APRIL 1833.

CANOES LEAVE LACHINE.

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their two bark canoes, manned by Canadians and Iroquois. Into these the travellers stepped. After bidding adieu to their friends at Lachine, who, along with a number of the officers of the garrison at Montreal, and a large concourse of the villagers assembled to see them depart, "we embarked," says Back, amidst the most enthusiastic cheers and firing of musketry. The two canoes shot rapidly through the smooth water of the canal, and were followed by the dense crowd on the banks. A few minutes brought us to the St. Lawrence, and, as we turned the stems of our little vessels

up

66

that noble stream, one long loud huzza bade us farewell!" One of the canoes in which they commenced their journey was of the kind used by the fur traders while travelling on the great lakes of Canada. They are much larger than those afterwards used in ascending and descending the innumerable lakes and rivers of the interior, and are capable of carrying fourteen or sixteen men as a crew, besides their provisions for many weeks; yet can be carried, when necessary, on the shoulders of four men. At the head of Lake Superior, the last of the great Canadian chain, these large canoes are usually changed for "north canoes," which, being much smaller, are more manageable in shallow and intricate waters; taking only eight men as a crew, two of whom are capable of carrying them many miles overland. They are made of birch bark, cut into oblongs, and sewed over a framework of exceedingly thin timbers, the seams being covered over and "endered water-tight by a coating of gum. The bow and stern are nearly alike, being sharp and turned up at the ends, which ends are fancifully, and sometimes tastefully painted by the voyageurs, and, combined with the bright yellow colour of the bark, give to the fragile boat a light and pleasing, though somewhat gaudy appearance. They are very elegant and rapid when in motion, and it is quite

262

INDIAN CANOES.

MAY 1833.

impossible to give an adequate idea of the fairy-like buoyancy of the north canoe as it bounds upon the surging rapids, or skims over the lovely lakes, urged forward by the vermilion-coloured paddles of eight stalwart voyageurs, whose swart countenances, wild locks, glittering eyes, and gaudy habiliments, harmonize in character with the rapid yet mellodious and peculiarly plaintive songs with which they fill the air and awaken the echoes of the wilderness. Canoes are very shaky machines, however, and are easily upset or broken, especially those used by the Indians, which are much smaller than north canoes, being often made so small as to be capable of carrying but two persons, and sometimes only one. The following description of a paddle over an American lake will convey some idea of the buoyancy and portability of the Indian canoe. The writer, who had been spending the afternoon with some friends who lived on the shores of a small lake in the woods, says:

"In the evening I began to think of returning to the fort, but no boat or canoe could be found small enough to be paddled by one man, and as no one seemed inclined to go with me, I began to fear that I should have to remain all night. At last, a young Indian told me that he had a hunting canoe, which I might have, if I chose to venture across the lake in it, but it was very small. I instantly accepted his offer, and, bidding adieu to my friends at the parsonage, followed him down to a small creek overshaded by trees, where, concealed among the reeds and bushes, lay the canoe. It could not, I should think, have measured more than three yards in length, by eighteen inches in breadth at the middle, whence it tapered at either end to a thin edge. It was made of birch bark, scarcely a quarter of an inch thick, and its weight may be imagined, when I say that the Indian lifted it from the ground with one hand and placed it in the water, at the same time handing

ΜΑΙ 1833.

ROMANTIC PADDLE.

263

me a small light paddle. I stepped in with great care, and the frail bark trembled with my weight as I seated myself, and pushed out into the lake. The sun had just set, and his expiring rays cast a glare upon the overhanging clouds in the west, whilst the shades of night gathered thickly over the eastern horizon. Not a breath of wind disturbed the glassy smoothness of the water, in which every golden-tinted cloud was mirrored with a fidelity that rendered it difficult to say which was image and which reality. The little bark darted through the water with the greatest ease, and as I passed among the deepening shadows of the lofty pines, and across the gilded waters of the bay, a wild enthusiasm seized me; I strained with all my strength upon the paddle, and the sparkling drops flew in showers behind me, as the little canoe flew over the water, more like a phantom than reality; when, suddenly, I missed my stroke; my whole weight was thrown on one side; the water gurgled over the gunwale of the canoe, and my heart leapt to my mouth, as I looked for an instant into the dark water. It was only for a moment; in another instant the canoe righted, and I paddled the remainder of the way in a much more gentle manner-enthusiasm gone, and a most wholesome degree of timidity pervading my entire frame. It was dark when I reached the fort, and upon landing I took the canoe under my arm, and carried it up the bank with nearly as much ease as if it had been a camp-stool!"

