderate charge, to be paid for when the 
 skins arc brought in, at the proper season ; no se- 
 curity being given or required, except the honour of 
 the recipients of the favours. So that if the hunt- 
 ers fail, from death, casualty, or dishonesty, to fulfil 
 their share of the contract, the company have no 
 remedy. The company, even in this way — on credit, 
 sell their goods at one half of what the Americans 
 charge ; and pay much higher for the goods received 
 than the Americans. This liberality of treatment ; 
 and the uniform justice of the company, are so 
 strongly contrasted with the conduct of the Ameri- 
 can merchants that (to use the words of Mr. Farn- 
 ham, who was hospitably entertained there after 
 crossing the mountains), " Even the American trap- 
 pers are fast leaving the service of their countrymen, 
 for the larger profits, and better treatment, of British 
 employment." There is also a company of men 
 connected with this fort, under the command of an 
 American mountaineer, who, following various tribes 
 in their migratory expeditions, in the adjacent 
 Mexican and American domain, collect whatever fur 
 
 
 II 
 
33S 
 
 1^ 
 
 may chance to be among them. By these means, 
 and various others subsidiary to them, the gentleman 
 in charge of the establishment collected, iu the sum- 
 mer of 1839, more than thirty packs of the best 
 beaver of the mountains. 
 
 . Many stories are told at the fort of the strange 
 adventures, and " hair breadth 'scapes" of the free 
 mounted trappers. But it may be worth while to 
 mention one, which Richardson, a Kentuckyman, 
 long known to the servants of the company as one of 
 the most astute and dare-devil traders of the moun- 
 tains, used to tell. It is his boast that he never 
 carries provisions on the most dreary and distant 
 journeys. His good horse, his trusty rifle, his pistols, 
 and his knife ; his steel f int, his traps, a coil of cord, 
 and wallet, are his only accompaniments ; and his 
 only trust in Providence. Furnished with these, I 
 have heard him say, he fears nothing, oyer river, 
 or frozen lake, or mountain, or barren plain. Somc^ 
 times he attaches himself to a party ; and sometimes 
 forages and hunts alone. He was once out alone hunt- 
 ing buffaloes, and at the close of day was returning to 
 bis tent, when he heard a clattering of hoofs behind 
 him: and, upon looking back, he observed three 
 Black-feet Indians, well mounted, in hot pursuit of 
 him. He immediately threw off his cargo f meat. 
 
336 
 
 to Ughten his horse ; and then urged onwards the 
 animal to his utmost speed, in hopes to outstrip his 
 pursuers. But he discovered that the enemy was 
 gaining rapidly upon him» and would soon have him 
 at their mercy. He then adopted an expedient as 
 singularly ingenious as it it was desperately bold. 
 Drawing his long scalping knife, he plunged it into 
 his horse's neck, and at ouce severed the spine. The 
 animal dropped instantly dead ; and the determined 
 hunter, throwing himself behind the faToi carcass, 
 prepared to meet his pursuers. In a moment one 
 of the Indians came within i.mgeof his rifle, and 
 was shot through the heart. The other two, seeing 
 the fate of their companion, halted for a moment, 
 and then prepared to surround their enemy. Bat 
 just as the first man had sent his ball whistling by 
 the ear of Richardson, he himself dropped from his 
 horse, by a ball from one of Richardson's long pistols. 
 The third, seeing this rather dangerous game to 
 play, whipped his horse, and was soon out of sight, 
 Richardson had then only to gather the fruits of 
 his victory. He caught the two Indians' horses — 
 mounted one — loaded the other with the discharged 
 cargo of meat ; and returned home with tyro spare 
 rifles, and a good stock of ammunition. 
 
 The Indian wives of the company's trappers can 
 
337 
 
 frequently hunt iis well as their husbands — kill the 
 elk and buffalo — trap the beaver, and use the rifle. 
 Living so much in the open air, and leading so 
 active a life, and generally so well fed, they are 
 athletic and active. It is no uncommon occurrence 
 to find them, on their lonely excursions with their 
 husbands, or even when travelling with a party, give 
 birth to an infant silently, and without assistance ; 
 and in an hour after, they have recovered from the 
 langMor, tie up the infant — hoist it on their back, 
 and proceed with their usual occupation. 
 
