March t2, 1904.I 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
207 
sented to go forward. While their stomachs were com- 
forted by the warm water they walked well, but as even- 
ing approached fatigue overcame them, and they relapsed 
into their former condition, and, the chocolate being now 
almost entirely consumed, I began to fear that I must 
really abandon them, for I was able to endure more 
hardship than they, and, had it not been for keeping. com- 
pany with them, I could hav6 advanced "double the dis- 
tance within the time which had been spent. To my ^great 
joy, however, the usual quantity of warm water revived 
them. 
"For breakfast the next morning I put the last square 
of chocolate into the kettle, arid, our meal finished, we be- 
gan our march in but very indifferent spirits. We were 
surrounded by large herds of wolves which sometimes 
came close upon us, and who knew, as we were prone 
to think, the extremity in which we were, and marked 
us for their prey ; but I carried a gun, and this was our 
protection. I fired several times, but unfortunately 
missed at, each, for a morsel of wolfs flesh would have 
afforded us a banquet. 
"Qur misery, nevertheless, was still nearer its end than 
we imagined, and the event was such as~ to give one of 
the innumerable proofs that despair is not made for 
man. Before sunset we discovered on the ice some re- 
mains of the bones of an elk left there by the wolves. 
Having instantly gathered them, we encamped, and, filling 
our kettle, prepared ourselves a meal of strong and ex- 
cellent soup. The greater part oi the night was passed 
in boiling and regaling our booty, and early ill the morn- 
ing we felt ourselves strong enough to proceed. 
; . "This day, the twenty-fifth, we found the borders of 
the plains reaching to the very banks of the river, which 
were two hundred feet above the level of the ice. Water 
marks presented themselves at twenty feet above the 
actual level. 
"Want had. lost his dominion over us. At noon we saw 
the horns of a red deer standing in the snow on the river. 
On examination we found that the whole carcass was 
with them, the animal having broke through the ice in 
the beginning of the winter in attempting to cross the 
river toO' early in the season, while his horns,, fastening 
themselves in the ice, had prevented him from sinking. 
By cutting away the ice we were, enabled to lay bare a 
part of the back and shoulders, and thus procure a stock 
of food amply sufficient for the rest of the journey. We 
accordingly encamped and employed our kettle to good 
purpose, forgot all our misfortunes, and prepared to walk 
v/ith cheerfulness the twenty leagues which, as we 
reckoned, still lay between ourselves and Fort des 
Prairies. 
"Though the deer must have been in this situation ever- 
since the month of November, yet its flesh was perfectly 
good. Its horns alone were five foot high or more, and 
it will therefore not appear extraordinary that they should 
be seen above the snow. 
"On the twenty-seventh, in the morning, we discovered 
the print of snowshoes, demonstrating that several per- 
sons had passed that way the day before. These were the 
first marks of other human feet than our own which we 
had seen since our leaving Cumberland House, and it was 
much to feel that we had fellow-creatures in the wide 
waste surrounding us. In the evening we reached the 
fort." 
At Fort des Prairies Henry saw more provisions than 
he had ever before dreamed of. In one heap he saw fifty 
tons of buffalo meat, so fat that the men could hardly 
find meat lean enough to eat. Immediately south of this 
plains country, which he was on the edge of, was the land 
of the Osinipoilles, and, some of these people being at the 
fort, Henry determined to visit them at their village, and 
on the 5th of February set out to do so. The Indians 
whom they accompanied carried their baggage on dog 
travois. They used snowshoes and traveled swiftly, and 
at night camped in the shelter of a little bunch of wood. 
There were fourteen people in the tent in which Henry 
slept that night, but these were not enough to keep each 
other warm. They started each morning at daylight, and 
traveled as long as they could, and over snow that was 
often four feet deep. During the journey they saw buf- 
falo, which Henry always calls wild oxen, but did not 
disturb them, as they had no time to do so, and no 
means of carrying the flesh if they had killed any. One 
night they met two young men who had come out to 
meet the party. They had not known that there were 
white men with it, and announced that they must return 
to advise the chief of this; but before they could start, a 
storm came up which prevented their departure. AH that 
in'gbt and part of the next day the wind blew fiercely, 
•with drifting snow. "In the morning we were alarmed 
by the approach of a herd of oxen, who came from the 
open ground to shelter themselves in the wood. Their 
numbers were so great that we dreaded lest they should 
fairly trample down the camp ; nor could • it have hap- 
pened otherwise, but for the dogs, almost as numerous as 
they, who were able to keep them in check. The Indians 
killed several when close upon their tents, but neither the 
. fire of the Indians nor the noise of the dogs could soon 
drive them away. Whatever were the terrors which filled 
the wood, they had no other escape from the terrors of 
the storm." 
