*A -i - m. '■;f <•, ^4i<'^':;--^'^;v-:n Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/furcountryorseveOOvernrich THE FUR COUNTRY. Mrs Jolijfe served out slice after slice.'' — Page 4. THE FUR COUNTRY; OR, Seventy Degrees North Latitude. TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH OF JULES VERNE. BY N. D'ANVJERS. Wi\\\^ ^ne SttttlJreli lUtrjstrattotijEf. BOSTON: JAMES R. OSGOOD AND COMPANY, Late Ticknor & Fields, and Fields, Osgood, & Co. 1874. r-' aiPt TO MY NEPHEWS, HERBERT, EDGAR, AND ROBERT, ([Dfjig 2rranslati0n AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED, N. D'ANVERS. Clapham, 1873. 420 CONTENTS. PAET L I. A SOIREE AT FORT RELIANCE, n. THE Hudson's bay pdr company, . in. A SAVANT THAWED, IV. A FACTORY, V. FROM FORT RELIANCE TO FOBT ENTERFRISB, VL A WAPITI DUEL, Vn. THE ARCTIC CIRCLE, VIIL THE GREAT BEAR LAKE, IX. A STORM ON THE LAKE, X. A RETROSPECT, XL ALONG THE COAST, . Xn. THE MIDNIGHT SUN, XIII. FORT HOPE, XIV. SOME EXCURSIONS, . XV. FIFTEEN MILES FROM CAPE BATHXTBST, XVI. TWO SHOTS, XVn. THE APPROACH OF WINTER, XVnL THE POLAR NIGHT, . XIX. A NEIGHBOURLY VISIT, XX. MERCURY FREEZES, XXI. THE LARGE POLAR BEARS, XXn. FIVE MONTHS MORE, XXIU. TELE EOLIPSB OF THE 18tH JUKE riOB 1 8 14 20 26 83 41 48 66 63 69 76 83 90 97 103 110 117 126 135 141 160 168 CONTENTS. PAKT 11. OHAP. I. A FLOATING FORT, . II. WHERE ARE WE? . III. A TOUR OF THE ISLAND, IV. A NIGHT ENCAMPMENT, V. FROM JULY 25TH TO AUGUST 20tH, VI. TEN DAYS OF TEMPEST, VII. A FIRE AND A CRY, VIII. MRS PAULINA BARNETT'S EXCURSION, IX. KALUMAH's ADVENTURES, . X. THE KAMTCHATKA CURRENT, XL A COMMUNICATION FROM LIEUTENANT HOBSON, XII. A CHANCE TO BE TRIED, XIII. ACROSS THE ICE-FIELD, XIV. THE WINTER MONTHS, XV. A LAST EXPLORING EXPEDITION, XVI. THE BREAK-UP OF THE ICE, XVIL THE AVALANCHE, . XVIII. ALL AT WORK, XIX. BEHRING SEA, XX. IN THE OFFING, XXL THE ISLAND BECOMES AN ISLET, XXII. THE FOUR FOLLOWING DAYS, XXIII. ON A PIECE QF ICE, « XXrV. CONCLUSION, . MOB 169 176 183 191 199 207 214 223 232 239 246 253 260 266 273 282 289 295 303 310 315 320 325 333 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. •* Mrs Joliffe served out slice after slice,' Lieutenant Hobson and Sergeant Long, " The Corporal, match in hand, awaited the order of his The arrival of Thomas Black, A savant thawed, , Thomas Black introduces himself, The start from Fort Reliance, " Lieutenant Hobson and the Sergeant led the way," Corporal Joliffe proves his skill in driving, The beginning of the thaw, The effects of the thaw, . A wapiti duel, . • • " To the icebergs ! to the icebergs ! " " There were bears prowling in the pass. The Hare Indians, A storm on the lake, ** Hobson uttered a last despairing cry ! " Saved! .... The mouth of the Coppermine River, " Thousands of birds were shot," Traces of an encampment. The footprints of a dancer, A temporary encampment, " I promise you double pay," The site of the fort, Collecting materials for the new factory, A hunting party, . Sergeant Long and Madge fishing, " From this position they were able," &c., A Morse Hunt^ .... Captain, MOB 4 5 13 14 15 16 27 27 32 34 35 37 46 47 54 60 61 62 64 72 73 74 79 82 84 86 92 93 99 XII LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Walrus Bay, .... Two shots, ..... Rival claimants, . . . *' A new country was springing into being," " A kind ol fete was held," "Mrs Barnett read aloud," *' The dogs rushed out," &c., " The body was hauled up," &c., . Some living creatures came out of the hut," " She ran up to it," &c., . " It is more beautiful than an Aurora Borealis ! " " The bears were walking about on the roof," *' Mrs Barnett pressed the brave man's hand," *• Mrs Barnett discharged the contents," &c., ** Mingled howls and screams were heard," ** Just look at our house now ! " . "The ice burst," &c., " Its waters were still sweet," &c., ** He might be seen standing motionless and silent," *• All might watch the progress of the phenomenon," ** Please, sir, it 's because of the pay," " He shook his fist at the sun," ** I think not," .... *' Tlie carpenter fixed upon the beach," &c., " Thomas Black would not even join the exploring party,'* ♦* They breakfasted," &c., . "Numerous furred animals," &c., •' He was able to look closely at the steep wall," &c ♦'Keep hold!" .... ** Corporal Joliffe was extremely fond of him," ** Thanks to the Corporal's unwearying exertions,' «* We are sinking gradually," *' Hobson remained crouching," &c., " The Lieutenant promised," &c., «« Not that way," .... *' Sergeant ! Where are you ? " . *' We saw their fire ; they will see ours ! " "Look, Madge, look!" . " The bear seized Kalumah by the clothes," " It was the young Esquimaux girl Kalumah," "She murmured, * Mrs Barnett,' " , " The waves dashed over her kayak," " She covered him with kisses," . • UST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, Xlll ** The Lieutenant tied round their necks," ** Hobson was in dismay," ** The wolves came within musket range," *' We knew it, sir ! " "It was a Polar bear," *' Two large waggon sledges were built," . "Some of the icebergs assumed extraordinary forma," " We must pass somehow," " Marbre flung his running noose skilfully," " Everybody started back," " It was dashed upon the ice-field with a fearful crash, " I think it is time to retrace our steps," " It is a frost-rime," " He took the^altitude," . "When an unexpected noise," " It was like an army of icebergs," &e., . " Poor things ! poor things ! " " And a figure appeared," &c., " Examining the state of the sea," &c., . " Mrs Barnett sobbed aloud," " The lower framework was already floating," " He escaped with a ducking," " The embarkation of provisions, &c., had to be put oflT," " He tightened them," &c., " Mrs Barnett turned and looked Madge full in the face, "A beam . . . was sunk deep into the earth," &c., " The colonists, falling on their knees, returned thanks to God," Kalumah and the bear, .... PAGE 242 242 249 252 25" 258 262 272 277 278 288 288 800 801 307 809 310 312 318 319 324 829 832 334 PART I. THE FUR COUNTRY, CHAPTER L A SOIREE AT FORT RELIANCE, I N the evening of the I7th March 1859, Captain Craventy gave a f^te at Fort Reliance. Our readers must not at once imagine a grand entertainment, such as a court ball, or a musical soiree with a fine orchestra. Captain Craventy's reception was a very simple affair, yet he had spared no pains to give it eclat. In fact, under the auspices of Corporal Joliffe, the large room on the ground-floor was completely transformed. The rough walls, constructed of roughly-hewn trunks of trees piled up horizontally, were still visible, it is true, but their nakedness was disguised by arms and armour, borrowed from the arsenal of the fort, and by an English tent at each corner of the room. Two lamps suspended by chains, like chandeliers, and provided with tin reflectors, relieved the gloomy appearance of the blackened beams of the ceiling, and sufficiently illuminated the misty atmosphere of the room. The narrow, windows, some of them mere loop-holes, were so encrusted with hoar-frost, that it was impossible to look through them ; but two or three pieces of red bunting, tastily arranged about them, challenged the admiration of all who entered. The floor, of rough • joists of wood laid parallel with each other, had been carefully swept by Corporal Joliti'e. No sofas, chairs, or other modern furni- ture, impeded the free circulation of the guests. Wooden benches half fixed against the walls, huge blocks of wood cut with the axe, and two tables with clumsy legs, were all the appliances of luxury the saloon could boast of. But the partition wall, with a narrow door leading into the next room, was decorated in a style alike A THE PUR COUNTRY. costly and picturesque. From the beams hung magnificent furs admirably arranged, the equal of which could not be seen in the more favoured regions of Regent Street or the Perspective-Newski. It seemed as if the whole fauna of the ice-bound North were here represented by their finest skins. The eye wandered from the furs of wolves, grey bears, polar bears, otters, wolverenes, beavers, musk rats, water pole-cats, ermines, and silver foxes ; and above this display was an inscription in brilliantly-coloured and artistically- shaped cardboard — the motto of the world-famous Hudson's Bay Company — "PROPELLE CUTX7M." ** Really, Corporal Joliffe, you have surpassed yourself ! " said Captain Craventy to his subordinate. " I think I have, I think I have 1" replied the Corporal; "but honour to whom honour is due, Mrs JolifFe deserves part of your commendation ; she assisted me in everything." " A wonderful woman, Corporal." " Her equal is not to be found, Captain." An immense brick and earthenware stove occupied the centre of the room, with a huge iron pipe passing from it through the ceiling, and conducting the dense black smoke into the outer air. This stove contained a roaring fire constantly fed with fresh shovelfuls of coal by the stoker, an old soldier specially appointed to the ser- vice. Now and then a gust of wind drove back a volume of smoke into the room, dimming the brightness of the lamps, and adding fresh blackness to the beams of the ceiling, whilst tongues of flame shot forth from the stove. But the guests of Fort Reliance thought little of this slight inconvenience ; the stove warmed them, and they could not pay too dearly for its cheering heat, so terribly cold was it outside in the cutting north wind. The storm could be heard raging without, the snow fell fast, be- coming rapidly solid and coating the already frosted window panes with fresh ice. The whistling wind made its way through the cranks and chinks of the doors and windows, and occasionally the rattling noise drowned every other sound. Presently an awful silence ensued. Nature seemed to be taking breath ; but suddenly the squall recommenced with terrific fury. The house was shaken to its foundations, the planks cracked, the beams groaned. A stranger less