Edward Chappell

“ The visits of the North-west men, as the Hudson’s-Bay ships are denominated, creates a sort of annual mart, or fair, in the Orkneys; as it is from hence that they derive all the necessary supplies of poultry, beef, vegetables, and even men, to fit them for so long a voyage:—consequently, the Orkney people listen with anxiety for this salute of cannon, which announces the arrival of the N. W. ships; as almost every person in the island is, in some way or other, interested in their coming. ”

“ This nation, weak and degraded by nature, is, notwithstanding, most intrepid on a sea that is constantly dangerous. In boats, made and sewed together like so many borachio’s, but at the same time so well closed that it is impossible for the water to penetrate them, they follow the shoals of herrings through the whole 87 of their polar emigrations, and attack the whales and seals at the peril of their lives. ”

“ One stroke of a whale’s tail is sufficient to drown a hundred of these assailants; and the seal is armed with teeth, to devour those he cannot drown: but the hunger of the Esquimaux is superior to the rage of these monsters. They have an inordinate thirst for the oil of the whale, which is necessary to preserve the heat in their stomachs, and defend them from the severity of the cold. Indeed, men, whales, birds, and all the quadrupeds and fishes of the North, are supplied by nature with a degree of fat, which prevents the muscles from freezing, and the blood from coagulating. ”

“ Although the Finners have incomparably the advantage in agility, yet in size and strength they fall but little short of the smaller whales. The Finners derive their name from an immense fin, which they use with great effect in their attacks on the whale. Sometimes they lift up this enormous fin, and let it fall upon their antagonist, in the manner of a thresher’s flail; at other times, they run their whole body perpendicularly out of the water, exhibiting a beautiful view of their snow-white bellies. ”

“ Shortly afterwards, we imagined that we could distinguish the sound of voices through the fog: we immediately beat the 121 drum, to point out our situation; and, in a few minutes, we plainly heard the shouting of the Esquimaux: they soon came alongside the ship, with the usual expressions of delight. It is really surprising that this people should venture so far from the land, in such frail barks, through a mass of ice which is enough to daunt an European, even in a stout-built ship. ”

“ Their fire-places, as before stated, are outside the tents; and they have no need of any in the interior, as the seal-skins that cover them are like parchment oiled, and will not admit the wind, nor give egress to the breath; therefore their habitations are not only warm, but at mid-day, when I visited them, they were oppressively hot. With respect to their winter residence, I can say little or nothing. Most people suppose that they live in caves, by lamp-light; but the Abbé Raynal, who mentions the Esquimaux in his History of the East and West Indies, is of a different opinion. ”

“ The Cree Indians inhabiting Hudson’s Bay, and indeed the European traders there, maintain, that, in the serene stillness of their severe winters, a soft rushing noise constantly accompanies these coruscations, like that which is occasioned by the quick waving of a fan, or of a winnow. ”

“ Never had we seen a more interesting spectacle: the young Esquimaux kept the most exact time with each other, and accompanied their gestures by the most graceful motion of 109 their heads; their eyes bespeaking, at the same time, the most tender solicitude for our safety. It is not a trifling matter that can agitate, even for a moment, the rough feelings of a seaman; yet the crews of our boats sat, during this scene, in mute astonishment, with their mouths wide open ”

“ If a whole family happen to be absent from their home at the same time, the only security for their property, during the time they are away, consists in a few loose stones piled against the flap of seal-skin which covers the entrance to the tent: and although they be not rigidly honest towards strangers, yet the Esquimaux appear to have a great respect for each other’s property. ”

“ After all that has been said respecting the erroneous state of even the Admiralty Charts for the Northern Seas, yet I do not imagine that the smallest imputation of neglect can be charged to Government upon that account. It has never yet been thought an object of sufficient national importance, to warrant an expenditure of the public money towards defraying the great expense that must necessarily be incurred in surveying thoroughly those frozen coasts which border upon Davis’ and Hudson’s Straits. ”

“ The people of Orkney are naturally grave and sober, with much outward appearance of devotion; yet, at the annual fair which is held at Kirkwall, they suddenly relax into the most unbridled licentiousness: neither are they in general to be 246 admired for the honour or liberality of their dealings, as they delight in making what is called a “gude bargain;” and they feel no hesitation in overcharging a stranger, to accomplish this desirable end. ”