 The kind of lodges generally used by the moun- 
 tain Indians while travelling, and by the trapping 
 parties, are of a conical form, composed of ten long 
 poles, the lower ends of which are pointed, and 
 driven into the ground, the upper blunt, and drawn 
 together by thongs. Above, and around these poles, 
 several dressed buffalo skins, sewed together, are 
 stretched, a hole being left on one side for an en- 
 trance. They are comfortable and commodious ; and 
 in tlie erection of them, the Indian women, to whom 
 the office is generally left, are singularly expert. 
 A squaw, accustomed to the work, will erect and 
 prepare one for the reception of her busbar d, while 
 he is removing iae burden frcm his hors'3. An ex- 
 pert Indian woman has been known to stretch a 
 
 Mf 
 
338 
 
 lodge in half the time required hy four white men 
 to erect another in the neighbourhood. 
 
 Having already quoted the best authority for con» 
 veying an idea of the conduct of the American 
 traders and trappers, and of the contrast between 
 them and those in the service of the company — i. €., 
 American authority : I beg to introduce one quota- 
 tion more. Mr. Townsend, speaking of Mr. M'Kay's 
 party, already mentioned, in which there were 
 thirteen Indians — Perces, Kayouse, and others — 
 says, " After supper was concluded, we sat ourselves 
 down on a buffalo robe, at the entrance of the tent, 
 to see the Indians at their evening devotions. The 
 whole thirteen were soon collected, at the call of 
 one whom they had chosen for their chief, and seated 
 with sober, sedate countenances around a large fire. 
 After remaining in perfect silence for, perliaps, fifteen 
 minutes, the chief commenced an harangue in a 
 solemn, impressive tone ; reminding them of the 
 object for which they were assembled — that of wor- 
 shipping " the Great Spirit, who made the light, and 
 the darkness, the earth, and the water," — and then 
 assured them, that if they offered up their prayers to 
 him with one tongue, they would certainly be ac- 
 cepted. Ho then rose from his squatting position 
 to his knees, and his example was followed by all 
 
—la » % » a r-f^Kg V -'* 
 
 339 
 
 / 
 
 the others. In this situation he commenced a prayer, 
 consisting of short sentences, uttered rapidly, but 
 with great apparent fervour — ^his hands clasped on 
 his breast, and his eyes cast upwards with a beseech- 
 ing look towards heaven. At the conclusion of each 
 sentence, a choral response of a few words was made, 
 accompanied, frequently, by low moaning. The 
 prayer lasted about twenty minutes. After its con- 
 clusion, the chief, still maintaining the same position 
 of body and hands, but with his head bent to his 
 breast, commenced a kind of psalm, or sacred song, 
 in which the whole company joined. The song 
 was a simple expression of a few sounds, no intel- 
 ligible words being uttered. It resembled the 
 words Ho-ha — Ho-ha — Ho-ha — commencing in a 
 low tone, and gradually swelling to a full, round 
 chorus. During the song, the clasped hands of the 
 Worshippers were moved rapidly across the breast, 
 and their bodies swung with great euergy to the 
 time of the music. The chief ended the song he 
 had commenced by a kind of swelling groan, which 
 was echoed in chorus. It was then taken up by 
 another, and the same routine was gone through. 
 The whole ceremony occupied about an hour and a 
 half. A short silence then succeeded, after which 
 each Indian rose from the ground, and disappeared 
 
340 
 
 in the darkness, with a step as noiseless as that of 
 a spectre. I think I was never more gratified by 
 any exhibition in my life. The humble and beseech- 
 ing looks of the untutored beings who were calling 
 on their heavenly Father to forgive their sins, and 
 continue his mercies, and the evident heartfelt sin- 
 cerity which characterised the whole scene, were 
 truly affecting and impressive." He then proceeds 
 to say, that, " The next day, being the Sabbath, 
 our good missionary, Mr. Jason Lee (he was a 
 methodist, and belonged to the writei'^s American 
 party), was requested to hold a meeting, with which 
 he obligingly complied. The greater part of our 
 men, as well as the whole of Mr. M'Kajr's party, in- 
 cluding the Indians, attended. Tlie people were re- 
 markably quiet and attentive ; and the Indians sat 
 on the ground like statues. Although not one of 
 them could understand a word that was spoken, 
 they nevertheless maintained the most strict and 
 decorous silence, kneeling when the preacher kneeled, 
 and rising when he rose .... Mr. Lee is a great 
 favorite with the men, deservedly so, and there are, 
 probably, few persons to whose preaching they would 
 have listened with so much complaisance. I have 
 often been amused and pleased by Mr. Lee's man- 
 ner of reproving them for the coarseness, and pro- 
 
341 
 
 fanity, of expression, which is so universal among 
 them." 
 