accustomed than the habitues of the fort to the war of the elements, would have asked if the end of the world were come. LIEUTENANT HOBSON AND SERGEANT LONG. — Page 5. A SOIREE AT FORT RELIANCE, But, with two exceptions, Captain Craventy's guests troubled themselves little about the weather, and if they had been outside they would have felt no more fear than the stormy petrels disport- ing themselves in the midst of the tempest. Two only of the assenibled company did not belong to the ordinary society of the neighbourhood, two women, whom we shall introduce when we have enumerated Captain Craventy's other guests : these were, Lieutenant Jaspar Hobson, Sergeant Long, Corporal Joliflfe, and his bright active Canadian wife, a certain Mac-Nab and his wife, both Scotch, John Rae, married to an Indian woman of the country, and some sixty soldiers or employes of the Hudson's Bay Company. The neighbouring forts also furnished their contingent of guests, for in these remote lands people look upon each other as neighbours although their homes may be a hundred miles apart. A good many employes or traders came from Fort Providence or Fort Resolution, of the Great Slave Lake district, and even from Fort Chippeway and Fort Liard further south. A rare break like this in the monotony of their secluded lives, in these hyberborean regions, was joyfully welcomed by all the exiles, and even a few Indian chiefs, about a dozen, had accepted Captain Craventy's invi- tation. They were not, however, accompanied by their wives, the luckless squaws being still looked upon as little better than slaves. The presence of these natives is accounted for by the fact that they are in constant intercourse with the traders, and supply the greater number of furs which pass through the hands of the Hudson's Bay Company, in exchange for other commodities. They are mostly Chippeway Indians, well grown men with hardy con- stitutions. Their complexions are of the peculiar reddish black colour always ascribed in Europe to the evil spirits of fairyland. They wear very picturesque cloaks of skins and mantles of fur, with a head-dress of eagle's feathers spread out like a lady's fan, and quivering with every motion of their thick black hair. Such was the company to whom the Captain was doing the honours of Fort Reliance. There was no dancing for want of music, but the " buffet " admirably supplied the want of the hired musicians of the European balls. On the table rose a pyramidal pudding made by Mrs Joliffe's own hands ; it was an immense truncated cone, composed of flour, fat, rein-deer venison, and musk beef. The eggs, milk, and citron prescribed in recipe books were, it is true, wanting, but their absence was atoned for by its hu2« THE FUR COUNTRY. proportions. Mrs JolifFe served out slice after slice with liberal hands, yet there remained enough and to spare. Piles of sandwiches also figured on the table, in which ship biscuits took the place of thin slices of English bread and butter, and dainty morsels of corned beef that of the ham and stuffed veal of the old world. The sharp teeth of the Chippeway Indians made short work of the tough biscuits; and for drink there was plenty of whisky and gin handed round in little pewter pots, not to speak of a great bowl of punch which was to close the entertainment, and of which the Indians talked long afterwards in their wigwams. Endless were the compliments paid to the Joliffes that evening, but they deserved them ; how zealously they waited on the guests, with what easy grace they distributed the refreshments ! They did not need prompting, they anticipated the wishes of each one. The sandwiches were succeeded by slices of the inexhaustible pudding, the pudding by glasses of gin or whisky. " No, thank you, Mr Joliffe." " You are too good, Corporal ; but let me have time to breathe." " Mrs Joliffe, I assure you, I can eat no more." " Corporal Joliffe, I am at your mercy." " No more, Mrs Joliffe, no more, thank you ! " Such were the replies met with on every side by the zealous pair, but their powers of persuasion were such that the most reluctant yielded in the end. The quantities of food and drink consumed were really enormous. The hubbub of conversation increased. The soldiers and employes became excited. Here the talk was of hunt- ing, there of trade. What plans were laid for next season ! The entire fauna of the Arctic regions would scarcely supply game enough for these enterprising hunters. They already saw bears, foxes, and musk oxen, falling beneath their bullets, and pole-cats by hundreds caught in their traps. Their imagination pictured the costly furs piled up in the magazines of the Company, which was this year to realise hitherto unheard of profits. And whilst the spirits thus freely circulated inflamed the imagination of the Europeans, the large doses of Captain Craventy's " fire-water " imbibed by the Indians had an opposite effect. Too proud to sliow admiration, too cautious to make promises, the taciturn chiefs listened gravely and silently to the babel of voices around them. The captain enjoying the hurly burly, and pleased to see the poor people, brought back as it were to the civilised world, enjoying " The Corporal, match in hand, awaited the order of his Captain." — Page 13. A SOIREE A T FORT RELIANCE, 5 themselves so thoroughly, was here, there, and everywhere, answer- ing all inquiries about the fete with the words — "Ask JolifFe, ask Joliflfe ! " And they asked JolifFe, who had a gracious word for every- body. Some of those employed in the garrison and civil service of Fort Reliance must here receive a few words of special notice, for they were presently to go through experiences of a most terrible nature, which no human perspicacity could possibly have foreseen. Amongst others we must name Lieutenant Jaspar Hobson, Ser- geant Long, Corporal and Mrs Joliffe, and the two foreign women already alluded to, in whose honour Captain Craventy's f^te was given. Jaspar Hobson was a man of forty years of age. He was short and slight, with little muscular power ; but a force of will which carried him successfully through all trials, and enabled him to rise superior to adverse circumstances. He was " a child of the Com- pany." His father. Major Hobson, an Irishman from Dublin, who had now been dead for some time, lived for many years at Fort Assiniboin with his wife. There Jaspar Hobson was born. His childhood and youth were spent at the foot of the Rocky Moun- tains. His father brought him up strictly, and he became a man in self control and courage whilst yet a boy in years. Jaspar Hobson was no mere hunter, but a soldier, a brave and intelligent officer. During the struggles in Oregon of the Hudson's Bay Com- pany with the rival companies of the Union, he distinguished himself by his zeal and intrepidity, and rapidly rose to the rank of lieutenant. His well-known merit led to his appointment to the command of an expedition to the north, the aim of which was to explore the northern shores of the Great Bear Lake, and to found a fort on the confines of the American continent. Jaspar Hobson was to set out on his journey early in April. H the lieutenant was the type of a good officer. Sergeant Long was that of a good soldier. He was a man of fifty years of age, with a rough beard that looked as if it were made of cocoa-nut fibre. Constitutionally brave, and disposed to obey rather than to com- mand, he had no ambition but to obey the orders he received — never questioning them, however strange they might appear, never reasoning for himself when on duty for the Company — a true machine in uniform ; but a perfect machine, never wearing out ; ever on the THE FUR COUNTRY. march, yet never showing signs of fatigue. Perhaps Sergeant Long was rather hard upon his men, as he was upon himself. He would not tolerate the slightest infraction of discipline, and mercilessly- ordered men into confinement for the slightest neglect, whilst he himself had never been reprimanded. In a word, he was a man born to obey, and this self-annihilation suited his passive tempera- ment. Men such as he are the materials of which a formidable army is formed. They are the arms of the service, obeying a single head. Is not this the only really powerful organisation ? The two types of fabulous mythology, Briareus with a hundred arms and Hydra with a hundred heads, well represent the two kinds ot armies; and in a conflict between them, which would be victorious? Briareus without a doubt ! We have already made acquaintance with Corporal Joliffe. He was the busy bee of the party, but it was pleasant to hear him hum- ming. He would have made a better major-domo than a soldier; and he was himself aware of this. So he called himself the " Cor- poral in charge of details," but he would have lost himself a hundred times amongst these details, had not little Mrs Joliflfe guided him with a firm hand. So it came to pass, that Corporal Joliffe obeyed his wife without owning it, doubtless thinking to himself, like the philosopher Sancho, " a woman's advice is no such great thing, but he must be a fool who does not listen to it." It is now time to say a few words of the two foreign women already alluded to more than once. They were both about forty years old, and one of them well deserved to take first rank amongst cele- brated female travellers. The name of Paulina Barnett, the rival of the Pfeiffers, Tinnis, and Haimaires of Hull, has been several times honourably mentioned at the meetings of the Royal Geographical Society. In her journeys up the Brahmaputra, as far as the mountains of Thibet, across an unknown corner of New Holland, from Swan Bay to the Gulf of Carpentaria, Paulina Barnett had given proof of the qualities of a great traveller. She had been a widow for fifteen years, and her passion for travelling led her con- stantly to explore new lands. She was tall, and her face, framed in long braids of hair, already touched with white, was full of energy. She