“ Sight, the most delightful blessing of nature, is a fatal gift to them, and they are generally deprived of it when young. A still more cruel evil, which is the scurvy, consumes them by slow degrees: it insinuates itself into their blood, and changes, thickens, and impoverishes the whole mass. The fogs of the sea, which 89 they inspire; the dense and inelastic air they breathe in their huts, which are shut up from all communication with the external air ”

“ The Admiralty must certainly have been deceived by the Hudson’s-Bay Company, respecting a Voyage to Hudson’s Bay; or they certainly would never have sent a ship of war to perform it, without previously strengthening her for the 131 occasion. It is exceedingly dangerous for any ship to attempt a passage through the sea of ice in Hudson’s Straits, unless her bows be doubled with oak-plank and heavy blocks of wood, bolted to each side of her cutwater; as the floating masses of ice may be considered so many rocks of crystal. ”

“ At the very bottom or southernmost part of Hudson’s Bay, which is styled James’s Bay, we arrive at Moose Factory; standing, like all the rest, on a river, bearing the same name. This place has a good anchorage, and the climate is 152 milder than in any of the other factories. It is annually visited by a ship from England; as at Moose the furs are collected together from the lesser mart-houses of Albany, East Main, and Richmond, for the purpose of being shipped off to Europe. ”

“ Then again, with a bold dash of his pen, the Abbé peoples the whole of Hudson’s Bay with Esquimaux: whereas, in fact, they occupy but a very small proportion of it, when compared with the vast extent of territory inhabited by the different tribes of Hunting Indians, the inveterate enemies of the Esquimaux. The northern and unexplored parts of the Bay, and the western shore of Labrador, from Cape Diggs to the southward, are alone inhabited by the latter; whilst the whole of the western and southern shores are peopled by the former. ”

“ On the top of the canoe were fastened strips of sea-horses’ hide, to confine the lance and harpoon; and behind the Esquimaux were large lumps of whale blubber, for the purposes of barter. These canoes are only capable of containing one person, for any useful purpose; the slightest inclination of the body, on either side, will inevitably overturn them ”

“ Pinkerton has supposed: the indefatigable Canadians have contrived to carry their mercantile expeditions into almost every part of the N. W. continent of America; and it can be of little political consequence to the mother country, whether the peltry trade is made to pass through Canada or Hudson’s Bay; except, indeed, that the opening of a free intercourse with the Bay might operate as a stimulus upon the Esquimaux, to animate their exertions in the seal and whale fisheries; as they would be then certain of finding an adequate market for their oil, whalebone, and seal-skins. ”

“ One of the small islands in the centre of Knee Lake contains so great a quantity of iron ore, as to cause the compass to spin round with uncommon velocity. At the upper end of the lake the stream gradually lessens into another slip, called Trout River, and here are four more portages: then gently extending its boundaries, the river opens on a wide expanse, called Holey Lake, from some deep holes in the bottom of it, and the great inequality of the soundings throughout. At the eastern extremity of this lake stands Oxford House, the first trading port to be met with after leaving the factory. ”

“ It is matter of surprise, that the Company do not repair the large stone fort, which is made uncommonly strong, both by nature and by art. As it stands upon the extremity of a peninsula, a body of men passing the isthmus to attack it by land, would be completely exposed to the enfilading fire of the fort. It would be difficult also for an enemy to force the gates, because there is a small half-moon battery built on that side, expressly for their defence. Besides, there are dwelling-houses in the interior of the fort, sufficiently large for the reception of the whole factory. ”

“ The blubber of the seal is either eaten, or converted into oil for the winter lamps; the skin, with the hair on, is made into frocks, breeches, boots, and stockings; and with the hair scraped off, and well oiled, the skin serves also for a covering to their houses and boats: numbers of them, heaped together with the skins of bears and deer, constitute their beds: lastly, after having carefully skinned a seal, the females sew the hide neatly up; then fill it with wind, like a bladder, and dry it in the sun ”

“ The women pulled with oars, having a very broad wash at the extremity; and they cheerfully kept time to the tune of a song, in which they all joined. The boat was built of the same materials as the canoes; that is to say, a frame-work covered with oiled seal-skins; but differed, in being shaped more after the European boats; also, in having a square sail made of seal-skins, with the hair taken off; and owing to this difference, the Hudson’s-Bay traders have distinguished these boats by the name of Lug Boats; although they never attempt to use the sail, except with a fair wind. ”

