Lake Athabasca

“ John now noted on his map that this river, the outlet of Lake Athabasca, which received the combined floods of the Peace and the Athabasca, was known as the Slave River, or sometimes the Little Slave River.
As had been the Athabasca all the way down, this river was very much discolored and stained by the high waters of the spring.
“Now, young men,” said Uncle Dick to his charges as they stood on the fore deck of the steamer in the hot sun of midafternoon, “you can say that you are getting into the real wilderness. It runs every way you can look—west, north, south, and east. ”

“ Soon after the arrival of the first traders in the Athabasca district, the fame of the Peace River—the Indian "Unjijah," a mighty stream, whose waters empty into the river flowing from Lake Athabasca—rose among the adventurers. An enterprising French Canadian trader, named Boyer, pushed up the stream and near a small tributary—Red River—established the first post of this great artery, which flows from the West, through the Rocky Mountains. ”

“ To return to Lake Athabasca. It seemed at one time to have been the rallying-place of the great Tiné or Déné race, to which, with the exception of the Crees, the Loucheaux, perhaps, and the Esquimaux, all the Indians of the entire country belong. It is said to have been a traditional and central point, such as Onondaga Lake was to the Iroquois.
It is noticeable that, in the nomenclature of the various Indians of the continent, the names by which they were known amongst themselves generally meant men, "original men," or people ”

“ Reindeer-moss has saved the life of many an Indian lost in these woods. We try it, and find the taste slightly pungent and acrid; but when boiled it forms a jelly said to be nourishing and tonic.
No orders are given when we land, and we study countenances and actions to guess the time-limit of our tether. For twenty-four hours we have wondered if there were trout in Lake Athabasca and if they would rise to the fly. With a borrowed rod we take a canoe and off the shadow of a cottonwood point try a cast at random. ”

“ The agricultural resources of this region of rocks are certainly meagre compared with those of Peace River. Potatoes, where there is any available soil, grow to a good size; barley was nearly ripe when we were there, and wheat ripens, too. But, of course, it is not a farming region, nor are fish plentiful at the west end of the lake, the Athabasca River, which enters there, giving for over twenty miles eastward a muddy hue to the water. The rest of the lake is crystal clear, and whitefish are plentiful, also lake trout, which are caught up to thirty, and even forty, pounds' weight. ”

“ For Pierre and Henri and Jacques it is going from one end to the other of the earth. The Athabasca ends and is replaced by the Slave, and the Slave empties into Great Slave Lake, and from the narrow tip of that Lake the Mackenzie carries on for more than a thousand miles to the sea.
In this distance of the long water trail one sees and hears many things. It is life. It is adventure. It is mystery and romance and hazard. Its tales are so many that books could not hold them. In the faces of men and women they are written. They lie buried in graves so old that the forest trees grow over them. ”

“ On the north it receives the surplus waters of Lakes Aylmer and Artillery, and on the south those of Lake Athabasca through the Great Slave River. Its own surplus is carried off by the Mackenzie River to the Arctic Ocean. ”

“ They have always made a good living by hunting and trapping and fishing, and I believe when the time comes they will adapt themselves much more readily and intelligently to farming and stock-raising than did the Indians to the south. The region is well suited to both industries, and will undoubtedly attract white settlers in due time.
The fisheries in Lesser Slave Lake have always been counted the best in all Athabasca. The whitefish, to be sure, are diminishing towards the head of the lake, but it is possible that this is owing to some deficiency in their usual supply of food in that quarter. ”

“ There were only six white men in the party, with a few Indians. They left Athabasca Lake—here it is on the map—on June third, and they got to the mouth of the great river in forty days. That certainly must have been traveling pretty fast! It was more than fifteen hundred miles—almost sixteen hundred. But they got back to Athabasca Lake in one hundred and two days, covering over three thousand miles down-stream and up-stream. [Pg 7] Well, we’ve all traveled enough in these strong rivers to know how hard it is to go back up-stream, whether with the tracking-line or the paddle or the sail. ”