was near-sighted, and a double eye-glass rested upon her long straight nose, with its mobile nostrils. We must confess that her walk was somewhat masculine, and her whole appearance was suggestive of moral power, rather than of female grace. She A SOIRi.E A T FORT RELIANCE. was an Englishwoman from Yorkshire, possessed of some fortune, the greater part of which was expended in adventurous expeditions, and some new scheme of exploration had now brought her to Fort Reliance. Having crossed the equinoctial regions, she was doubt- less anxious to penetrate to the extreme limits of the hyperborean. Her presence at the fort was an event. The governor of the Company had given her a special letter of recommendation to Captain Craventy, according to which the latter was to do all in his power to forward the design of the celebrated traveller to reach the borders of the Arctic Ocean. A grand enterprise ! To follow in the steps of Hearne, Mackenzie, Rae, Franklin, and others. What fatigues, what trials, what dangers would have to be gone through in the conflict with the terrible elements of the Polar climate ! How could a woman dare to venture where so many explorers have drawn back or perished ? But the stranger now shut up in Fort Reliance was no ordinary woman ; she was Paulina Barnett, a laureate of the Royal Society. We must add that the celebrated traveller was accompanied by a servant named Madge. This faithful creature was not merely a servant, but a devoted and courageous friend, who lived only for her mistress. A Scotchwoman of the old type, whom a Caleb might have married without loss of dignity. Madge was about five years older than Mrs Barnett, and was tall and strongly built. The two were on the most intimate terms ; Paulina looked upon Madge as an elder sister, and Madge treated Paulina ;is her daughter. It was in honour of Paulina Barnett that Captain Craventy was this evening treating his employes and the Chippeway Indians. In fact, the lady traveller was to join the expedition of Jaspar Hobson for the exploration of the north. It was for Paulina Barnett that the large saloon of the factory resounded with joyful hurrahs. And it was no wonder that the stove consumed a hundredweight of coal on this memorable evening, for the cold outside was t\venty-f*>ur degrees Fahrenheit below zero, and Fort Reliance is situated in 61° 47' N. Lat., at least four degrees from the Polar circle. CHAPTER IL THE Hudson's bay fur company, tAPTAIX Craventy ? '» '' Mrs Barnett r' " What do you think of your Lieutenant, Jaspar Hobsonl" " I think he is an officer who will go far." *' What do you mean by the words, Will go far ? Do you mean that he will go beyond the Twenty-fourth parallel?" Captain Craventy could not help smiling at Mrs Paulina Barnett's question. They were talking together near the stove, whilst the guests were passing backwards and forwards between the eating and drinking tables. " Madam," replied the Captain, " all that a man can do, will be done by Jaspar Hobson. The Company has charged him to explore the north of their possessions, and to establish a factory as near as possible to the confines of the American continent^ and he will establish it." " That is a great responsibility for Lieutenant Hobson 1" said the traveller. " It is. Madam, but Jaspar Hobson has never yet drawn back from a task imposed upon him, however formidable it may have appeared," " I can quite believe it. Captain," replied Mrs Bamett, " and we shall now see the Lieutenant at work. But what induces the Com- pany to construct a fort on the shores of the Arctic Ocean I " " They have a powerful motive. Madam," replied the Captain. " I may add a double motive. At no very distant date, Russia will probably cede her American possessions to the Government of the United States.^ When this cession has taken place, the Company will find access to the Pacific Ocean extremely difficult, unless the North-west passage discovered by M'Clure be practicable. Fresh ^ Captain Craventy's prophecy has since been realised. THE AJaLEITAL OF THOMAS BLACSL. Page 14:, THE Hudson's bay fur company. g explorations will decide this, for the Admiralty is about to send a vessel which will coast along the North American continent, from Behring Strait to Coronation Gulf, on the eastern side of which the new fort is to be established. If the enterprise succeed, this point will become an important factory, the centre of the northern fur trade. The transport of furs across the Indian territories involves a vast expenditure of time and money, whereas, if the new route be available, steamers will take them from the new fort to the Pacific Ocean in a few days." " That would indeed be an important result of the enterprise, if this North-west passage can really be used," replied Mrs Paulina Barnett ; " but I think you spoke of a double motive." " I did. Madam," said the Captain, " and I alluded to a matter of vital interest to the Company. But I must beg of you to allow me to explain to you in a few words how the present state of things came about, how it is in fact that the very source of the trade of this once flourishing Company is in danger of destruction." The Captain then proceeded to give a brief sketch of the history of the famous Hudson's Bay Company. In the earliest times men employed the skins and furs of animals as clothing. The fur trade is therefore of very great antiquity. Luxury in dress increased to such an extent, that sumptuary laws were enacted to control too great extravagance, especially in furs, for which there was a positive passion. Vair and the furs of Siberian squirrels were prohibited at the middle of the 1 2th century. -^ In 1553 Russia founded several establishments in the northern steppes, and England lost no time in following her example. The trade in sables, ermines, and beavers, was carried on through the agency of the Samoiedes ; but during the reign of Elizabeth, a royal decree restricted the use of costly furs to such an extent, that for several years this branch of industry was completely paralysed. On the 2nd May, 1670, a licence to trade in furs in the Hudson's Bay Territory was granted to the Company, which numbered several men of high rank amongst its shareholders : the Duke of York, the Duke of Albemarle, the Earl of Shaftesbury, &c. Its capital was then only £8420. Private companies were formidable rivals to its success ; and French agents, making Canada their headquarters, ventured on hazardous but most lucrative expeditions. The active competition of these bold hunters threatened the very existence of the infant Company. 10 THE FUR COUNTRY, The conquest of Canada, however, somewhat lessened the danger of its position. Three years after the taking of Quebec, 1776, the fur trade received a new impulse. English traders became familiar with the difficulties of trade of this kind ; they learned the customs of the country, the ways of the Indians and their system of exchange of goods, but for all this the Company as yet made no profits whatever. Moreover, towards 1784 some merchants of Montreal combined to explore the fur country, and founded that powerful North-west Company, which soon became the centre of the fur trade. In 1798 the new Company shipped furs to the value of no less than £120,000, and the existence of the Hudson's Bay Company was again threatened. We must add, that the North-west Company shrank from no act, however iniquitous, if • its interests were at stake. Its agents imposed on their own employes, speculated on the misery of the Indians, robbed them when they had themselves made them drunk, setting at defiance the Act of Parliament forbidding the sale of spirituous liquors on Indian territory ; and consequently realising immense profits, in spite of the competition of the various Russian and American companies which had sprung up — the American Fur Company amongst others, founded in 1809, with a capital of a million of dollars, which was carrying on operations on the west of the Rocky Mountains. The Hudson's Bay Company was probably in greater danger of ruin than any other ; but in 1821, after much discussion, a treaty was made, in accordance with which its old rival the North-west Company became amalgamated with it, the two receiving the common title of *' The Hudson's Bay Fur Company." Now the only rival of this important association is the American St Louis Fur Company. The Hudson's Bay Company has numerous establishments scattered over a domain extending over 3,700,000 square miles. Its principal factories are situated on James Bay, at the mouth of the Severn, in the south, and towards the frontiers of Upper Canada, on Lakes Athapeskow, Winnipeg, Superior, Methye, Buffalo, and near the Colombia, Mackenzie, Saskatchewan, and Assiniboin rivers, &c. Fort York, commanding the course of the river Nelson, is the headquarters of the Company, and contains its principal fur depot. Moreover, in 1842 it took a lease of all the Russian establishments in North America at an annual rent of £40,000, so that it is now working on its own account THE Hudson's bay fur company. ir the vast tracts of country between the Mississippi and the Pacific Ocean. It has sent out intrepid explorers- in every direction: Hearne. towards the Polar Sea, in 1770, to the discovery of the Cop- permine River; Franklin, in 1819 to 1822, along 5550 miles of the American coast ; Mackenzie, who, after having discovered the river to which he gave his name, reached the shores of the Pacific at 52° 24' N. Lat. The following is a list of the quantities of skins and furs despatched to Europe by the lludson's Bay Company in 1833-34, which will give an exact idea of the extent of its trade : — Beavers, . . 1,074 Skins and young Beavers, . 92,288 Musk Rats, 694,092 Badgers, . 1,069 Bears, . , 7,451 Ermines, 491 Foxes, . 9,937 Lynxes, . , 14,255 Sables, . ' . 64,490 Polecats, . . 25,100 Otters, . 22,303 Racoons, . 713 Swans, . 7,918 Wolves, . 