John Franklin

“ Kendall and I ascended an eminence, which was about four hundred feet high. Its summit was thinly coated with gravel, and its sides were formed of sand and clay, inclosing some beds of brownish-red sandstone, and of gray-coloured slate-clay. Clumps of trees grew about half way up, but the top produced only a thin wiry grass. At eleven a.m. we landed to breakfast, and remained on shore until noon, in the hope of obtaining an observation for latitude, but the sun was obscured by clouds. ”

“ Esquimaux winter-huts occur frequently on the coast, and the rows of drift-trees planted in the sand with the roots uppermost, in their vicinity, assume very curious forms, when seen through a hazy atmosphere. They frequently resembled a crowd of people, and sometimes we fancied they were not unlike the spires of a town just appearing above the horizon. We learnt by experience that the shore was more approachable at the points on which the Esquimaux had built, and we effected a landing at one of those places, when, having discharged the cargoes, we hauled the boats up, and pitched the tents. ”

“ While we were hesitating whether to hazard a loss of time by exploring the opening, or to cross over at once to the northern land, several deer were seen, and the hope of procuring a supply of fresh meat, induced us to put ashore and encamp for the night, that the hunters might go in chase. The beach here was strewed with fragments of dark-red sandstone, white sandstone, white compact limestone, and a few pieces of syenite. ”

“ The day was very clear, and exposed to our view the outline of the Romanzoff chain of Mountains, whose lofty peaks were covered with snow. At the end of ten miles we observed four tents planted on a reef, and several women standing about them, who made many signs for us to land, but the surf was rolling too heavily on the beach. As we proceeded, their husbands were perceived on the main shore, in pursuit of a large herd of rein-deer, which they seemed to be surrounding so as to drive the deer into the water, where they would probably spear them to more advantage. ”

“ At the end of eight miles the river again inclined to the north of west, round the southern extremity of Halkett island, and there were openings to the north and south, which we did not stop to examine. A fog-bank hung over the northern horizon, which gave us no little uneasiness, from its strong resemblance to a continuous line of ice-blink; and the clouds, from the sun-beams falling on them, had the exact appearance of icebergs. However, the sun became sufficiently powerful in the afternoon to dissipate the cause of this illusion, and relieve us from anxiety on that score. ”

“ We hailed this change of circumstances with pleasure, for the shoals and islands skirting Esquimaux Lake had embarrassed us much, and the brackishness of the water, combined with the trending of the coast [Pg 194] to the northward, and even westward, had excited in our minds an apprehension, that we might possibly be obliged to make a great circuit in search of a passage, out of that extraordinary piece of water, and that the opening, when found, might lie so far to the northward as to be obstructed by an icy sea. ”

“ From Clapperton Island we had a view of a ridge of hills, which, from their direction, appeared to be a continuation of those on the west side on Franklin Bay. The island itself, like the neighbouring coast, is composed of limestone, and many detached rocks skirt it, rising from water that is beautifully clear. When we landed there was a strong current setting to the eastward, round the end of the island, but it ceased at four p.m., the time of low water, and was probably produced by the ebb setting out of some of the inlets of Cape Parry. ”

“ The greater fall of the water with that wind, showing that it found an exit to the eastward, relieved us from an apprehension, which we had begun to entertain, that we were entering a deep bay, which might be encumbered by the drift-ice for many days. Much ice drove past us in the course of the day, before a west-north-west wind, its progress being only slightly checked for a time by the flood tide. Recent footsteps of a small party of Esquimaux were seen on the beach. ”

“ Small, a clerk to the Hudson's Bay Company, likewise acquaints me, that coal occurs at Edmonton, on the north branch of the Saskatchewan, in beds, sometimes seven or eight feet thick. Most of the coal is thin-slaty; but some beds yield shining, thick lumps, which break, as he expresses it, like Spanish liquorice. It lies over beds of bluish-gray sandstone, and is associated with a white clay, which froths in water and adheres to the fingers. ”