Two days later they reached the neighborhood of the 
camp, which was situated in a woody island. Messengers 
came to welcome them, and a guard armed with bows and 
spears, evidently the soldiers, to escort them to the home 
which had been assigned them. They were quartered in 
a comfortable skin lodge, seated on buffalo robes ; women 
brought them water for washing, and presently a man in- 
vited them to a feast, himself showing them the way to 
the head chief's tent. The usual smoking, feasting, and 
speech-making followed. 
■ These Osinipoilles seemed not before to have seen white 
men, for when walking about the camp, crowds of women 
and children followed them, very respectfully, but evi- 
dently devoured by insatiable curiosity. Water here was 
obtained by hanging a buffalo paunch kettle filled with 
snow in the smoke of the fire, and, as the snow melted, 
more and more was added, until the paunch, was full of 
water. During their stay they never had occasion to cook 
in the lodge, being constantly invited to feasts. They had 
with them always the guard of soldiers, .who.were careful 
to allow no one to crowd upon^pr, apnoy the travelers. 
They had been here but a short time ^ys^Hen the head chief 
sent them word that he was going to hunt buffalo the 
next day, and asked them to be of the party. 
"In the morning we went to the hunt accordingly. The 
chief was followed by about forty men and a great num- 
ber of women. We proceeded to a small island [of tim- 
ber] on the plain, at the distance of five miles from the 
village. On. our way we saw large herds of oxen at 
feed, but the hunters forebore to molest them lest they 
should take the alarm. 
"Arrived at the island, the women pitched a few tents, 
while the chief led his hunters to its southern end, where 
there was a pound or inclosure. The fence was about 
four feet high, and formed of strong stakes of birch 
wood, wattled with smaller branches of the same. The 
day was spent in making repairs, and by evening all was 
ready for the hunt. 
At daylight several of the more expert hunters were 
sent to decoy the animals into the pound. They were 
dressed in ox skins, with the hair and horns. Their 
faces were covered, and their gestures so closely re- 
sembled those of the animals themselves that, had I not 
been in the secret, I should have been as much deceived 
as the oxen. . 
"At ten o'clock one of the hunters returned, bringing 
ijiformation of the herd. Immediately all the dogs were 
muzzled ; and, this done, the whole crowd of men and 
women surrounded the outside of the pound. The herd, 
of which the extent was so great that I cannot pretend to 
estimate the numbers, was distant half a mile, advancing 
slowly, aiid frequently stopping to feed. The part played 
by the decoyers was that of approaching them within 
hearing and then bellowing like themselves. On hearing 
the noise, the oxen did not fail to give it attention, and, 
whether from curiosity or sympathy, advanced to meet 
those from whom they proceeded. These, in the mean- 
time, fell back deliberately toward the pound, always re- 
peating the call whenever the oxen stopped. This was 
reiterated till the leaders of the herd had followed the de- 
coyers into the jaws of the pound, which, though wide 
asunder toward the plain, terminated, like a funnel, in a 
small aperture or gateway, and within this was the pound 
itself. The Indians remark that in all herds of animals 
there are chiefs, or leaders, by whom the motions of the 
rest are determined. 
"The decoyers now retired within the pound, and were 
followed by the oxen. But the former retired still further, 
withdrawing themselves at certain movable parts of the 
fence, while the latter were fallen upon by all the hunters, 
and presently wounded and killed by showers of arrows. 
Amid the uproar which ensued the oxen made several 
attempts to force the fence, but the Indians stopped them 
and drove them back by shaking skins before their eyes. 
Skins were also made use of to stop the entrance, being 
let down by strings as soon as the oxen were inside. The 
slaughter was prolonged till the evening, when the hun- 
ters returned to their tents. Next morning all the' 
tongues were presented to the chief, to the number of 
seventy-two. 
"The women brought the meat to the village on sledges 
drawn by dogs. The lumps on the shoulders and the. 
hearts, as well as the tongues, were set apart for feasts, 
while the rest was consumed as ordinary food, or dried, 
for sale at the fort." 
Plenry has much to say about the Assinaboines, their 
methods of hunting, religion, marriage, healing, and many 
other , customs. He notes especially their cruelty to their 
slaves, and says that the Assinaboines seldom married 
captive women. 
On the 19th of February the Assinaboine camp started 
to the Fort des Prairies, and on the 28th camped at a 
little distance from it ; but Henry and his companions 
went on, and reached the post that evening. Flenry de- 
clares that "The Osinipoilles at this period had had no 
acquaintance with any foreign nation sufficient to affect their 
ancient and pristine habits. Like the other Indians they 
v/ere cruel to their enemies; but, as far as the experience 
ol myself and other Europeans authorizes me to speak, 
they were a harmless people with a large share of sim- 
plicity of manners and plain dealing. They lived in fear 
of the Cristinaux, by whom they were not only frequently 
imposed upon, but pillaged, when the latter met their 
bands in smaller numbers than their own." 