8,484 Wolverines, 1,571 Such figures ought to bring in a large profit to the Hudson's Bay Company, but unfortunately they have not been maintained, and for the last twenty years have been decreasing. The cause of this decline was the subject of Captain Craventy's explanation to Mrs Paulina Barnett. ** Until 1839, Madam," said he, " the Company was in a flourish- ing condition. In that year the number of furs exported was 2,350,000, but since then the trade has gradually declined, and this number is now reduced by one-half at least." " But what do you suppose is the cause of this extraordinary decrease in the exportation of furs 1 " inquired Mrs Barnett. "The depopulation of the hunting territories, caused by the activity, and, I must add, the want of foresight of the hunters. The game was trapped and killed without mercy. These massacres were conducted in the most reckless and short-sighted fashion. Even females witii young and their little ones did not escape. The consequence is, that the animals whose fur is valuable have become extremely rare. The otter has almost entirely disappeared, and is I 12 THE FUR COUNTRY, only to be found near the islands of the North Pacific. Small colonies of beavers have taken refuge on tlie shores of the most dis- tant rivers. It is the same with many, other animals, compelled to flee before the invasion of the hunters. The traps, once crowded with game, are now empty. The price of skins is rising just when a great demand exists for furs. Hunters have gone away in disgust, leaving none but the most intrepid and indefatigable, who now penetrate to the very confines of the American continent." *' Yes," said Mrs Paulina Barnett, " the fact of the fur-bearing animals having taken refuge beyond the polar circle, is a sufficient explanation of the Company's motive in founding a factory on the borders of the Arctic Ocean." "Not only so. Madam," replied the Captain, "the Company is also compelled to seek a more northern centre of operations, for an Act of Parliament has lately greatly reduced its domain.'' " And the motive for this reduction % " inquired the traveller. *' A very important question of political economy was involved, Madam ; one which could not fail greatly to interest the statesmen of Great Britain. In a word, the interests of the Company and those of civilisation are antagonistic. It is to the interest of the Company to keep the territory belonging to it in a wild unculti- vated condition. Every attempt at clearing ground was pitilessly put a stop to, as it drove away the wild animals, so that the mono- poly enjoyed by the Hudson's Bay Company was detrimental to all agricultural enterprise. All questions not immediately relating to their own particular trade, were relentle.^^sly put aside by the governors of the association. It was this despotic, and, in a certain sense, immoral system, which provoked the measures taken by Par- liament, and, in 1837, a commission appointed by the Colonial Secretary decided that it was necessary to annex to Canada all the territories suitable for cultivation, such as the Red River and Sas- katchewan districts, and to leave to the Company only that portion of its land which appeared to be incapable of future civilisation. The next year the Company lost the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains, which it held direct from the Colonial Office, and you will now understand. Madam, how the agents of the Company, hav- ing lost their power over their old territories, are determined before giving up their trade to try to work the little known countries of the north, and so open a communication with the Pacific by means of the North-west passage." A SAVANT THAWED, — Pa^^e 15. THE HUDSON 's BA Y FUR COMPANY. 1 3 Mrs Paulina Barnett was now well informed as to the ulterior projects of the celebrated Company. Captain Craventy had given her a graphic sketch of the situation, and it is probable he would have entered into further details, had not an incident cut short his harangue. Corporal Joliffe announced in a loud voice that, with Mrs Joliffe's assistance, he was about to mix the punch. This news was received as it deserved. The bowl — or rather, the basin — was filled with the precious liquid. It contained no less than ten pints of coarse rum. Sugar, measured out by Mrs Joliflfe, was piled up at the bottom, and on the top floated slices of lemon shrivelled with' age. Nothing remained to be done but to light this alcoholic hike, and the Corporal, match in hand, awaited the order of his Captain, as if he were about to spring a mine. "All right, Joliffe !" at last said Captain Craventy. The light was applied to the bowl, and in a moment the punch was in flames, whilst the guests applauded and clapped their hands. Ten minutes afterwards, full glasses of the delightful beverage were circulating amongst the guests, fresh bidders for them coming for- ward in endless succession, like speculators on the Stock Exchange. " Hurrah ! hurrah ! hurrah I three cheers for Mrs Barnett ! A cheer for the Captain." In the midst of these joyful shouts cries were heard from outside. Silence immediately fell upon the company assembled. "Sergeant Long," said the Captain, "go and see what is the matter." And at his chiefs order, the Sergeant, leaving his glass unfinished, left the room. CHAPTER HI. A SAVANT THAWED. |)ERGEANT LONG liastened to the narrow passage from \^J^ which opened the outer door of the fort, and heard the cries redoubled, and combined with violent blows on the postern gate, surrounded by high walls, which gave access to the court. The Sergeant pushed open the door, and plunging into the snow, already a foot deep ; he waded through it, although half- blinded by the cutting sleet, and nipped by the terrible cold. " What the devil does any one want at this time of night 1 " exclaimed the Sergeant to himself, as he mechanically removed the heavy bars of the gate ; " none but Esquimaux would dare to brave such a temperature as this ! " " Open 1 open 1 open ! " they shouted from without. "I am opening," replied Sergeant Long, who really seemed to be a long time about it. At last the door swung open, and the Sergeant was almost upset by a sledge, drawn by six dogs, which dashed past him like a flash of lightning. Worthy Sergeant Long only just escaped being crushed, but he got up without a murmur, closed the gate, and returned to the house at his ordinary pace, that is to say, at the rate of seventy- five .strides a minute. But Captain Craventy, Lieutenant Jaspar Hobspn, and Corporal Joliffe were already outside, braving the intense cold, and staring at the sledge, white with snow, which had just drawn up in front of them. A man completely enveloped in furs now descended from it. " Fort Reliance 1 " he inquired. " The same," replied the Captain. " Captain Craventy 1 " " Behold him ! Who are you ? " *' A courier of the Company." " Are you alone ? '* A SA VANT THA WED. 1 5 " No, I bring a traveller." *' A traveller ! And what does he want?" " He is come to see the moon." At this reply, Captain Craventy said to himself the man must be a fool. But there was no time to announce this opinion, for the courier had taken an inert mass from the sledge, a kind of bag covered with snow, and was about to carry it into the house, when the Captain inquired — -^ "What is that bagT' " It is my traveller," replied the courier. " Who is this traveller ? " " The astronomer, Thomas Black." ** But he is frozen." "Well, he must be thawed." Thomas Black, carried by the Sergeant, the Corporal, and the courier, now made his entrance into the house of the fort, and was taken to a room on the first floor, the temperature of which was bearable, thanks to a glowing stove. He was laid upon a bed, and the Captain took his hand. It was literally frozen. The wrappers and furred mantles, in which Thomas Black was rolled up like a parcel requiring care, were removed, and revealed a man of about fifty. He was short and stout, his hair was already touched with grey, his beard was un- trimmed, his eyes were closed, and his lips pressed together as if glued to one another. If he breathed at all, it was so slightly that the frost-work on the windows would not have been aff"ected by it. Joliffe undressed him, and turned him rapidly on to his face and back again, with the words — " Come, come, sir, when do you mean to return to conscious- ness 1 " But the visitor who had arrived in so strange a manner showed no signs of returning life, and Corporal Joliffe could think of no better means to restore the lost vital heat tlian to give him a bath in the bowl of hot punch. Very happily for Thomas Black, however, Lieutenant Jaspar Hobson had another idea. " Snow, bring snow ! " he cried. There was plenty of it in the court of Fort Reliance ; — and whilst the Sergeant went to fetch the snow, Joliffe removed all the astronomer's clothes. The body of the unfortunate man was 1 6 THE FUR CO UNTR Y. covered with white frost-bitten patches. It was urgently neces- sary to restore the circulation of the blood in the affected por- tions. This result Jaspar Hobson hoped to obtain by vigorous friction with the snow. We know that this is the means generally employed in the polar countries to set going afresh the circulation of the blood arrested by the intense cold, even as the rivers are arrested in their courses by the icy touch of winter^ Sergeant Long soon returned, and he and Joliffe gave the new arrival such a rubbing as he had probably never before received. It Vvas no soft and agreeable friction, but a vigorous shampooing most lustily performed, more like the scratching of a curry-comb than the caresses of a human hand. And during the operation the loquacious Corporal continued ta exhort the unconscious traveller. " Come, come, sir. What do you mean by getting frozen like this. Now, don't be so obstinate ! " Probably it was obstinacy which kept Thomas Black from deign- ing to show a sign of life. At the end of half an hour the rubbers began to