BOOK receiving supplies, and in exporting its productions. It can LXXVII. only be by a gradually progressive advance that the European population of Canada will ever penetrate as far as son's Bay these regions. The Hud- It is merely for a short period that the avidity of gain and North- attracts Europeans to this country. The fur trade had enwest Com- riched the Canadians under the dominion of the French. panies. Lord Selkirk's colony. The English have formed two companies here, that of Hudson's Bay and the North-West Company. This Mediterranean sea, which they had denominated Hudson's Bay, had been visited in 1610, but it was in 1670 that a Company obtained a charter, bearing the privilege of forming establishments here. This Company claims a right to vast territories situated on the west, the south, and the east of the Bay, and extending from 72° to 114° 38' west of London. The exportations of the Company amount annually to L.16,000 Sterling; and the importations, which greatly augment the revenue of government, amount, in all probability, to L.30,000 Sterling. But the profits of this society have been considerably diminished by the North-West Company, lately established at Montreal. It is asserted that the chain of heights, which give rise to the river running to the north and south, as far as lake Winipeg, serves as a line of separation between Canada and the territory of the Hudson's Bay Company; but the limit is not fixed in a legal manner. The Hudson's Bay Company has not penetrated to the west beyond Hudson's House, while, on the contrary, the North-West Company, more courageous, and more enterprising, has almost reached the shores of the Pacific Ocean, and has extended itself along Mackenzie's river, towards the Arctic Sea, or land. But the Hudson's Bay Company, in virtue of its charter, pretends to a sovereignty over all the rivers that flow into Hudson's Bay, and upon this principle, gave up a few years ago, to Lord Selkirk, their principal agent, a vast territory on the banks of Lake Winipeg, and the river Assiniboin. The colony which this Nobleman conducted thither, has ex- BOOK perienced strenuous opposition on the part of the fur mer- LXXVII. chants of Canada, whom they wished to prevent from hunting within their limits. They have even had recourse to violence; and the colony has been obliged to dissolve itself; but the two parties, after pleading before the Canadian tribunals, have at length settled their respective claims by a union of interests. The countries adjacent to Hudson's Bay, together with Names the land of Labrador, have been denominated, from a these coungiven to tribute of homage by no means flattering to the mother tries. country, New Britain; but this name has not been adopted in the charts. The name of Nova Dania also speedily disappeared. The country situated to the west of the bay, has generally been called New Wales, and that to the east, the East Main. To the south, James' Bay extends a hundred leagues within the country. It is in the neighbourhood of this bay that the most important establishments are situated, such as Fort Albany, Fort Moose, and the factory of East Main. Farther to the south, and on the confines of Higher Canada, we find Brunswick factory, Frederick factory, and some others. To the north is Severn factory, situated at the mouth of the river of that name. Fort York is built on the Nelson river, and farther to the north, is fort Churchill, which is supposed to be their last establishment in this direction. Fort Chipiwan, on lake Athapeskow, belongs to the North-West Company, which possesses several others on the banks of lake Winipeg, and the rivers Assiniboin, Saschaschawan, and Mackenzie. These establishments, far from permanent, are often even without any particular name, and consist of nothing more than a house, surrounded by a palisade. maux. Three indigenous nations divide between them. these The Esquimelancholy regions. The Esquimaux inhabit the country between Gulf Welcome and Mackenzie's River, and probably Bhering's Straits. To the south they extend as far as Slave Lake, and, to the north, the territory which BOOK they occupy is bounded by an icy sea, if such a sea really LXXVII. exists, or else they extend their wandering excursions into a frozen desert.* A permanent establishment of this nation was met with by Captain Ross at Prince Regent's Bay, in latitude 76° N.† and their huts were numerous in many parts of Melville Island, in latitude 75° N. The latter officer observed them frequently in the islands of the archipelago of Barrow's Straits, though their timidity prevented any intercourse. Little, squat, and feeble, the complexion of these Polar men partakes less of a copper hue, than of a reddish and dirty yellow. Their huts, which are of a circular form, and are covered with deer-skins, can only he entered by creeping on the belly. Yet the rude necessities of the climate have suggested to this feeble race many contrivances which do honour to their ingenuity. The snow-house, or the comfortable, and, comparatively speaking, commodious dwelling, which they construct from the frozen snow that surrounds them, affords a favourable