The canoe here spoken of is a hunting canoe, and is only used by the native of these regions when away from his wigwam on a hunting expedition. Those generally used are somewhat larger, and, when the natives are changing their place of residence, and travelling by water in search of another, are so stuffed with men, women, children, furs, guns, kettles, blankets, and dogs, as to leave little more than two or three inches out of the water. Nevertheless,

264

SCENERY ON THE LAKES AND RIVERS.

L1833.

ΜΑΤ

they rarely upset, their owners being accustomed to them from the tenderest years of infancy. Many a good ducking, however, have these same canoes given to the servants of the Hudson's Bay Company, especially during their first year's sojourn in the country; and oftentimes have. bragging young fellows-just landed, fresh from the restraints of the old country, and big with thoughts of daring deeds and wild adventure-ventured into these unsteady conveyances; and, after galvanically heaving about their arms and jerking their bodies to and fro, in the vain attempt to recover their equilibrium, have been obliged to souse into the water, and splutter ingloriously to the shore.

The scenery through which Captain Back and his companions here passed was varied and beautiful. Sometimes the canoes were glancing over the calm waters of a little lake, whose unruffled bosom reflected, with softened outline, the luxuriant verdure on its shore. At other times the picturesque voyageurs were slowly stemming the current of a brawling rapid, or, when a foaming cascade intercepted them, carrying canoe and baggage on their 'shoulders; tearing through break and over plain, sometimes on good ground, and often over the ankles in mud or swamp, with the light-hearted indifference peculiar to Canadian voyageurs. Now, they were crossing a traverse in one of the great lakes, whose boundless horizon, rolling waves, and pebbly shore, gave it all the appearance of the ocean; and anon they were driven to seek shelter from the thunder-storm or the tempest in some bay or inlet, where, under the canopy of the forest trees, their tents were pitched, their fires kindled, and soon crackling and blazing up into the heavens; their kettles bubbling; their tobacco pipes smoking, and themselves reclining on their blankets, the very picture of terrestrial happiness, in spite of wind and weather! They were not exempt from real discomforts, however. Occa

MAY 1833.

LAKE SUPERIOR-FORT WILLIAM.

265

sionally they were detained by head winds, and, during the first part of the journey, Captain Back was much annoyed by the tendency of his men to desert; the fickle Canadians being much addicted to change their minds, especially when the voyage on which they enter is likely to prove long or arduous.

They proceeded up the Ottawa, passing several of the Hudson's Bay Company's establishments, at which they were always most hospitably entertained, and the detached, thinly scattered dwellings of the bush farmers and woodcutters, who may be looked upon as the pioneers of civilization. Leaving the Ottawa, they diverged to the left, up a deep black stream, so overhung by sombre rocks and trees, and so bleak and lifeless, that it seemed the very home of melancholy and despair. It took them to Lake Nipising, whence they descended by the Rivière des Francais into Lake Huron, where their progress was so impeded by fogs and head winds, that it was not until the 11th of May that they reached the Sault de Ste Marie, at the head of the lake, and the extreme point to which civilization has yet extended.

Here they purchased a third canoe to carry additional provisions, and commenced coasting along the northern shores of Lake Superior—a distance of upwards of three hundred miles-and arrived on the 20th May at the Hudson's Bay Company's establishment, Fort William. was here that the large canoes were to be exchanged for the smaller, and a short delay took place in consequence of the difficulty the men had in dividing the lading among them.

It

"An entire day," says Back, " was now devoted to the examining and repacking of our various stores and instruments. Our north canoe,' brought from Montreal, was also repaired; for, lumbered as we were with provisions, it