“ This is a place of resort for the Hare Indians to fish, and we were visited by a large party of men and women of that tribe, who brought fish, berries, and meat. They were all neatly clothed in new leathern dresses, highly ornamented with beads and porcupine quills. The paintings of animals on the sides of our boats were very attractive to them; they scanned every figure over and over, bursting into laughter whenever they recognised any of the animals. We encamped near a small river below the ramparts, one hundred and ninety-three miles from Fort Norman. ”

“ We quitted the island at ten a.m., and steered directly for Point Kay, to avoid the sinuosities of the coast, and the frequent interruption of the Esquimaux, whose tents were observed to be scattered on the beach nearly the whole way to Babbage River. Three men and some women came off to bring us fish, and being liberally rewarded, they went away perfectly happy, singing the praises of the white people. ”

“ The spring floods find their way, through openings in these higher banks, into the hollow centres of the islands, carrying with them a vast quantity of drift timber, which, being left there, becomes water-soaked, and, finally, firmly impacted in the mud. The young willows, which spring up rapidly, contribute much towards raising the borders of the stream, by intercepting the drift sand which the wind sweeps from the margin of the shallow ponds as they dry up in summer. ”

“ The tents were therefore pitched, and the boats unloaded, and hauled on the beach. Heavy rain came on in the evening, by which we indulged the hope that the ice might be loosened. We were encamped on a low bank of gravel which runs along the base of a chain of sand-hills about one hundred and fifty feet high, and forms the coast line. The bank was covered with drift timber, and is the site of a deserted Esquimaux village. The snow still remaining in the ravines was tinged with light red spots. ”

“ In the early part of the day we crossed some ridges of sandstone, and towards noon we travelled over granite, similar to that which abounds in the neighbourhood of Fort Enterprize. Much wood was seen in a valley far to the westward, but the hills over which our course lay were quite naked. The bog whortleberry (vaccinium uliginosum,) however, grew abundantly on these hills, and as its fruit was now in the highest perfection, the men at every resting-place threw themselves down, and indulged freely, without sustaining any injury. ”

“ Fog is, of all others, the most hazardous state of the atmosphere for navigation in an icy sea, especially when it is accompanied by strong breezes, but particularly so for boats where the shore is unapproachable. If caught by a gale, a heavy swell, or drifting ice, the result must be their wreck, or the throwing the provisions overboard to lighten them, so as to proceed into [Pg 138] shoal water. Many large pieces of ice were seen on the borders of the shallow water; and from the lowness of the temperature, we concluded that the main body was at no great distance. ”

“ We marched to a late hour in search of fuel to cook some deer's meat, which M'Leay had procured in the course of the day, and were fortunate in at length finding a wooded valley on the banks of a small stream, that fell into the chain of lakes which we had crossed. It is probably this river, and chain of lakes, that the Indians ascend from the Coppermine River in canoes to the height of land which they cross on their route to Bear Lake. ”

“ A wolf was the first animal Chapewee placed on the infant earth, but the weight proving too great, it began to sink on one side, and was in danger of turning over. To prevent this accident the wolf was directed to move round the island, which he did for a whole year, and in that time the earth increased so much in size, that all on board the canoe were able to disembark on it. Chapewee, on landing, stuck up a piece of wood, which became a fir-tree, and grew with amazing rapidity, until its top reached the skies. ”

“ Kendall seeing that he would almost immediately be surrounded by a force too great to permit his men to act, called to me that he should be obliged to fire. Fully aware of the necessity of prompt measures, I answered that he was at liberty to fire if necessary. Upon which, snatching up his fowling-piece, he presented it at three of the most daring who had hold of the sweep-oar, and his crew who were now in the water endeavouring to shove the boat off, and struggling with the natives, jumped on board and seized their muskets. ”

“ In Dease Bay, limestone and sandstone are the prevailing rocks. The waters of the lake are very clear, and of unknown depth; forty-fathoms of line were let down near the shore, in Mac Tavish Bay, without reaching the bottom. There is a considerable quantity of good wood, principally white spruce, in the vicinity of the lake; but there is reason to believe that, before many years elapse, it will become scarce, for it is very slow of growth, and the natives every year set fire to it in various quarters, and thus destroy it for many miles. ”

