Passing along the borders of several small lakes, through a swampy country, they arrived at a lodge of natives, who received them with hospitality, and minutely scrutinized their appearance. The hair of the women was tied in large loose knots over the ears, and plaited with great neatness from the division of the head, so as to be included in the knots some had their tresses adorned with beads, producing a very graceful effect; while the men were clothed in leather, their hair nicely combed, their complexion fair, and their skin cleanly. One young man was at least six feet four inches in height, with a prepossessing countenance, and affable and dignified manners. All, not excepting the children, carried a burden proportioned to their strength, consisting of beaver-coating and parchment, skins of the otter, marten, bear, and lynx, besides dressed moose-skins. These last they procured from the Rocky Mountain Indians ; and for the purposes of trade the people of the seacoast preferred them to any others. They now continued their journey through a beautiful valley, watered by a gentle rivulet, to a range of hills which they ascended till surrounded by snow so firm and compact that it crunched under their feet. Before them lay a stu pendous mountain, whose summit, clad with the same spotless coronet, was partly lost in the clouds. Between it and the route they were to follow flowed a broad river; and descending from their present elevated ground, they plunged into woods of lofty and umbrageous cedars and alder-trees.* As they got lower into these primeval forests they were sensible of an entire change of climate. The guides pointed out to them, through the openings in the dark foliage, the river which flowed in the distance, and a village on its banks, while beneath their feet the ground was covered with berries of an excellent flavour, and completely ripe. The effect of sunset upon this noble scenery was strikingly beautiful; but their admiration was interrupted by the decampment of their guides, who, as the shades of evening began to fall, pushed forward at such a pace that the party were soon left without conductors in darkness and uncertainty. The men, who were much fatigued, now proposed to take up their quarters for the night; but their indefatiga * Mackenzie's Travels, p. 316, 317. ble leader groped his way forward, and at length, arriving at the edge of the wood, perceived the light of several fires. On coming up he entered a hut where the people were employed in cooking fish, threw down his burden, and shook hands with the inmates, who did not show any surprise, but gave him to understand by signs that he should go to a large house, erected on upright posts at some distance from the ground. A broad piece of timber, with steps cut in it, led to a scaffolding on a level with the floor; and ascending these, the traveller entered the apartment, passed three fires at equal distances in the middle of the room, and was cordially received by several people seated on a wide board at the upper end. Mackenzie took his place beside one whom, from his dignified look, he took to be the chief. Soon after the rest of the party arrived, and placed themselves near him; upon which the chief arose and brought a quantity of roasted salmon. Mats were then spread, and the fish placed before them. When the meal was concluded, their host made signs which they supposed to convey a desire that they should sleep under the same roof with himself; but, as his meaning was not sufficiently plain, they prepared to bivouac without. Every thing was done to render their repose agreeable: a fire was kindled, boards placed that they might not sleep on the bare ground, and two delicate dishes of salmon-roes, beat up to the consistency of thick cream, and mixed with gooseberries and wood-sorrel, were brought for supper. On awaking in the morning, they found all their wants anticipated in the same hospitable manner; a fire was already blazing, a plentiful breakfast of roasted salmon and dried roes was provided, and a regale of raspberries, whortleberries, and gooseberries finished the meal.* Salmon was so abundant in this river that the people had a constant supply. They had formed across the stream an embankment for placing fishing machines, which were disposed both above and below it. For some reason, however, they would permit no near inspection of the weir; but it appeared to be four feet above the water, and was constructed of alternate layers of gravel and small trees, fixed in a slanting position. Beneath it were placed machines into which the salmon fell in attempting to leap over; and on * Mackenzie's Travels, p. 318-320. either side was a large timber frame six feet above the water, in which passages were left leading directly into the machines, while at the foot of the fall dipping nets were successfully employed. These people were observed to indulge an extreme superstition regarding their fish, refusing to taste flesh, and appearing to consider such an act as pollution. One of their dogs, having swallowed a bone which the travellers left, was beaten by his master till he disgorged it; and a bone of a deer being thrown into the river, a native dived, brought it up, consigned it to the fire, and carefully washed his hands. They would not lend their canoes for the use of the party, having observed some venison which they concluded was to be stowed on board; and they alleged that the fish would immediately smell it and leave them. Although generous in furnishing the strangers with as much roasted fish as they could consume, they would part with none in