 Let the reader contrast this account of Mr. 
 M'Kay's party,, including the Indians, with the fol- 
 lowing description, given six pages further, of an 
 American debauch ; bearing in mind that the com- 
 pany's mcL ire not allowed the use of spirits. •' At 
 sunrise the "ttie star-spangled banner^' was raised 
 on the flag-staff. All in the camp were allowed the 
 free use of liquor; and, as usual, the consequence 
 was a scene of rioting, noise, and fighting during 
 the whole day. Some became so drunk that their 
 senses fled them entirely ; and they were, therefore, 
 harmless ; but by far the greater number were suf- 
 ficiently under the influence of the vile trash, to 
 render them in their conduct disgusting and tiger- 
 like. We had gouging, biting, fisticuffing, and stamp- 
 ing, in the most scientific perfection. Some even 
 fired guns and pistols at each other. Such scenes I 
 hope never to witness again; they are absolutely 
 sickening ; and cause us to look on our countrymen 
 with loathing." 
 
 The Buffalo, or wild American ox, which for- 
 merly abounded in most parts of North America, 
 is every day becoming scarcer, in proportion as civi- 
 lisatiou and cultivation advance. It was found 
 
342 
 
 throughout the whole range now occupied by the 
 United States, with the exception of that part which 
 lies east of Hudson's Biver and Lake Champlain, 
 and of narrow and swampy strips of coast on the 
 Atlantic Gulf of Mexico. The fineness of the buf- 
 falo wool, which within a few years has caused it to 
 become an object of commerce, for the manufacture 
 of hats and cloths, is mentioned by Morton, a New 
 England settler, in 1637. He says, " their fleeces 
 are very useful, being a kind of woUe, as fine almost 
 as the wolle of the beaver." At present they are 
 seldom seen east of the Missisippi, and south of 
 the St. Lawrence. Bat they are found in considera- 
 ble numbers west of the Rocky Mountains, in the 
 Columbian region^ nearly to the borders of California, 
 and west of Lake Winipeg, up to the sixty-third 
 degree. Their general colour is dun; sometimes 
 they are spotted. The frame of the buffalo is larger 
 than that of the generality of domestic cattle ; and, 
 though the fore parts are uncouth, tlie hind parts 
 are handsomely, and rather delicately formed. It 
 looks very formidable, from its large shoulder hump, 
 its flowing wiry mane, and sweeping beard, and thick 
 horns, curved backwards. 
 
 A herd of bufi'aloes, when pursued, especially if 
 there be a great number of bulls, emits a strong 
 
 1\ 
 
/ 
 
 / 
 
 343 
 
 odour of musk, which is left in tlicir wake; and 
 their feet make a loud crackling noise. Their sense 
 of smell is very acute. Sometimes they will scent 
 man, if to windward of them, at the distance of two 
 or three miles ; and then they will gallop away with 
 the greatest speed. When they cannot scent a man, 
 they will bear his near approach, or advance them- 
 selves very near him, without any shyness. Whe- 
 ther this is to be attributed to the imperfect vision 
 of the animal, whose eyes are obscured by the great 
 quantity of hair which covers his face, or not, it is 
 not easy to determine. Though buflfaloes and elks 
 are seen on the same prairies, they do not herd to- 
 gether. Wolves commonly attend them; and nei- 
 ther seem to molest the other. It is almost impos- 
 sible to kill thia animal by shooting it through the 
 head or chest : the head is so protected by a matting 
 of coarse wiry hair, that a ball becomes entangled 
 in it before reaching the bone ; and the chest is so 
 fenced by a bulwark of bone, that it will require 
 many bullets to penetrate it. Accordingly, the 
 hunters contrive to gallop by the side of the animal, 
 and shoot it, with bullet or arrow, behind the shoulder 
 blade. 
 
 They sometimes congregate in such myriads, on 
 the prairies west of the Rocky Mountains, that the 
 
i. 
 
 844 
 
 Tsvhole circle of vision within the bounds of the hori- 
 zon presents one dark mass of these animals. Tho 
 bulls march at the head of the cows j and it is then 
 dangeroui fo eocc inter them: for if they become 
 enjrafrOu a/ brightened, the whole herd start off in a 
 straigi. line, "d in close order, regardless of all 
 obstacles ; and would crush to pieces men, horses, 
 and waggons, if in their way. Some of these bulls 
 weigh 30001bs each. When there is abundance of 
 this sort of game, the hunters often content them- 
 selves with the choice parts — the tongue — the slices 
 by the hump ribs — and the narrow ; the carcass 
 being left to the wolves. This waste often leads to 
 woeful want. When this animal is hunted, he becomes 
 sometimes bewildered, and exasperated; and turns 
 round on his pursuers : then it is inevitable death 
 to come within range of his horns. 
 