“ The Coppermine River, for forty miles above Bloody Fall, flows over an uneven stony bed, betwixt precipitous rocky walls, and is full of rapids. It is totally impracticable to ascend it in boats having a greater draught of water than a few inches; and even a small canoe must be frequently carried over land for considerable distances, to avoid the numerous obstacles which occur. It was necessary, therefore, that we should leave at this place the Dolphin and Union, and every thing that was not absolutely necessary for our journey. ”

“ Had the days been longer, and a crust formed upon the snow, the hunters would have found no great difficulty in running down the animal, but our principal hope lay in their getting within shot without "raising it,"—the expression used when a deer is scared. Beaulieu being the most expert moose-hunter, went out on this occasion, accompanied by two others, Landré a Chipewyan lad, and a Dog-Rib hunter. When they arrived on the deer's track, they found that it had been raised, probably by the Indians who first discovered it; but anxious to procure meat for the fort, they commenced the pursuit. ”

“ These Indians leave their families and canoes at two days' march from the mouth of the river, and the men come alone, bringing no more goods than they intend to barter. They were represented to be tall stout men, clothed in deer-skins, and speaking a language very dissimilar to their own. They also said that the Esquimaux to the westward, speak a dialect so different from theirs, that at the first opening of the communication, which was so recent as to be within the memory of two of our present companions, they had great difficulty in understanding them. ”

“ The closeness and quantity of the ice in the Polar Seas vary much in different years; but, should it be in the same state that we found it, I would not recommend a ship's leaving Icy Cape earlier than the middle of August, for after that period the ice was not only broken up within the sphere of our vision, but a heavy swell rolling from the northward, indicated a sea unsheltered by islands, and not much encumbered by ice. ”

“ If a conjecture may be hazarded about the original formation of a lake which we had so few opportunities of examining, it seems probable that the alluvial matters brought down by the Mackenzie, and other rivers, have gradually formed a barrier of islands and shoals, which, by preventing the free access of the tide, enables the fresh water to maintain the predominance behind it. ”

“ The season at which the ice begins to form, is the most favourable for fishing in the lakes of this country, and we then procured from four to five hundred daily. Those not required for immediate consumption, were hung on a stage to freeze, in which state they keep until the following spring. But we could not derive the full advantage from the season, because the drift ice, making it unsafe to keep the nets set in Bear Lake, they were taken up on the 18th. Near a month elapsed before they could be set with safety under the ice; our first attempts resulting in the loss of three nets. ”

“ The quantity of gypsum in immediate connection with extremely copious and rich salt springs, and the great abundance of petroleum in this formation, together with the arenacious, soft, marly, and brecciated beds interstratified with the dolomite, and above all, the circumstance of the latter being by far the most common and extensive rock in the deposit, led me to think that the limestone of the Elk and Slave Rivers was equivalent to the zechstein of the continental geologists. ”

“ At length we managed to gain their attention, and were informed that, as soon as the wind should blow strong from the land, the ice might be expected to remove from the shore, so as to open a passage for boats, and that it would remain in the offing until the reappearance of the stars. "Further to the westward," they continued, "the ice often adheres to the land throughout the summer; and when it does break away, it is carried but a short distance to seaward, and is brought back whenever a strong wind blows on the coast. ”

“ Much drift timber is accumulated in the small bays at this end of the lake, which, in process of time, is converted into a substance like peat. A chain of islands extends obliquely across the lake at the origin of the river, or where the current is first felt; and the depth of the water there is less than six feet. Below this, there is a dilatation termed the first little lake, and the river afterwards contracts to less than a mile in breadth; forming in one place, when the water is low, a strong rapid. ”

“ The channel of the river is sunk about one hundred and fifty feet below the surrounding country, and is bounded by cliffs of yellowish white sand, and sometimes of clay, from beneath which, beds of greenstone occasionally crop out.
At Bloody-fall, a round-backed ridge of land, seven or eight hundred feet high, crosses the country. It has a gentle ascent on the north, but is steep towards the south. The river at the fall makes its way through a narrow gap, whose nearly precipitous sides consist of tenacious clay, the bed and immediate borders of the stream being formed of greenstone. ”