“ Goods are transported from one boat to the other over the greater part of the rapids by means of scows, but for a short [20] distance, at the Grand Rapid, by means of a tramway built for the purpose.
As we had previously ascertained, the steamer Athabasca was due to leave the Landing on her down-stream trip on or about the 1st of June, so, taking advantage of the opportunity, we shipped the bulk of our stuff to Fort Chippewyan, situated about three hundred and fifty miles down the river on Lake Athabasca. ”

“ At this fort of Chipewyan we stand near its western end. Two hundred miles away to the east, its lonely waters still lave against the granite rocks.
Whatever may be the work to which he turns hand or brain, an Indian seldom errs. If he names a lake or fashions a piece of bark to sail its waters, both will fit the work for which they were intended.
“The meeting-place of many waters” tells the story of Athabasca. In its bosom many rivers unite their currents; and from its north-western rim pours the Slave River, the true Mackenzie. Its first English discoverer called it the “Lake of the Hills;” ”

“ So well did these poor women fulfill their mission, turning to account every scrap of food which came in their way, that Hearne reached in safety the most southerly of the great hyperborean series of frozen lakes. Naming the smaller ones Cossed, Snow-bird, Pike, Peshew, and Cagead, he came in due course to the more important Athabasca, just below the boundary line of the 60th parallel of north latitude, and beyond that again to the Great Slave Lake, situated between N. lat. ”

“ Discarding space and ignoring time, we seize you by the hand, reader, and bound away with you still deeper into the northern wilderness, away into that remote region which, at the time we write of, was the ultima thule of the fur-traders of Canada,—beyond which lay the great unknown world, stretching to the pole. Here, amid the grand scenery of the Rocky Mountains, lies the Athabasca Lake, also styled the Lake of the Hills. ”

“ In fact, the Indians and half-breeds of Athabasca Lake did not seem to differ in any way from those of the Middle and Upper Peace River, save that the former were all hunters and fishermen, pure and simple, there being little or no agriculture. It was impossible to study the manners and customs of the aborigines, since we had no time to observe them closely. They have their legends and traditions and remnants of ceremonies, much of which is upon record, and they cherish, especially, some very curious beliefs. ”

“ He was chiefly found at Fort Wedderburn and a short distance up the Peace River. It is not certain that the prospective Governor ever visited Slave Lake to the north. He gives, however, the following vivid summary of his winter's experience in Athabasca: "At some seasons both whites and Indians live in wasteful abundance on venison, buffalo meat, fish, and game of all kinds, while at other times they are reduced to the last degree of hunger, often passing several days without food. ”

“ I found this mode of travelling quite a novelty; and on the glittering ice of the rivers and lakes, it was particularly convenient and agreeable. The third day we encamped near Lake de l’Aigle Noir, which abounds in white fish; on the sixth, we arrived at Fort Assiniboine, [250] built in a meadow on the river Athabasca, where it is two hundred and thirty-three fathoms broad, which breadth it seems to preserve more or less until it leaves the Rocky Mountains, its current is extremely rapid. ”

“ It was my intention to await at this place the arrival of an express, soon expected from Athabasca, in case there should be any arrangements to make respecting the additional supply of goods and provisions required by the expedition. The weather continued mild, with some heavy falls of snow. The "Fort" is neat and compact, the surrounding country low and swampy. The fishery, in the lake close at hand, yields a constant supply of fresh and wholesome food, summer and winter; the little farm is productive, and the few domestic cattle maintained were in excellent condition. ”

“ The head of Lesser Slave Lake lies far to the south-west, and there it is most likely to pass on its way to the Peace. What could be supplied, however, is a waggon-road from Wahpoośkow to Athabasca Landing, instead of the present dog-trail, which passes many deep ravines, and makes a long detour by Sandy Lake. Such a road should pass by the east end of the first Wahpoośkow Lake, thence to Rock Island Lake, and on by Calling Lake to the Landing, a distance of about one hundred miles. ”