 Shooting the rapids. — When a boat enters the 
 rapids of the Columbia, the bowman and the steersman 
 quickly resign theiroars,and grasp short canoe padtlles, 
 which they hold down edge-wise, by the boat's sides, 
 propping themselves, at the same time, against her 
 gunwale, to steady her ; while the rowers, in the mid- 
 dle, ply their oars most vigourously : and then the 
 boat sweeps onward — rising, or ducking, or spinning 
 about, according as she is borne by the current or 
 
 
345 
 
 the eddies ; to the great terror of those who, for the 
 first time, are thus whirled along. The success of 
 such a perilous adventure mainly depends on the 
 steadiness and skill of the two guides, at the stem 
 and stem— the efforts of the middle men being, 
 mainly, to keep the boat buoyant. The contrast 
 between the Canadian voyf mrs and the Indians, 
 in performing this feat, is renc . "kable and charac- 
 teristic : those merrily chaunt their boat-song ; but 
 these are as silent and stern js death. 
 
 Passage from the Sto » through, the Rocky Moun- 
 tains. — Though several parties have penetrated into 
 the Oregon territory from the United States, through 
 the gorges, and over the towering heights, of the 
 Rocky Mountains, yet it may be safely asserted, 
 from the concurrent testimony of traders, trappers, 
 and settlers, who have themselves passed these natu- 
 ral barriers, that the difficulties are so numerous and 
 formidable, and the time necessary for the passage 
 so long, that there is no secure, expeditious, or com- 
 modious track, which can be ever used as a highway, 
 so as to afford facilities for an influx of emigrants over- 
 land. Several routes have been tried of late'; and 
 each differs only from the other in the privations 
 which the passengers undergo. None but the wild 
 and fearless free trappers can clamber over these 
 
346 
 
 precipices, and tread those deserts witli security; 
 and even these are (|uittiiig them as haunts, and now 
 using them only as unavoidable tracks. It is true, 
 there have been published more favorable accounts 
 within the last year or ; vro by parties who have made 
 the journey safely, and who encourage others to 
 make a similar experiment. But these accounts are 
 in such a spirit of bravado, and accompanied with ex- 
 pressions of thankfulness by the parties for their own 
 success, that they are indirect proofs of the difficulty 
 and danger of the undertaking, and of the utter 
 hopelessness of such a route for general purposes. 
 For hundreds of miles, the several tracks present 
 nothing but frigthful barrenness under-foot, and 
 over-head, scorching heat, or piercing cold. The 
 country, even west of the Rocky Mountains, 
 is broken with towering cliff's, deep ravines, and 
 sunken streams, from which the traveller cannot 
 draw a drop to allay his burning thirst; and the 
 soil is either sandy, in which he sinks at every step ; 
 or of a black, rugged stone, which tears his feet. 
 The travellers have been obliged to feed on the lean 
 carcases of their animals, which have died from 
 hunger, thirst, or fatigue. Famham says, that hi& 
 party were at last obliged to kill their universal fa- 
 vorite and pet — their dog; and economise his flesh. 
 
347 
 
 He further says, that during eight days' journey 
 — and he had proceeded with the expedition of one 
 travelling for life — he had not met with a single 
 acre of land capable of producing grain or vege- 
 tables. 
 
 Another American traveller — Townsend, says : 
 "Our only food was the dried, crumbling, meat 
 which we carried; and chewed like biscuits as we 
 travelled. There are two reasons by which the ex- 
 treme thirst which the wayfarer suffers, in these 
 regions, may be accounted for — first, the intense heat 
 of the sun, upon the open and exposed plains ; and 
 secondly, the desiccation to which every thing here 
 is subject. The air feels like the breath of a sirroco ; 
 the tongue becomes parched and horny; and the 
 eyes, mouth, and nose are incessantly assailed by 
 the fine, pulverised lava, which rises from the 
 ground with the least breath of air. Bullets, pebbles 
 of chalcedony, and pieces of smooth obsidian, were 
 in great requisition : almost every man was mumbling 
 some of these substances, in an endeavour to assuage 
 his burning thirst." The lead bullets, and the 
 other substances which they chewed were for the 
 purpose of producing spittle which they would swallow 
 to prevent inflammation and death. 
 