despair, and were about to discontinue their exhausting efforts, when the poor man sighed several times. " He lives ; he is coming to ! " cried Jaspar Hobson. After having warmed the outside of his body, Corporal Joliffe hurried to do the same for the inside, and hastily fetched a few glasses of the punch. The traveller really felt much revived by them ; the colour returned to his cheeks, expression to his eyes, and words to his lips, so that Captain Craventy began to hope that he should have an explanation from Tliomas Black himself of his strange arrival at the fort in such a terrible condition. At last the traveller, well covered with wraps, rose on his elbow^ and said in a voice still faint — " Fort Reliance ? " *' The same," replied the Captain. " Captain Craventy ? " " He is before you, and is happy to bid you welcome. But may I inquire what brings you to Fort Reliance?" " He is come to see the moon," replied the courier, who evidently thought this a happy answer. It satisfied Thomas Black too, for he beat his head in assent and resumed — '• Lieutenant Hobson ] " . THOMAS BLACK INTRODUCES HIMSELF. Page 16 A SA VANT THA WED. 1/ -" I am here," replied the Lieutenant, " You have not yet started % " " Not yet, sin" " Then," replied Thomas Black, " I have only to thank you, and to go to sleep until to-morrow morning/' The Captain and his companions retired, leaving their strange visitor to his repose. Half an hour later the fete was at an end, and the guests had regained their respective homes, either in the diflftrent rooms of the fort, or the scattered houses outside the enceinte. The next day Thomas Black was rather better. His vigorous constitution had thrown off the effects of the tenible chill he had had. Any one else would have died from it ; but he was uot like other men. And now who was this astronomer ? Where did he come from ? Why had he undertaken this journey across the territories of the Company in the depth of winter % What did the courier's reply signify] — To see the moon! The moon could be seen anywhere; there was no need to come to the hyperborean regions to look at it! Such were the thoughts which passed through Captain Craventy's mind. But the next day, after an hour's talk with his new guest, he had learned all he wished to know. Thomas Black was an astronomer attached to the Greenwich Observatory, so brilliantly presided over by Professor Airy. Mr Black was no theorist, but a sagacious and intelligent observer ; and in the twenty years during which he had devoted himself to astronomy, he had rendered great services to the science of ourano- graphy. In private life he was a simple nonentity ; he existed only for astronomy; he lived in the heavens, not upon the earth ; and was a true descendant of the witty La Fontaine's savant who fell into a well. He could talk of nothing but stars and constellations. He ought to have lived in a telescope. As an observer he had not his rival; his patience was inexhaustible ; he could watch for months for a cosmical phenomenon. He had a specialty of his own, too ; he had studied luminous meteors and shooting stars, and his discoveries in this branch of astronomical science were considerable. When-- ever minute observations or exact measurements and definitions were required, Thomas Black was chosen for the service ; for his clearness of sight was something remarkable. - The power of obser vation is not given to every one, and it will not therefore be surpris B 1 8 T^E EUR CO UNTR Y. ing that the Greenwich astronomer should have been chosen for the mission we are about to describe, which involved results so interest- ing for selenographic science. We know that during a total eclipse of the sun the moon is surrounded by a luminous corona. But what is the origin of this corona ? Ig it a real substance 1 or is it only an effect of the diffrac- tion of the sun's rays near the moon 1 This is a question which science has hitherto been unable to answer. As early as 1706 this luminous halo was scientifically described. The corona was minutely examined during the total eclipse of 1715 by Lonville and Halley, by Maraldi in 1724, by Antonio de' Ulloa in 1778, and by Bonditch and Ferrer in 1806 ; but their theories were so contradictory that no definite conclusion could be arrived at. During the total eclipse of 1842, learned men of all nations — Airy, Arago, Keytal, Langier, Mauvais, Otto, Struve, Petit, Baily, &c. — endeavoured to solve the mystery of the origin of the phenomenon ; but in spite of all their efforts, " the disagreement," says Arago, ** of the observations taken in different places by skilful astronomers of one and the same eclipse, have involved the question in fresh obscurity, so that it is now impossible to come to any certain conclusion as to the cause of the phenomenon." Since this was written, other total eclipses have been studied with no better results. Yet the solution of the question is of such vast importance to selenographic science that no price would be too great to pay for it. A fresh opportunity was now about to occur to study the much-discussed corona. A total eclipse of the sun — total, at least, for the extreme north of America, for Spain and North Africa — was to take place on July 18th, 1860. It was arranged between the astronomers of different countries that simultaneous observations should be taken at the various points of the zone where the eclipse would be total. Thomas Black was chosen for the expedition to North America, and was now much in the same situation as the English astronomers who were transported to Norway and Sweden on the occasion of the eclipse of 1851. It will readily be imagined that Thomas Black seized with avidity the opportunity offered him of studying this luminous halo. He was also to examine into the nature of the red prominences which appear on different parts of the edge of the terrestrial satellite when the totality of the eclipse has commenced ; and A SAVANT THAWED. 1 9 should he be able satisfactorily to establish their origin, he would be entitled to the applause of the learned men of all Europe. Thomas Black eagerly prepared for his journey. He obtained urgent letters of recommendation to the principal agents of the Hudson's Bay Company. He ascertained that an expedition was to go to the extreme north of the continent to found a new fort. It was an opportunity not to be lost ; so he set out, crossed the Atlantic, landed at New York, traversed the lakes to the Red River settlement, and pressed on from fort to fort in a sledge, under the escort of a courier of the Company ; in spite of the severity of the winter, braving all the dangers of a journey across the Arctic regions, and arriving at Fort Reliance on the 19th March in the condition we have described. Such was the explanation given by the astronomer to Captain Craventy. He at once placed himself entirely at Mr Black's service, but could not refrain from inquiring why he had been in such a great hurry to arrive, when the eclipse was not to take place until the following year, 1860? " But, Captain," replied the astronomer, " I heard that the Com- pany was sending an expedition along the northern coast of America, and I did not wish to miss the departure of Lieutenant Hobson." " Mr Black," replied the Captain, '* if the Lieutenant had already started, I should have felt it my duty to accompany you myself to the shores of the Polar Sea." And with fresh assurances of his willingness to serve him, the Captain again bade his new guest welcome to Fort Reliance. CHAPTER IV. A FACTORY. ^^vv NE of tlie largest of the lakes beyond the 61st parallel is that <^rlj(^ called the Great Slave Lake ; it is two hundred and fifty V^S^ miles long by fifty across, and is situated exactly at 61° 25' N. lat. and 114° W. long. The surrounding districts slope down to it, and it completely fills a vast natural hollow. The position of the lake in the very centre of the hunting districts, once swarming with game, early attracted the attention of the Company. Numerous streams either take their rise from it or flow into it — the Mackenzie, the Athabasca," one pound of glass beadfl, . *t one laced coat, . , 6 !! it one coat not laced, 5 n one laced female dress. 6 t* one pound of tobacco. 1 ft one box of powder. 1 «« one comb and one looking-j ;lass, . 2 But a few years ago beaver-skins became so scarce that the cur- rency had to be changed. Bison-furs are now the medium of trade. When an Indian presents himself at the fort, the agents of the Company give him as many pieces of wood as he brings skins, and he exchanges these pieces of wood for manufactured articles on the premises ; and as the Company fix the price of the articles they buy and sell, they cannot fail to realise large profits. Such was the mode of proceeding in Fort Reliance and other factories ; so that Mrs Paulina Barnett was able to watch the work- ing of the system during her stay, which extended until the 16th April. Many a long talk did she have with Lieutenant Hobson, many were the projects they formed, and firmly were they both determined to allow no obstacle to check their advance. As for Thomas Black, he never opened his lips except when his own special mission was discussed. He was wrapped up in the subject of the luminous corona and red prominences of the moon ; he lived but to solve the problem, and in the end made Mrs Paulina Barnett nearly as enthusiastic as himself. How eager the two were to cross the Arctic Circle, and how far off the 18th July 1860 appeared to both, but especially to the impatient Greenwich astronomer, can easily be imagined. The preparations for departure could not be commenced until the middle of March, and 'a month passed before they w^ere completed. In fact, it was a formidable undertaking to organise such an ex- A FACTORY. 