“ They expressed great joy at meeting with us, by singing, shouting, and clapping their hands; and instead of proceeding on toward the ships, they turned their boats, and followed us to the shore. The coast appears to be completely fringed with small rocky islands, and these no doubt form a shelter to many good harbours; but the shores of Hudson’s Straits have never been thoroughly examined, although a small 69 vessel might accomplish the task in two summers, with ease: indeed, a voyage for this purpose would, if well conducted, turn out advantageously, in a mercantile point of view ”

“ The northern shore of Hudson’s Straits is, from end to end, a barren rock; having no mark of vegetation, except here and there a tuft or two of wild sorrel, or scurvy-grass: consequently, the wooden frame-work of the canoes, the poles for their summer-tents, and the handles of their fishing-spears, can only be procured by the Esquimaux during their annual migrations to the coast of Labrador. ”

“ Their heads bear the same enormous proportion to their bodies as those of children: the smallness of their feet makes them awkward and tottering in their gait: small hands, and a round mouth, which in Europe are reckoned a beauty, seem almost a deformity in these people; because we see nothing here but the effects of a weak organization, and of a cold that contracts and restrains the springs of growth, and is fatal to the progress of animal as well as vegetable life. ”

“ In summer time, the Ayr must prove a very refreshing walk, and an agreeable escape from the filthy street of Kirkwall.
With regard to the people of Orkney, it will be only necessary to add, that a most 245 unbounded hospitality is their leading characteristic; and perhaps an eager curiosity is also an equally prominent trait. When a stranger enters the town of Kirkwall, the intelligence of his arrival flies with the rapidity of wild-fire: the old women, with their knitting apparatus in their hands, stand staring at the doors ”

“ After having gone so far in a description of their persons, perhaps their diet ought not to be overlooked; because it has been before noticed, that the relaxed state of their flesh, and the sallow hue of their complexions, may in a great measure be ascribed to the nature of their food. ”

“ Since our departure from Stromness, the variation of the compass had been gradually increasing. We this day allowed for a difference of four points westerly, between the magnetic and the true needle; whereas at Orkney there is only a difference of two points and a half, or 28 degrees. Thus it continued increasing until we arrived within about 300 miles of the settlements in Hudson’s Bay; when it decreases much more suddenly; falling away, in that short distance, to half a point, or five degrees, West—this being the ascertained variation at York Factory. ”

“ Harwich is a small town, with narrow streets, not paved: there are some pleasant walks in the environs. The harbour is a good one, with sufficient depth of water for a frigate. The place is well fortified towards the sea, and has a small naval arsenal. A guard-ship is generally stationed at this port, during war.
May 21st.—In the morning, His Majesty’s ship Unicorn passed us, under an immense press of sail, with a Royal standard flying at her mast-head, which we saluted with twenty-one guns. ”

“ On the other hand, the skins and furs we bring from Hudson’s Bay enter largely into our manufactures, and afford us materials for a lucrative trade with many nations of Europe. These circumstances tend to prove incontestably the immense benefit that would redound to Great Britain by throwing open the trade to Hudson’s Bay; since, even in its present restrained 229 state, it is so advantageous. The exclusive Company, it is probable, do not find commerce so advantageous now as it was before we got possession of Canada. ”

“ Having now described the whole of the Factories established upon the sea-coast of Hudson’s Bay, it will be necessary to say something of the interior: this is so far from being unknown, that a man may with safety travel from Hudson’s Bay to Quebec, in Canada, by land. The Hudson’s-Bay Company have many small factories, or rather mart-houses, dispersed in all directions, for upwards of one thousand miles in the interior; to which the Indians bring furs, feathers, quills, &c. ”

“ In the second place, it frequently happens that immense stones lying at the bottom of the rivers become fixed into the ice during the winter, and the freshes, in the spring, consequently bear them away towards the sea; but the ice not being able to sustain their ponderous weight for any length of time, it naturally occurs, that those masses become disengaged, and are deposited at the mouths of the rivers, where they not only incommode the passages, but likewise injure the ships’ cables by their friction. ”

“ But the Esquimaux, and all other nations around Hudson’s Bay, have a notion of a superior spirit, whom they concur in styling Manéto, or Good Spirit. It is not known whether the Esquimaux have any idea of an Evil Being; but the Cree Indians imagine that there is a great number of that species, whose sole delight consists in tormenting mankind [19] . ”