 There are, however, certain declinations called gaps 
 
348 
 
 through which, (though with great labour,) a tediouii, 
 and dreary passage can be effected, The most fre- 
 quented of these is the most northern, between 
 mounts Brown and Hooker, through which the com- 
 pany's servants pass in their journey from Columbia 
 to Hudson's Bay. This is, comparatively, an easy pas- 
 sage. There is another between the head-waters of 
 the Flat-head and Marias rivers. Another between 
 Lewis and Clarke's River, in the Oregon, and the 
 sources of the Missouri. And another, which is very 
 mportaut lies between Long's Mountains, and the 
 Wind lliver cluster. 
 
 
 \ 
 
 (ilii 
 
V- 
 
 
 849 
 
 
 r 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 MiHBionarieR, 
 
 .•<? 
 
 Having already^ ia various parts of this \«.ork, when 
 describing the customs of the natives, prepared tlie 
 reader for forming a judgment of the religious ten- 
 dencies of their minds ; and shewn their aptitude for 
 the reception of Christian truth, I beg to offer a few 
 remarks on the culpable neglect of the mental, moral, 
 and religious culture, evinced by the missionary so- 
 cieties of Great Britain, and by successive govern- 
 ments, towards those people who are, in truth, de 
 facto, however questionable it may be that they are 
 dejure, subjects of the British crown. 
 
 The Hudson's Bay Company, it cannot be 
 doubted, exercises almost absolute sway over the 
 whole of the north-west of America, and, it 
 may be averred, also over the Oregon country. 
 Their power is the only civilised power known 
 to the Indians which they shew any d osition 
 
 1 
 
350 
 
 to yield to, or even respect. Independently of 
 the vast and complex machinery of internal and 
 coasting r:ommerce, which they have set to work 
 throughout those almost boundless tracts — a machi- 
 nery reduced to the most perfect and unerring regu- 
 larity — and independently of the sway which their 
 numerous servants, scattered fa ' and wide, and in- 
 termingling with the natives, can give the company — 
 the strict hor esty of their dealings (for they are now 
 become too poAverful and too wealthy to be placed 
 under any necessity of practising either fraud or 
 oppression to carry on their trade, and too humane 
 and prudent to resort to these vile American ex- 
 pedients), and their humane endeavours to lift, as fai- 
 as lies within t^ieir individual scope, the natives from 
 their prostration and ignorance to the rank of 
 christianised and civilised men — endeavours which 
 the nativGs are sagacious enough to perceive, and 
 honest enough to acknowledge (speaking generally), 
 have struck the roots of their power deep into the 
 hearts of the aborigines. 
 
 The Russians and Americans are the only two 
 nations that come, even remotely, in contact with 
 the British in those countries ; and both are equally 
 powerless and uninfluential with the natives. The 
 Russians, for the most part, confine themseives to 
 
 
351 
 
 u 
 
 tlieir own territory — a strip of sea coast, beyond 
 the 54!" of north latitude. Even here they can 
 hardly be said to exercise direct power, or even to 
 have much influence. They have posts, it is true, 
 stationed there; one especially ut Sitska, in the 
 Kamskatka country — a large one, which is worthy of 
 some notice ; and to which the Hudson's Bay Company, 
 by a commercial contract, entered into lately, supply 
 provisions. They, however, are barely traders ; carry- 
 ing off the products of th'; country, without taking 
 much interest in the condition of the natives : neither 
 caving for them, or cared for by them. The Ameri- 
 cans hold a position inferior ustill j for they have not 
 one inch of land from California to the Pole- from 
 the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific, to which they 
 have undisputed right ; and not one single trading 
 post or station along that immeasurable range of 
 coast and country. They do trade, it is true, as well 
 as they can, throughout this vast expanse. But then, 
 from their principles of conducting trade, and the 
 domineering disposition evinced by their irresponsi- 
 ble traders, they have lost all hold of the respect 
 and confidence of the natives. It may be, therefore, 
 averred, without any chance of effective contradic- 
 tion, that, while the British possess substantial and 
 enduring pov^or, through the agency of the Hudson's 
 
352 
 
 Bay Company, the Americans have, not to say a 
 bliadow of power, but they have not even influence 
 with the natives — from north to south — fvom east to 
 west ; for they are looked on by them with distrust 
 and hatred. Such, then, being the real position of 
 the relative parties, and snch the hold which the 
 British have ove rthe natives, it is deeply to be la- 
 mented that no general and effectual course has been 
 adopted to bring them within the pale of Christianity 
 and civilisation. Perhaps on the whole surface of 
 the earth there is not a wider and more easy field 
 for the operation of the missionaries, or one from 
 which a richer harvest could be reaped. The natives 
 are, yeiierally, of a yielding and plastic character j 
 and the principles of their belief, abstractedly from 
 their various superstitions, harmonise in some mea- 
 sure with the elementary truths of the Bible. 
 