2$ peditioii for crossing the Polar regions. Everything had to be taken with them — food, clothes, tools, arms, ammunition, and a nonde- script collection of various requisites. The troops, under the command of Lieutenant Jaspar Hobson, were one chief and two subordinate officers, with ten soldiers, three of whom took their wives with them. They were all picked men, chosen by Captain Craventy on account of their energy and resolution. We append a list of the whole party : — 1. Lieutenant Jaspar Hobson. 11, Sabine, soldier. 2. Sergeant Long. 12. Hope, do. 3. Corporal Joliffe. 13. Kellet, do. 4. Petersen, soldier. 14. Mrs Rae. 5. Belcher, do. 15. MrsJoliflfe. 6. Rae, do. 16. Mrs Mac-Nab. 7. Marbre, do. 17. Mrs Paulina Barnett. 8. Garry, do. 18. Madge. 9. Pond, do. 19. Thomas Black. 10. Mac-Nab, do. In all, nineteen persons to be transported several hundreds of miles through a desert and imperfectly-known country. With this project in view, however, the Company had collected everything necessary for the expedition. A dozen sledges, with their teams of dogs, were in readiness. These primitive vehicles consisted of strong but light planks joined together by transverse bands. A piece of curved wood, turning up at the end like a skate, was fixed beneath the sledge, enabling it to cleave the snow without sinking deeply into it. Six swift and intelligent dogs, yoked two and two, and controlled by the long thong brandished by the driver, drew the sledges, and could go at a rate of fifteen miles an hour. The wardrobe of the travellers consisted of garments made of reindeer-skins, lined throughout with thick furs. All wore linen next the skin as a protection against the sudden changes of tempera- ture frequent in these latitudes. Each one, officer or soldier, male or female, wore seal-skin boots sewn with twine, in the manufacture of which the natives excel. These boots are absolutely impervious, and are so flexible that they are admirably adapted for walking. Pine-wood snow-shoes, two or three feet long, capable of supporting the weight of a man on the most brittle snow, and enabling him to pass over it with the rapidity of a skater on ice, can oe fastened 24 THE FUR COUNTRY. to the soles of the seal-skin boots. Fur caps and deer-skin belts completed the costumes. For arms, Lieutenant Hobson had the regulation musketoons provided by the Company, pistols, ordnance sabres, and plenty of ammunition ; for tools : axes, saws, adzes, and other instruments required in carpentering. Then there was the collection of all that would be needed for setting up a factory in the remote district for which they were bound : a stove, a smelting furnace, two air- pumps for ventilation, an india-rubber boat, only inflated when required, &c., &c. The party might have relied for provisions on the hunters amongst them. Some of the soldiers were skilful trackers of game, and there were plenty of reindeer in the Polar regions. Whole tribes of Indians or Esquimaux, deprived of bread and all other nourishment, subsist entirely on this venison, which is both abundant and palatable. But as delays and difficulties had to be allowed for, a certain quantity of provisions was taken with. them. The flesh of the bison, elk, and deer, amassed in the large hattues on the south of the lake j corned beef, which will keep for any length of time ; and some Indian preparations, in which the flesh of animals, ground to powder, retains its nutritive properties in a very small bulk, requiring no cooking, and forming a very nourishing diet, were amongst the stores provided in case of need. Lieutenant Hobson likewise took several casks of rum and whisky; but he was firmly resolved to economise these spirits, so injurious to the health in cold latitudes, as much as possible. The Company had placed at his disposal a little portable medicine-chest, con- taining formidable quantities of lime-juice, lemons, and other simple remedies necessary to check, or if possible to prevent, the scorbutic afiections which take such a terrible form in these regions. All the men had been chosen with great care ; none were too stout or too thin, and all had for years been accustomed to the severity of the climate, and could therefore more easily endure the fatigues of an expedition to the Polar Sea. They were all brave, high-spirited fellows, who had taken service of their own accord. Double pay had been promised them during their stay at the confines of the American continent, should they succeed in making a settlement be- yond the seventieth parallel. The sledge provided for Mrs Barnett and her faithful Madge was rather more comfortable than the others. She did not wish to LIEUTENANT HOBSON AND THE SERGEANT LED THE WAY. — Page 2, I. A FACTORY. 2$ be treated better than her travelling companions, but yielded to the urgent request of Captain Craventy, who was but carrying out the wishes of the Company. The vehicle which brought Thomas Black to Fort Reliance also conveyed him and his scientific apparatus from it. A few astrono- mical instruments, of which there were not many in those days — a telescope for his selenographic observations, a sextant for taking the latitude, a chronometer for determining the longitudes, a few maps, a few books, were all stored away in this sledge, and Thomas Black relied upon his faithful dogs to lose nothing by the way. Of course the food for the various teams was not forgotten. There were altogether no less than seventy-two dogs, quite a herd to pro- vide for by the way, and it was the business of the hunters to cater for them. These strong intelligent animals were bought of the Chippeway Indians, who know well how to train them for their arduous calling. The little company was most skilfully organised. The zeal of Lieutenant Jaspar Hobson was beyond all praise. Proud of his mission, and devoted to his task, he neglected nothing which could insure success. Corporal Joliflfe, always a busybody, exerted himself without producing any very tangible results ; but his wife was most useful and devoted; and Mrs Paulina Barnett had already struck up a great friendship with the brisk little Canadian woman, whose fair hair and large soft eyes were so pleasant to look at. We need scarcely add that Captain Craventy did all in his power to further the enterprise. The instructions he had received from the Company showed what great importance they attached to the success of the expedition, and the establishment of a new factory beyond the seventieth parallel. We may therefore safely affirm that every human effort likely to insure success which could be made was made , but who could tell what insurmountable difficulties nature might place in the path of the brave Lieutenant ] who could tell what awaited him and his devoted little band? CHAPTER V. FROM FORT RELIANCE TO FORT ENTERPRISE. I HE first fine days came at last. The green carpet of the j{^ hills began to appear here and there where the snow had melted. A few migratory birds from the south — such as swans, bald-headed eagles, &c. — passed through the warmer air. The poplars, birches, and willows began to bud, and the red- headed ducks, of which there are so many species in North America, to skim the surface of the numerous pools formed by the melted snow. Guillemots, puffins, and eider ducks sought colder latitudes ; and little shrews no bigger than a hazel-nut ventured from their holes, tracing strange figures on the ground with their tiny-pointed tails. It was intoxicating once more to breathe the fresh air of spring, and to bask in the sunbeams. Nature awoke once more from her heavy sleep in the long winter night, and smiled as she opened her eyes. The renovation of creation in spring is perhaps more impressive in the Arctic regions than in any other portion of the globe, on account of the greater contrast with what has gone before. The thaw was not, however, complete. The thermometer, it is true, marked 41° Fahrenheit above zero ; but the mean temperature of the nights kept the surface of the snowy plains solid — a good thing for the passage of sledges, of which Jaspar Hobson meant to avail himself before the thaw became complete. The ice of the lake was still unbroken. During the last month several successful hunting expeditions had been made across the vast smooth plains, which were already frequented by game. Mrs Barnett was astonished at the skill with which the men used their snow-shoes, scudding along at the pace of a horse in full gallop. Following Captain Craventy's advice, the lady herself practised walking in these contrivances, and she soon became very expert in sliding over the snow. During the last few da^s several bauds of Indians had arrived at FROM FORT RELIANCE TO FORT ENTERPRISE. 