a raw state. They believed salmon to have an invincible antipathy to iron, and were afraid that, if given raw to the white men, they might take serious offence at being boiled in a vessel of this ominous metal. In other respects nothing could exceed their friendliness; and at a neighbouring village belonging to the same tribe, the reception of Mackenzie was, if possible, still more kind. The son of the chief took from his own shoulders a beautiful robe of sea-otter skin, and threw it over the traveller, while the father expressed the utmost satisfaction in being presented with a pair of scissors to clip his beard,-a purpose to which, with the eager delight of a child, he instantly applied them. The houses in this village were constructed in the same way as those already described, and remind us of the lively account given by Mr. Meares. At a little distance, Mackenzie observed some singular wooden buildings, which he conjectured to be temples. They consisted of oblong squares, about twenty feet high by eight broad, formed of thick cedar-planks beautifully joined. Upon these were painted hieroglyphics and figures of various animals, with a remarkable degree of correctness. In the midst of the village was a large building, at first supposed to be the unfinished frame-work of a house. Its dimensions, however, were far greater than those of an ordinary dwelling, the ground-plot being fifty feet by forty-five, each end formed by four stout posts, fixed perpendicularly in the earth. The corner posts were unornamented, and supported a beam of the whole length, having three intermediate props on each side. Two centre posts at each end, about two feet and a half in diameter, were carved into colossal human figures, supporting ridge-poles on their heads; the hands were placed on the knees, as if they felt difficulty in sustaining the weight, while the figures opposite to them stood in an easy attitude, with their hands resting on their hips. The posts, poles, and figures were painted red and black, and the carving was executed with a truth and boldness which bespoke no little advancement in sculpture.* In the mechanical arts they had arrived at considerable perfection. The chief's canoe was of cedar, forty-five feet long, four wide, and three feet and a half deep. It was painted black, and ornamented with drawings of various kinds of fish in white upon the dark ground, and the gunwale, both fore and aft, was neatly inlaid with the teeth of the sea-otter. In this vessel, according to the old chief's account, he undertook, about ten winters before, a voyage towards the mid-day sun, having with him forty of his subjects; on which occasion he met with two large vessels full of white men, the first he had seen, by whom he was kindly received. Mackenzie very plausibly conjectured that these might be the ships of Captain Cook. It was now the 18th of July, and, surrounded by friendly natives, with plenty of provisions, pleasant weather, and the anticipation of speedily reaching the great object of their wishes, they resumed their voyage in a large canoe, accompanied by four of the Indians. The navigation of the river, as they approached the ocean, was interrupted by rapids and cascades; but their skill in surmounting these impediments was now considerable, and on the 20th, after a passage of thirty-six miles, they arrived at the mouth of the river, which discharges itself by various smaller channels into an arm of the Pacific Ocean. The purpose of the expedition was now completed, and its indefatigable leader painted in large characters, upon the face of the rock under whose shelter they had slept, this simple memorial: "Alexander Mackenzie, from Canada by land, the twenty-second of July, * Mackenzie's Travels, p. 331 one thousand seven hundred and ninety-three." The inscription was only written in vermillion, and has probably long ago been washed away by the fury of the elements; but the name of Mackenzie is enduringly consecrated in the annals of discovery, as the first person who penetrated from sea to sea across the immense continent of North America. His return by the same route it is unnecessary to pursue. CHAPTER IV. Discoveries along the Shores of the Arctic Ocean. First and Second Expeditions of Franklin-Voyage of Captain Beechey. * THE discoveries of Hearne and Mackenzie established the great fact that there is a northern coast in America, washed by the Arctic Ocean, which forms, in all probability, its continuous boundary; and they demonstrated the practicability of reaching this limit by passing over the vast plains which stretch northward from Canada and Hudson's Bay. The voyages of Captain Parry, also, which have been already detailed, fully corroborated this opinion; and it appeared evident that another expedition, properly conducted, might reach this shore, and more fully examine its whole extent. Such an expedition, accordingly, sailed from England on the 23d of May, 1820, its command being intrusted to Lieutenant, now Sir John Franklin, assisted by Dr. Richardson, an able mineralogist and natural historian. During the first portion of their journey, they followed the chain of the great lakes, instead of the more eastern track pursued by Hearne, and having descended the Coppermine River, arrived on 21st July, at the shore of the Arctic Ocean, where they commenced their career of discovery. Important as were the particulars of their survey, when considered in relation to the furtherance of geographical science, a minute detail is here unnecessary, and we shall attempt only a general sketch. *Polar Seas and Regions, p. 202-259. |