 Without enumerating the various points in their 
 natural theology ; or giving a repetition of the several 
 heads of creed professed by the different tribes, it 
 will be quite enough for my purpose to say, that they 
 believe in the existence of a great Superintending 
 Spirit, who created the world and all beings on it, 
 rational and irrational ; who still exercises a paternal 
 power and supervision over his creatures — that they 
 believe in the existence of a subordinate spirit, 
 
353 
 
 wliuae motives are evil; and whose dwelling is in 
 fire; and whose whole aim is to. neutralise the 
 beneficence of the great Good Spirit towards his 
 earthly creatures, and to tempt these creatures to 
 evil— that they believe in the immortality of the 
 soul, and in a atate of future rewards and punish- 
 ments, commensurate with their earthly merits or de- 
 merits — that they believe these merits consist in 
 the faithful discharge of all the domestic and social 
 duties — that they believe it is incumbent on them 
 to oflfer daily homage to this Good Spirit — that they 
 believe this Spirit sometimes condescends, on great 
 occasions, to hold converse with their great and good 
 men, or communicate his will by nocturnal visions. 
 Some of them go farther, and believe in the fallen 
 state of man ; some in a subordinate agent, identi- 
 fied with the Good and Great Spirit, doing his 
 earthly work. Some, again, in their belief approach 
 the historical truths of the Old Testament. They 
 believe that this world was, in its primeval state, a 
 fluid masa, enveloped in darkness, and yielding no 
 living or growing thing — animal or vegetable ; but 
 that the Great Spirit descended up<m it in the shape 
 of a huge bird, and, by brooding over it, gave it 
 consistency and solidity — created ^hc sun and moon, 
 and all animate things on the ear<h. (This is the 
 

 
 v 
 
 
 Ij.v.ftl-' "^ " 
 
 
 
 
 Mi 
 
 354 
 
 scriptural account : in which the words — " the Spirit 
 of God moved ou the surface of the waters/' strictJy 
 means, " the Spirit of God brooded (like a biro ' on 
 the surface of the waters") — that there soon arose n 
 general corruption among mankind ; and then men 
 lived a long time ; — that there was a general deluge, 
 which swept away almost all mm and animals — that 
 some few were saved — that after that men became 
 wicked again ; and then our ancestors came from the 
 rising sun, a great distance. 
 
 Thus it will be seen, that the missionarsoa have 
 an easy field, in as much as they will not have to 
 root out any fundamental principles of religion j but 
 only give these principles a proper direction. 
 
 There are ample pecuniary resources, \\m\ active 
 and useful agents, at the disposal of the British 
 Missionary Societ: independently of the meaus 
 at the command of the government. These socie- 
 ties have, I allow, sent abroad to the remotest and 
 most ungenial regions of the earth, their servants — 
 who have braved all difficulties, and endured all 
 privations, in the sacred cause of disseminating 
 religion, humanity, good morals, and civilisation. 
 And yet, though they have humanised, to some 
 extent, the wild inhabitant of the forest, the moun- 
 tain, tnd desert — though they Ivavq rhrcked hix 
 
 
355 
 
 erratic habits, .lud sof1:ened down his fierce and 
 rugged nature — though they have broken his idols 
 of brass and clay : yet they have, in many cases, 
 only humanised the biped brute to the very condition, 
 and tone of sentiment and belief, in which nature (1 
 may say) has placed the natives of Oregon. Let 
 the long-tried missionary, filled even with the fiery 
 zeal of the primitive Apoiiitles, boast of their former 
 labours as they will; yet I could safely say, that, 
 if they tried Oregon, and many of the rforthem sec- 
 tions of the continent, they would admit, that here 
 they would start from such a commencement, as to 
 the temper of mind among the natives, as would be 
 analagous to the termination of many of their former 
 labours. 
 
 It deserves to be noticed, that, before the r . ^jaes' 
 of Canada, the Jesuit missionaries propag. ed, to a 
 vast extent, the principles of the Christi;u faith 
 among the remotest tribes : and did it suc.ceasfuily . 
 And, had not the conquest taken place, there wovld 
 have now been diflPused, to the most inaccessible 
 heights and deepest dells of the continent, Christianity 
 — perhaps Christianity in a bad form ; but yet Christi- 
 anity iu all its elements — better than no Christianity 
 at all. 1 regret to be obliged to state, that siuce the 
 conquest, but little, comparatively, has been done for 
 

 p 
 
 356 
 
 the conversion of *he natives iu tlie interior, and 
 west. This is a complaint made by others. It is 
 true, there is a school for missionaries, at Red River 
 settlement; but it is, necessarily, on too limited 
 a scale for general purposes. 
 