example. The rapidity and neatness with which they raise these edifices, and render them impervious to the rigorous atmosphere around, is truly admirable; and these edifices, when finished, afford their inhabitants a similar protection to that which the vegetable world receives from a covering of snow. The Esquimaux of Prince Regent's Bay, and of the Arctic Highlands, are entirely ignorant of boats and canoes, affording, it is said, a unique instance of a fishing tribe unacquainted with the means of floating on the water. Ross advances strong grounds for considering them as the true aboriginal race, from whence all other Esquimaux are derived. They seem utterly ignorant of the nations to the south, and may be considered as an independent tribe, separated by almost impassable mountains * Mackenzie's Journey to the Pacific Ocean, vol. III. p. 341. Fearne's Journey to the Ocean of the North, vol. I. passim. Voyage to Arctic Regions, vol. I. p. 104, by Captain Ross. Franklin's Journey to the Polar Sea. Dr. Richardson's Journal, passim. LXXVII. from the regions of South Greenland, and extending beyond BOOK the most northern inlet of Baffin's Bay. They are almost entirely destitute of religious ideas. The other tribes have canoes made of the skins of the sea-calf, which sail with great swiftness. These savages patiently work a grey and porous stone into the shape of pitchers and kettles. The edges of these vases are elegantly ornamented. They preserve their provisions of meat in bags, filled with whale oil. Those who live near the mouth of Mackenzie's River, shave their heads, a peculiar custom, but not sufficient of itself to prove an Asiatic origin. The Chippiwans, who are likewise called Chippaways, The Chipand Chepewyans, have been observed by Mackenzie be- piwans. tween Slave Lake and Lake Athapescow. They appear to extend as far as the Rocky Mountains on the west, and to the sources of the Missouri on the south-west. The Serpent Indians, the Catanachowes, and other tribes, appear to belong to the same nation. A branch of the Chippiwans has extended itself into the United States. Although somewhat less copper-coloured, and having rather less beard than the neighbouring nations, the Chippiwans have not the Mongol complexion. Their straight hair, like that of other Americans, is not always of a black colour. They make themselves a dress of deer skin, which is very warm and very durable. Although extremely pacific amongst themselves, they are continually at war with the Esquimaux, over whom the superiority of their numbers gives them great advantage. They put all those to death who fall into their hands; for fear has established the principle of never taking any prisoners. The Esquimaux entertain a continual apprehension of these Chippaways,§ who, in their turn, live under subjection to the Knisteneaux, a nation who are, or lately were, far less numerous than themselves. The country which the Chippiwans call their own Their Ross, vol. 1. p. 177. Ibid. vol. I. p. 284. VOL. V. + Hearne, vol. II. p. 23, 28, and 29. } Franklin's Journey, p. 358. 6 means c subsistence. BOOK possesses very little vegetable earth; and, accordingly, it LXXVII. produces scarcely any wood or grass. The lichen, however, which affords food to the deer, is found in considerable quantity. Another species of lichen, named Tripe de Roche, grows on the rocks, and serves as food to the inhabitants. They boil it in water, and when it is dissolved it forms a glutinous and tolerably nourishing substance. The English, in 1819, found it act as a cathartic. Fish abound in the lakes of the Chippiwans, and herds of deer cover their hills; but although they possess more foresight, and are the most economical of all the savages of North America, they suffer a great deal in some seasons from want of food. Their superstitions. 'Indians of the north. The Chippiwans affirm that they are descended from a dog; and, accordingly, they respect this animal as sacred. They represent the Creator of the world under the figure of a bird, whose eyes dart lightning, and whose voice produces the thunder. They have a traditionary belief in a deluge, and in the great longevity of the first inhabitants of the world.* The tribes designated by Hearne under the name of the Indians of the North, and who inhabit the country between Copper River and Hudson's Bay, as far as Churchill River, may be looked upon as a branch of the Chippiwans. These Indians of the north are, in general, of an ordinary stature, and are well proportioned and strong; but they want that activity and that suppleness which characterise the Indian tribes who inhabit the eastern and western coasts of Hudson's Bay. The colour of their skin somewhat resembles dark copper. Their hair is black, thick, and straight, like that of other Indians. Like the Chippiwans, they attribute their origin to the amours of the first woman with a dog, who, during the night, was transformed into a beautiful young man.† * For an excellent account of these and the succeeding Indians, see Dr. Richardson's first Journal, in Franklin's Journey to the Polar Sea. + Hearne's Journey to the Ocean of the North, vol. II. Franklin, &c. |