2J the fort to exchange the spoils of the winter chase for manufactured goods. The season had been bad. There were a good many polecats and sables ; but the furs of beavers, otters, lynxes, ermines, and foxes were scarce. It was therefore a wise step for the Company to endeavour to explore a new country, where the wild animals had hitherto escaped the rapacity of man. On the morning of the 16th April Lieutenant Jaspar Hobson and his party were ready to start. The route across the known districts, between the Slave Lake and that of the Great Bear beyond the Arctic Circle, was already determined. Jaspar Hobson was to make for Fort Confidence, on the northern extremity of the latter lake ; and he was to revictual at Fort Enterprise, a station two hundred miles further to the north-west, on the shores of the Snare Lake, By travelling at the rate of fifteen miles a day the Lieutenant hoped to halt there about the beginning of May. From this point the expedition was to take the shortest route to Cape Bathurst, on the North American coast. It was -agreed that in a year Captain Craventy should send a convoy with provi- sions to Cape Bathurst, and that a detachment of the Lieutenant's men was to go to meet this convoy, to guide it to the spot where the new fort was to be erected. This plan was a guarantee against any adverse circumstances, and left a means of communication with their fellow- creatures open to the Lieutenant and his voluntary com- panions in exile. On the 16th April dogs and sledges were awaiting the travellers at the postern gate. Captain Craventy called the men of the party together and said a few kind words to them. He urged them above all things to stand by one another in the perils they might be called upon to meet ; reminded them that the enterprise upon which they were about to enter required self-denial and devotion, and that submission to their officers was an indispensable condition of success. Cheers greeted the Captain's speech, the adieux were quickly made, and each one took his place in the sledge assigned to him. Jnspar Hobson and Sergeant Long went first ; then Mrs Paulina Barnett and Madge, the latter dexterously wielding the long Esquimaux whip, terminating in a stiff thong. Thomas Black and one of the soldiers, the Canadian, Petersen, occupied the third sledge ; and the others followed. Corporal and Mrs Joliffe bringing up the rear. According to the orders of Lieutenant Hobson, each driver kept as nearly as possible at the same distance from the 28 THE FUR COUNTRY. preceding sledge, so as to avoid all confusion — a necessary precau- tion, as a collision between two sledges going at full speed, might have had disastrous results. On leaving Fort Reliance, Jaspar Hobson at once directed his course towards the north-west. The first thing to be done was to cross the large river connecting Lakes Slave and Wolmsley, which was, however, still frozen so hard as to be undistinguishable from the vast white plains around. A uniform carpet of snow covered tiie whole country, and the sledges, drawn by their swift teams, sped rapidly over the firm smooth surface. The weather was fine, but still very cold. The sun, scarce above the horizon, described a lengthened curve ; and its rays, reflected on the snow, gave more light than heat. Fortunately not a breath of air stirred, and this lessened the severity of the cold, although the rapid pace of the sledges through the keen atmosphere must have been trying to any one not inured to the rigour of a Polar climate. " A. good beginning,'' said Jaspar Hobson to the Sergeant, who sat motionless beside him as if rooted to his seat ; " the journey has commenced favourably. The sky is cloudless, the temperature pro- pitious, our equipages shoot along like express trains, and as long as this fine weather lasts we shall get on capitally. What do you think, Sergeant Long % " '' I agree with you, Lieutenant," replied the Sergeant, who never differed from his chief. " Like myself, Sergeant, you are determined to push on as far north as possible — are you not % " resumed Lieutenant Hobson. " You have but to command to be obeyed. Lieutenant." " I know it, Sergeant ; I know that with you to hear is to obey. Would that all our men understood as you do the importance of our mission, and would devote themselves body and soul to the interests of the Company ! Ah, Sergeant Long, I know if I gave you an impossible order " " Lieutenant, there is no such thing as an impossible order." " What^ Suppose now I ordered you to go to the North Pole ?** " Lieutenant, I should go ! " " And to come back ! " added Jaspar Hobson with a smile. " I should come back," replied Sergeant Long simply. During this colloquy between Lieutenant Hobson and his Sergeant a slight ascent compelled the sledges to slacken speed, and Mrs Barnett and Madge also exchanged a few sentences. These two CORPORAL JOLIFFE PROVES HIS SKILL IN DRIVING. Page 32. FROM FORT RELIANCE TO FORT ENTERPRISE. 2g intrepid women, in their otter-skin caps and white bear-skin mantles, gazed in astonishment upon the rugged scenery around them, and at the white outlines of the huge glaciers standing out against the hori- zon. They had already left behind them the hills of the northern banks of the Slave Lake, with their summits crowned with the gaunt skeletons of trees. The vast plains stretched before them in ap- parently endless succession. The rapid flight and cries of a few birds of passage aloi'e broke the monotony of the scene. Now and then a troop of swans, with plumage so white that the keenest sight could not distinguish them from the snow when they settled on the ground, rose into view in the clear blue atmosphere and pur- sued their journey to the north. " What an extraordinary country ! " exclaimed Mrs Paulina Bar- nett. " What a diflerence between these Polar regions and the green prairies of Australia ! You remember, Madge, how we suffered from the heat on the shores of the Gulf of Carpentaria — you remember the cloudless sky and the parching sunbeams 1 " " My dear," replied Madge, " I have not the gift of remembering like you. You retain your impressions, I forget mine." " What, Madge ! " cried Mrs Barnett, " you have forgotten the tropical heat of India and Australia ? You have no recollection of our agonies when water failed us in the desert, when the pitiless sun scorched us to the bone, when even the night brought us no relief from our sufferings ! " " No, Paulina," replied Madge, wrapping her furs more closely round her, " no, I remember nothing. How could I now recollect the sufferings to which you allude — the heat, the agonies of thirst — when we are surrounded on every side by ice, and I have but to stretch my arm out of this sledge to pick up a handful of snow ] You talk to me of heat when we are freezing beneath our bear- skins ; you recall the broiling rays of the sun when its April beams cannot melt the icicles on our lips ! No, child, no, don't try to per- suade me it 's hot anywhere else ; don't tell me I ever complained of being too warm, for I sha'n't believe you ! " Mrs Paulina Barnett could not help smiling. " So, poor Madge," she said, " you are very cold 1 *' *' Yes, child, I am cold ; but I rather like this climate. I Ve no doubt it 's very healthy, and I think North America will agree with me. It 's really a very fine country ! " " Yes, Madge, it u a fine country, and we have as yet seen none V so THE FUR COUNTRY, Qii the wonders it contains. But wait until we reach the Arctic Ocean ; wait until the winter shuts us in with its gigantic icebergs and thick covering of snow ; wait till the northern storms break over us, and the glories of the Aurora Borealis and of the splendid con- stellations of the Polar skies are spread out above our heads ; wait till we have lived through the strange long six months' night, and then indeed you will understand the infinite variety, the infinite beauty, of our Creator's handiwork ! " Thus spoke Mrs Paulina Barnett, carried away by her vivid imagination. She could see nothing but beauty in these deserted regions, with their rigorous climate. Her enthusiasm got the bettei for the time of her judgment. Her sympathy with nature enabled her to read the touching poetry of the ice-bound north — the poetry embodied in the Sagas, and sung by the bards of the time of Ossian. But Madge, more matter of fact than her mistress, disguised from herself neither the dangers of an expedition to the Arctic Ocean, nor the sufferings involved in wintering only thirty degrees at the most from the North Pole. And indeed the most robust had sometimes succumbed to the fatigues, privations, and mental and bodily agonies endured in this severe climate, Jaspar Hobson had not, it is true, to press on to the very highest latitudes of the globe ; he had not to reach the pole itself, or to follow in the steps of Parry, Ross, M'Clure, Kane, Morton, and others. But after once crossing the Arctic Circle, there is little^ variation in the temperature ; it does not increase in coldness in proportion to the elevation reached. Granted that Jaspar Hobson did not think of going beyond the seventieth parallel, we must still remember that Franklin and his unfortunate companions died of cold and hunger before they had penetrated beyond 68° N. lat. Very different was the talk in the sledge occupied by Mr and Mrs Joliffe. Perhaps the gallant Corporal had too often drunk to the success of the expedition on starting ; for, strange to say, he was- disputing with his little wife. Yes, he was actually contradicting her, which never happened except under extraordinary circum- stances ! " No, Mrs Joliffe," he was saying, " no, you have nothing to fear. A sledge is not more difficult to guide than a pony-carriage, and the devil take me if I can't manage a team of d<»gs ! " " I don't question your skill," replied Mrs Joliffe ; " I only ask you not to go so fast. You are in front of the whole caravan now, THE BEGINNING OF THE THAW. PaffC 33. FROM FORT RELIANCE TO FORT ENTERPRISE, 3 1 and I hear Lieutenant Hobson calling out to you to resume your proper place behind." " Let him call, Mrs JolifFe, let him call." And the Corporal, urging on his dogs with a fresh cut of the whip, dashed along at still greater speed. "Take care, Joliffe," repeated his little wife ; " not so fast, we are going down hill," " Down hill, Mrs Joliffe ; you call that down hill % why, it 's up hilir' " I tell you we are going down 1 " repeated poor Mrs Joliffe. "And I tell you we are going up ; look how the dogs pull I '* Whoever was right, the dogs became uneasy. The ascent was, in fact, pretty steep ; the sledge dashed along at a reckless pace, and was already considerably in advance of the rest of the party. Mr and Mi's Joliffe bumped up and down every instant, the surface of the snow became more and more uneven, and the pair, flung first to one side and then to the other, knocked against each other and the sledge, and were horribly bruised and shaken. But the Corporal would listen neither to the advice of his wife nor to the shouts of Lieutenant Hobson. The latter, seeing the danger of this reckless course, urged on his own animals, and the rest of the caravan fol- lowed at a rapid pace. But the Corporal became more and more excited — ^the speed of his equipage delighted him. He shouted, he gesticulated, and flour- ished his long whip like an accomplished sportsman. "Wonderful things these whips!" he cried ; "the Esquimaux wield them with unrivalled skill ! " " But you are not an Esquimaux ! " cried Mrs Joliffe, trying in vain to arrest the arm of her imprudent husband. " I have heard tell,'' resumed the Corporal — " I 've heard tell that the Esquimaux can touch any dog they like in any part, that they can even cut out a bit of one of their ears with the stiff thong at the end of the whip. I am going to try.