 I have heard often, from onr voyageurs and trap- 
 pers, that they saw rude crosses painted on lowly 
 and deserted huts, or cut on trees, in the interior of 
 the country, 1000 miles beyond the bounds of civili- 
 sation. To these emblems there is always a de- 
 votional reverence paid ; for there is associated with 
 them a traditionary record in the Indian mind, that 
 they were the wor'< of " the good white fathers, 
 who, nnUke otlksr white men, never robbed or 
 clieatcd them.'* 
 
 But, exclusively of the humanity of converting 
 the Indians to Christianity on sober and rational 
 principles, there is a high principle of state policy 
 involved in it. If the natives were converted, through 
 the instrumentahty of the Church of England, or 
 ii-'er of iiritish dissenters, to Christianity, they would, 
 m moise, attach themselves to Great Britain. But 
 nfl i:'ngland has not used this powerful lever to move 
 them; and as they are left through this culpable 
 apathy and neglect to the influence of the Papal 
 power, (which has already, within a few months, 
 
 :v.-V:- 
 
867 
 
 inducted a bishop to the Oregon district, under the 
 title of ** Bishop of Philadelphia, in partibus infide- 
 limn") and to the dissenters that swarm into the 
 country from the United States, the British tenure 
 of their affections must soon be enfeebled. 
 
 The American missionaries are used by the Ame- 
 rican government, and fairly represented by tlie 
 American writers^ as political instruments, in exercis- 
 ing their influence with the natives, to attach them 
 to republican institutions, and to make them the 
 passive recipients of all sorts of an ti- British antipa- 
 thies : and thus the Americans hope to recover the 
 position in the country which they lost by their want 
 of integrity, or energy, as traders. This is Avell 
 worth the consideration of the British government, 
 and the British Missionary Societies. I shall con- 
 clude by repeating, that there is not, in the world, 
 a finer or an easier field for the holy work of Christian 
 conversion. 
 
/ 
 
 358 
 
 A FEW SPECIiVIENS OF THE LANGUAGE OF THE 
 MILLBANK AND CHINOOK TRIBES. 
 
 Sell Vellajf, or ^fllbanft j^aunts ^vibt. 
 
 Chii-quer , 
 
 rice 
 
 Poocquialla 
 
 . speak 
 
 U'ucuc . . . 
 
 goote 
 
 Kicus . . 
 
 . large 
 
 CAh-millah . 
 
 deer 
 
 Kiarla . 
 
 . long way off 
 
 Cu6 shils 
 
 moolf 
 
 Kyke . . 
 
 . there 
 
 E'-mas . . . 
 
 chief 
 
 I'ghpah . . 
 
 . molasses 
 
 Cu'n-ham , 
 
 woman 
 
 Ike . . 
 
 . aood 
 
 Cooc'-o-lot . 
 
 man 
 
 Yuck . . 
 
 . bad 
 
 Noo noo 
 
 fool 
 
 Wamp . 
 
 . water 
 
 Ee'gh-pah . . 
 
 eating 
 
 K inso^ick . 
 
 . how many 
 
 Uirph'-sah 
 
 food 
 
 Chei Chalk 
 
 . religion 
 
 Tsuck . . . 
 
 mountain goat 
 
 Cuntolum . 
 
 . buUet 
 
 Ali'-a-kim . 
 
 elk 
 
 Cuntegah , 
 
 • gun 
 
 Kelh-seiTi . . 
 
 blanket 
 
 Tadkh . . 
 
 , powder 
 
 WAsch-wagh 
 I -Uli-la 
 
 smoking 
 angry 
 
 Kikas, Kunt^ 
 ^ah 
 
 > cannon 
 
 Whealey . . 
 Ky'ke . . . 
 
 There 
 that 
 
 ChimChlmar)^.^ ,.,, 
 chetar S 
 
 Kusse6 
 
 you 
 
 Chim Chim ar 
 
 i toe naili 
 
 Chuer . . . 
 
 give 
 
 couine 
 
 Noo-guah . . 
 
 me 
 
 lar bpe-ache 
 
 . rein* 
 
 Cdhcunter . . 
 
 shoot 
 
 Sdar . . . 
 
 . hair 
 
 Chiiiney . . 
 
 by and bye 
 
 Cutio . . 
 
 . knife 
 
 Art'-lum . . 
 
 now 
 
 Suina . . 
 
 . salmon 
 
 CKic-a-Barlah 
 
 adze 
 
 Wats . . 
 