“ Ice holds fast this beautiful sheet for six months every year. As we puff along the surface of its incomparable blue it is hard to realise that, although the Peace and Athabasca Rivers open their icy mouths about May-day, parts ot the lake are not free for travel until mid-May. The lake freezes fast at Fort Chipewyan some time in November. Lying on the deck of the tug, we look down and take inventory of our odd tow. Just behind comes the scow. It holds wood for the engine, a long sled, a canoe, a "skift," all this year's trading supplies for Fond du Lac, and half a dozen chained husky dogs. ”

“ He conducted us between these islands, over a small lake and by a swampy river, into the Athabasca Lake, from whence the establishments were visible. At four P.M. we had the pleasure of arriving at Fort Chipewyan, and of being received by Messrs. Keith and Black, the partners of the North-West Company in charge, in the most kind and hospitable manner. Thus terminated a winter's journey of eight hundred and fifty-seven miles, in the progress of which there was a great intermixture of agreeable and disagreeable circumstances. ”

“ Unfortunately for us our own loyal able-bodied Indian men were all away as trip men, and the few at the Mission village were powerless to help. Our lives were in jeopardy, and they came very near burning down the premises.
Shortly after these Athabasca Indians had left us I saw a large boatload of men coming across the lake towards our village. Imagining them to be some of these same disturbers, I hastily rallied all the old men I could, and went down to the shore, to keep them, if possible, from landing. ”

“ The Indians sometimes strike off from hence, through a hilly wooded country, direct to Athabasca Lake, and, as I knew that a saving of at least two days in distance might be effected by that route, I was desirous of adopting it; but none of my men had ever followed it, and, from the report of the natives, they declared it to be impracticable with sledges; we therefore turned our faces down the deep and picturesque valley of the Clear Water River, and advanced as usual till sunset. ”

“ By way of a dainty morsel, the Indians pluck out the eyes of fish with the end of the fingers and swallow them raw, likewise the tripes with their whole contents, without further ceremony than placing them an instant on the coals, from thence into the omnibus or general reservoir, without even undergoing the operation of the jaws.
{193} The Montagnees Indians [258] inhabit the lower part [254] of Athabasca, also the great lake of this name. [259] The elk is very common, and the reindeer are found in large bands; the chase of the latter is both easy and singular. ”

“ The Lake of the Black Eagle does not appear to be charted, but the entire country between Forts Edmonton and Assiniboine abounds in lakes. This route was followed by Ross in 1825; see his Fur Hunters, ii, pp. 205, 209.—Ed.
[251] For the Pembina see our volume vi, p. 364, note 177. It is not feasible to identify all these affluents of the upper Athabasca. Next to Pembina, the largest of those mentioned is McLeod (McCloud) River, a southern branch coming in some fifty miles above old Fort Assiniboine. ”

“ The most noted of these are Martin, Great Slave, Athabasca, Wollaston, Deer, Lake Winnipeg and the Lake of the Woods.
Lucien further informed his companions, that where primitive rocks form the surface of a country, that surface will be found to exhibit great diversity of aspect. There will be numerous lakes and swamps, rugged steep hills with deep valleys between, short streams with many falls and rapids. These are the characteristics of a primitive surface. ”

“ Corresponding, average measurements for three adults from Glacier Lake are 240, 60, 32 and for 3 adults from the Athabasca Delta, 243, 65, 30. Weight of 8 subadults from the Belcher Islands is 69 (64-78) grams. Weight of adults would be more.
[112]
Color.—Winter pelage all white except tip of tail. Summer pelage with upper parts uniform in color and darker (16n) than Raw Umber, and about tones 3 to 4 of Chocolate of Oberthür and Dauthenay, pl. 343. Underparts Sulphur Yellow, Colonial Buff, or Primrose Yellow, often nearly white on chin and insides of forelegs ”

“ Dease of the North-West Company, who had recently arrived from his station at the bottom of the Athabasca Lake. This gentleman, having passed several winters on the Mackenzie's River, and at the posts to the northward of Slave Lake, possessed considerable information respecting the Indians, and those parts of the country to which our inquiries were directed, which he very promptly and kindly communicated. During our [Pg 226] conversation, an old Chipewyan Indian, named the Rabbit's Head, entered the room, to whom Mr. ”