*' " Don't try, don't try, Joliffe ! " screamed the poor little woman, frightened out of her wits. " Don't be afraid, Mrs Joliffe, don't be afraid ; I know what I can do. The fifth dog on the right is misbehaving himself ; I will cor- rect him a little ! " But Corporal Joliffe was evidently not yet enough of an Esqui- maux to be able to manage the whip with its thong four feet longer 32 THE FUR COUNTRY than the sledge ; for it unrolled with an ominous hiss, and rebound- ing, twisted itself round Corporal Joliffe's own neck, sending his fui cap into the air, perhaps with one of his ears in it. At this moment the dogs flung themselves on one side, the sledge was overturned, and the pair were flung into the snow. Fortunately it was thick and soft, so that they escaped unhurt. But what a disgrace for the Corporal ! how reproachfully his little wife looked at him, and how stern was the reprimand of Lieutenant Hobson ! The sledge was picked up, but it was decided that henceforth the reins of the dogs, like those of the household, were to be in the hands of Mrs Joliffe. The crest-fallen Corporal was obliged to sub- mit, and the interrupted journey was resumed. No incident worth mentioning occurred during the next fifteen days. The weather continued favourable, the cold was not toe severe, and on the 1st May the expedition arrived at Fort Enter- prise. THE EFFECTS OP THE THAW. Page 35. CHAPTER VI. A WAPITI DUEL, WO hundred miles had been traversed since the expedition § left Fort Reliance. The travellers, taking advantage of the long twilight, pressed on day and night, and were literally overcome with fatigue when they reached Fort Enterprise, near the shores of Lake Snare, This fort was no more than a dep6t of provisions, of little import- ance, erected a few years before by the Hudson's Bay Company. It served as a resting-place for the men taking the convoys of furs from the Great Bear Lake, some three hundred miles further to the north-west. About a dozen soldiers formed the garrison. The fort consisted of a wooden house surrounded by palisades. But few as were the comforts it offered, Lieutenant Hobson's companions gladly took refuge in it and rested there for two days. The gentle influence of the Arctic spring was beginning to be felt. Here and there the snow had melted, and the temperature of the nights was no longer below freezing point. A few delicate mosses and slender grasses clothed the rugged ground with their soft verdure ; and from between the stones peeped the moist calices of tiny, almost colourless, flowers. These faint signs of reawakening vegetation, after the long night of winter, were refreshing to eyes weary of the monotonous whiteness of the snow ; and the scattered specimens of the Flora of the Arctic regions were welcomed with delight. Mrs Paulina Barnett and Jaspar Hobson availed themselves of this leisure time to visit the shores of the little lake. They were both students and enthusiastic lovers of nature. Together they wandered amongst the ice masses, already beginning to break up, and the waterfalls created by the action of the rays of the sun. The surface itself of Lake Snare was still intact, not a crack denoted the approaching thaw ; but it was strewn with the ruins of mighty icebergs, which assumed all manner of picturesque forms, and 34 THE FUR COUNTRY. the beauty of which was heightened when the light, diffracted by the sharp edges of tlie ice, touched them with all manner of colours. One might have fancied that a rainbow, crushed in a powerful hand, had been flung upon the ground, its fragments crossing each other as they fell. " What a beautiful scene ! " exclaimed Mrs Paulina Bamett. " These prismatic effects vary at every change of our position. Does it not seem as if , we were bending over the opening of an immense kaleidoscope, or are you already weary of a sight so new and interesting to me % " "No, madam,'' replied tlie Lieutenant; "although I was bom and bred on this continent, its beauties never pall upon me. But if your enthusiasm is so great when you see this scenery with the sun shining upon it, what will it be when you are privileged to behold the terrible grandeur of the winter 1 To own the truth, I think the sun, so much thought of in temperate latitudes, spoils my Arctic home." " Indeed ! " exclaimed Mrs Bamett, smiling at the Lieutenant's last remark ; " for my part, I think the sun a capital travelling companion, and I shall not be disposed to grumble at the warmth it gives even in the Polar regions 1 " " A.h, madam," replied Jaspar Hobson, ** I am one of those who think it best to visit Russia in the winter, and the Sahara Desert in the summer. You then see their peculiar characteristics to advantage. The sun is a star of the torrid and temperate zones, and is out of place thirty degrees from the North Pole. The true sky of this country is the pure frigid sky of winter, bright with constellations, and sometimes flushed with the glory of the Aurora Borealis. This land is the land of the night, not of the day ; and you have yet to make acquaintance with the delights and marvels of the long Polar night." " Have you ever visited the temperate zones of Europe and America 1 " inquired Mrs Bamett. " Yes, madam ; and I admired them as they deserved. But I returned home with fresh love and enthusiasm for my native land. Cold is my element, and no merit is due to me for braving it. It has no power over me ; and, like the Esquimaux, I can live for months together in a snow hut." " Really, Lieutenant Hobson, it is quite cheering to hear our dreaded enemy spoken of in such terms. I hope to prove myself A WAPITI DUEL. — Page 37. A WAPITI DUEL. 35 worthy to be your companion, and wherever you venture, we will venture together." " I agree, madam, I agree ; and may all the women and soldiers^ accompanying nie show themselves as resolute as you. If so, God helping us, we shall indeed advance far." " You have nothing to complain of yet," observed the lady. " Not a single accident has occurred, the weather has been propitious, the cold not too severe — everything has combined to aid us." " Yes, madam ; but the sun which you admire so much will soon create difficulties for us, and strew obstacles in our path." *' What do you mean, Lieutenant Hobson % " ** I mean that the heat will soon have changed the aspect of the country ; that the melted ice will impede the sliding of the sledges • that the ground will become rough and uneven; that our panting dogs will no longer carry us along with the speed of an arrow ; that the rivers and lakes will resume their liquid state, and that we shall have to ford or go round them. All these changes, madam, due to the influence of the solar rays, will cause delays, fatigue, and dangers, the very least of which will be the breaking of the brittle snow beneath our feet, or the falling of the avalanches from the summits of the icebergs. For all this we have to thank the gradual rise of the sun higher and higher above the horizon. Bear this in mind, madam : of the four elements of the old creation, only one is necessary to us here, the air ; the other three, fire, earth, and water, are de trop in the Arctic regions." Of course the Lieutenant was exaggerating, and Mrs Barnett could easily have retorted with counter-arguments ; but she liked to hear his raptures in praise of his beloved country, and she felt that his enthusiasm was a guarantee that he would shrink from no obstacle. Yet Jaspar Hobson was right when he said the sun would cause difficulties. This was seen when the party set out again on the 4th May, three days later. The thermometer, even in the coldest part of the night, marked more than 32° Fahrenheit. A complete thaw set in, the vast white sheet of snow resolved itself into water. The irregularities of the rocky soil caused constant jolting of the sledges, and the passengers were roughly shaken. The roads wen^ 80 heavy that the dogs had to go at a slow trot, and the reins were therefore asrain entrusted to the hands of the imprudent Corporal 3^ THE FUR COUNTRY, JolifFe. Neither shouts nor flourishings of the whip had the slightest effect on the jaded animals. From time to time the travellers lightened the sledges by walking a little way. This mode of locomotion suited the hunters, who were now gradually approaching the best districts for game in the whole of English America. Mrs Paulina Barnett and Madge took a great interest in the chase, whilst Thomas Black professed absolute indiffer- ence to all athletic exercise. He had not come all this distance to hunt the polecat or the ermine, but merely to look at the moon at the mo- ment when her disc should cover that of the sun. When the queen of the night rose above the horizon, the impatient astronomer would gaze at her with eager eyes, and one day the Lieutenant said to him — " It would be a bad look-out for you, Mr Black, if by any un- lucky chance the moon should fail to keep her appointment on the 16th July 1860." *' Lieutenant Hobson," gravely replied the astronomer, "if the moon were guilty of such a breach of good manners, I should indeed have cause to complain." The chief hunters of the expedition were the soldiers Marbre and Sabine, both very expert at their business. Tlieir skill was won- derful ; and the cleverest Indians would not have surpassed them in keenness of sight, precision of aim, or manual address. They were alike trappers and hunters, and were acquainted with all the nets and snares for taking sables, otters, wolves, foxes, bears,