 . dog 
 
 I ili>mah . 
 
 yes 
 
 Kilwah . 
 
 . canoe 
 
 Kah6 . . . 
 
 no 
 
 Kikns Kilwal 
 
 1 ship 
 
 A'ltcom 
 
 blood 
 
 N61gh . . 
 
 . snow 
 
 Thui . . 
 
 dead 
 
 Irk Emas . 
 
 . a good chief 
 
 Choonoc . . 
 
 a child 
 
 Yuck Emas 
 
 . a bad chief 
 
 KiniT C16re 
 
 come and trade 
 
 Noii-se . . 
 
 . moon 
 
 Cooloun 
 Watcher 
 
 heaver 
 land otter 
 
 U'tsouk Noti- 
 se 
 
 > three moont 
 
 Whealey lowel 
 
 s Kussii 
 
 where are you going ? 
 
 Lowels, cah ciuiter cah millah 
 
 go, shoot deer 
 
 
 Kiner clear, ki^num cooloun noeh- 
 
 rome and trade, I have plenty of 
 
 qii 
 
 
 heaver skim 
 
 ( 
 
 NAh-emas chuer Wab-wah 
 
 do, chief, give 
 
 me a smoke 
 
 Ki^unum Howmithliin 
 
 good understanding 
 
 Uowmithlem pooquialla Iltsouk do you understand our Innguayt * 
 
f 
 
 > 
 
 
 >f 
 
 35» 
 
 C^innak Crtbr. 
 
 Cullacullah 
 
 . a bird 
 
 Wake . . 
 
 . no 
 
 Ty-e' . . 
 
 . chief 
 
 JVI^iinook 
 
 . do any thing 
 
 Tlllicum 
 
 . man 
 
 Munialoust 
 
 , dead 
 
 'Clo'tsh-eman 
 
 . woman 
 
 Claterwar . 
 
 . go 
 
 Mecar-che . 
 
 . had 
 
 O-out' iin . 
 
 . moon 
 
 Muc'kerinuo 
 
 . eat 
 
 Tan&rse . . 
 
 . a child 
 
 Fecis-se 
 
 , blanket 
 
 Clouch , . 
 
 . good 
 
 Kliiulth 
 
 . nmoking 
 
 Hiirsc . . 
 
 . large 
 
 Cah . . 
 
 . where 
 
 Siar . . . 
 
 . a long way 
 
 O'cook . . 
 
 . that, or there 
 
 Chuck . . 
 
 . water 
 
 Miker . . 
 
 . you 
 
 Kunsgake . 
 
 . how many 
 
 Chi'e . . 
 
 . now 
 
 Tekuit . . 
 
 . powder 
 
 Nika . . 
 
 . me 
 
 Kiuoulth . 
 
 • toba ceo 
 
 Ulkey . . 
 
 , by and bye 
 
 Sex . . . 
 
 . a friend 
 
 Lahwhitaker 
 
 . yen, surely 
 
 Moohilk 
 
 . elk 
 
 Politely 
 
 . to-night 
 
 
 
 MecArchc Tumhim 
 
 Miker clattewar mamfiok mama- ^ 
 loust clouch cullercullar niker ^ 
 tickey muckermuc } 
 
 Charco marcooke 
 
 Miker comtak Chinook 
 
 Ulkey niker chaco 
 
 Wake niker tickey mikah 
 
 Unaculty mikur base clouch che 7 
 wake miker clouch J 
 
 Lawhitakcr mccarche tilicum 
 
 Car miker clatawar 
 
 a hail heart 
 
 go and shoot a good bird, I with to 
 eat 
 
 come and trade 
 
 do you understand Chinook f 
 
 by and bye I will come 
 
 I don't likt you 
 
 before you acted kind, but now you 
 
 do not 
 a very bad man 
 where are you going f 
 
 NUMERALS. 
 
 Mant'ike 
 
 I 
 
 Caclouth , « 
 
 Irkt 
 
 1 
 
 Tug'kham . 
 
 6 
 
 Marluke 
 
 2 
 
 Marthio6se 7 
 
 Mukst . . 
 
 2 
 
 Cinamust . 
 
 7 
 
 Ut6ck . 
 
 3 
 
 Utclouse . 8 
 
 Cloak . . 
 
 3 
 
 Sto'ktekin . 
 
 8 
 
 Mock . 
 
 . 4 
 
 Marmaiieah 9 
 
 Laketh . 
 
 4 
 
 Quiets . . 
 
 
 
 SknucL . 
 
 . 6 
 
 Utcus . . 10 
 
 Quinham . 
 
 6 
 
 Tar'tlium . 
 
 10