“ At night-fall, the weather misty, but not cold.
On taking our last departure from the land this morning, it is necessary to observe, that, in my narrative of the voyage, I shall merely state, on each day, the course and distance run by the ship in the preceding day, without making a dull account of latitude, longitude, bearings and distances, allowances for lee-way, currents, &c. &c.; as all this farrago of nautical calculation, however necessary it may be to 22 mariners, cannot fail to tire out the patience of a general reader ”

“ And here it should be observed, that the arrival of the ships is considered by the Esquimaux as a sort of annual fair; their little manufactures of dresses, spears, &c. are reserved for the expected jubilee; and when, after long watching, they at last catch a glimpse of the approaching vessels, their exultation knows no bounds.
The male Esquimaux have rather a prepossessing physiognomy, but with very high cheek-bones, broad foreheads, and small eyes, rather farther apart than those of an European: the corners of their eyelids are drawn together so close, that none of the white is to be seen ”

“ Perhaps, too, there may be something in the change of life and manners more contrary to the health of savages than the climate: it is not impossible but that the indulgences of an European may be poison to an Esquimaux.—Such are the inhabitants of a country discovered, in 1610, by Henry Hudson! ”

“ At 4 A.M. we got under sail; as there appeared a possibility of our pushing through, the ice having loosened a little; however, we looked in vain for an opening. The ship running fast, with a fair breeze, struck violently upon a large field, and the shock fairly lifted up her bows. We continued butting through until 8 A.M. when we grappled to a large field of ice, as an impenetrable mass now 126 presented itself on all sides of us: the wind shifted into the N. W. and blew a heavy gale, accompanied by drifts of snow and sleet. ”

“ Accordingly, a party of Indians were despatched in pursuit of game; and in a few days they returned with eleven hundred wild geese, which they had shot in the marshes to the southward of York; and several other parties of the natives poured in a copious supply of venison and wild duck.
Nor were we idle ourselves, as we constantly drew the seine in the mouth of the river; but the supplies of fish thus obtained were exceedingly trifling. Of those we caught, the principal part consisted of mullet, and tittameg, a small delicate fish peculiar to the rivers of Hudson’s Bay. ”

“ It is remarkable that the Bay ship (as she is called) got safe to Moose 151 Factory, and returned to England, without being at all aware how very narrowly she must have escaped falling into the hands of the enemy.
The next factory to the south of York is called Severn; but the shore at this place runs off much too shoal to allow a ship to approach the coast; therefore a schooner of about eighty tons is employed to take the furs to York, and to bring back the necessary supplies. This is also the case with Albany, the next factory towards the south ”

“ As there is generally a glut of ice floating about the centre of Hudson’s Bay, a ship, on leaving Mansfield Island, and having a northerly wind, ought to steer for Cape Churchill, until they reach within sixty leagues of the land, when they may alter the course, and steer for York direct. ”

“ The factory was established at this place for the purpose of trading with the natives of that vast peninsula; but their internal mart-houses verge generally towards the south, and the marten skins from this factory are said to be the finest in quality of any which are received from Hudson’s Bay. The inhabitants around this settlement are a roving race of people, styled, by the Europeans, Mountain Indians, to distinguish them from the Esquimaux, who inhabit the sea-coast to the northward. ”

“ They are more properly tents than huts, because they are erected much after the fashion of a marquee: a triangle supports the tent at one end, and two poles, fastened at the top, at the other: over all is thrown a covering of seals’-skins sewed together, the hair being scraped off: they are 76 equally impervious to air or water, and the light is much the same as in the interior of an European linen tent. At the lower end of their dwellings is a flap of seal’s-skin, left loose, to answer the purpose of a door ”

“ The animals of Hudson’s Bay are, the moose-deer, stags, rein-deer, bears, wolves, foxes, beavers, otters, lynxes, martens, squirrels, ermines, wild-cats, and hares; of the feathered kind, geese, bustards, ducks, partridges, and all manner of wild fowl: of fish, whales, morses, seals, cod, sea-horses, and sea-unicorns: and in the rivers and fresh waters, pike, perch, carp, and trout. There have been taken in one season, at Nelson River, 90,000 partridges, as large as hens; and 25,000 hares. Every thing changes white in winter; even European animals after being a short time in the country. ”