On the 22d of March Henry set out to return to Beaver 
Lake. They reached Cumberland House on the 5th of 
April, and Beaver Lake on the 9th. The lake was still 
covered with ice, and fish had grown scarce, so that it was 
necessary to keep fishing all the time in order to provide 
sustenance. Early in May, however, the water fowl made 
their, appearance, and for some little time there was 
abundance. They left their post on, the 21st of April very 
short of provisions. They traveled slowly, finally coming 
to a large lake, which, on the 6th of June, was still frozen 
over, but the ice was too weak to be crossed. The In- 
dians killed some moose. On reaching Churchill River 
they set otit for Lake Arabuthcow [Athabasca] with six 
Canadians and an Indian woman as guide. The river 
was sometimes broad and slow-flowing, and again narrow 
and very rapid. Fish were plenty. On January 24 they 
reached Isle a la Crosse Lake, and met a number of In- 
dians, to whom they made presents, and whom they in- 
vited to visit them at their fort. These Indians seem to 
have been Chipewyans, known tO' ethnologists as Atha- 
bascans. They accepted the white men's invitation, and 
all started for the fort, continuing the journey day and 
night, stopping only to boil the kettle. 
The discipline among these Athabasca Indians seemed 
exceedingly good, as, in fact, it usually was in primitive 
tiiTies. The orders given by the chief were conscien- 
tiously obeyed, and this under circumstances of much 
temptation, since, when liquor was being served out to the 
young men, a certain number were told off who were 
ordered not to drink at all, but to maintain a constant 
guard over the white men. 
In the trade which followed, the Indians delivered their 
skins at a small window in the fort made for that pur- 
pose, asking at the same time for the different articles 
they wished to purchase, of which the prices had been 
previously settled with the chiefs. The trade lasted for 
more than two days, and amounted to 12,000 beaver skins, 
besides large numbers of otter and marten skins. These 
Indians had come from Lake Arabuthcow, at which they 
had wintered. They reported that at the farther end of 
that lake was a river called Peace River, which descended 
from the Stony or Rocky Mountains, from which moun- 
tains the distance to the Salt Lake, meaning the Pacific 
Ocean, was not great. Other things the Indians told Henry 
which he did not understand, but a few years later Alex- 
ander McKenzie was to meet these questions and to 
solve many of them. These Indians dressed in beaver 
skins, and were orderly and unoffending. Mr. Joseph 
Frobisher and Henry now set out to return to the Grand 
Portage, leaving the remainder of their merchandise in 
the care of Thomas Frobisher, who was to go with them 
to Lake Athabasca. 
When Henry reached the Lake of the Woods he found 
there some Indians, who told him that a strange nation 
had entered Montreal, taken Quebec, killed all the Eng- 
lish, and would certainly be at the Grand Portage before 
they reached there. Henry remarked to his companion 
that he suspected the Bastonais had been up to some mis- 
chief in Canada, and the Indians at once exclaimed, "Yes, 
that's the name, Bastonais." 
Without further accident Henry reached the Grand 
Portage, from which place he continued to Montreal, 
which he reached the 15th of October. Plere he found 
that the Americans had been driven out, and that the city 
v/as protected by the forces of General Burgoyne. The 
capture of Montreal took place in the fall of 1775, .and 
Quebec was besieged during the winter of i775-'76, and it 
was nearly a year later that Henry heard the news at the 
Lake of the Woods. 
This ends the account of Henry's travels, but he was 
still in the fur trade for many years later. In 1785 he was 
a leading merchant of Montreal, and in 1790 he returned 
to Michilimackinac. 
His book was published in New York in 1807, and thus 
not until six years after the publication of Alexander 
Mackenzie's great virork. Henry died in Montreal, April 
d, 1824, in the 85th year of his age. 
Besides himself being a fur trader, Henry was a father 
of fur traders. His son, William Henry, is constantly 
mentioned in the diary of Alexander Henry, the younger. 
A second son, Alexander, was also in the fur trade, and 
v/as killed on the Liard River. Alexander Henry, the 
younger, the nephew, is well known, and will be very fully 
noticed hereafter. A Mr. Bethune, constantly spoken of 
by Alexander Plenry, Jr., may, or may not, have been 
a relative. Certain it is that Alexander Henry had 
nephews named Bethune. 
The account from which we have so- freely quoted is re- 
markable for its ' simplicity and clearness of style, as well 
as for the keen- powers of observation shown by the 
writer. It is one of the most interesting of the many in- 
teresting volumes on the fur trade of its own and later 
times. Geo. Bird Grinneix. 
Two for Grover, 
It was early in November, 1892. For many months 
during the close season our guns had lain in, innocuous 
desuetude. The law, the absence of game, and a blister- 
ing sun vetoed indulgence in any sort of field sports. But 
vthe long summer was now over, the northers had begun 
to blow, bringing cooler days and crisp nights, and with 
them the hosts of water fowl for their winter sojourn in 
the warm South. The red gods called us and we must 
go duck shooting. Ah! but the election, now only a few 
days off, and the candidates coming down the home- 
stretch under whip and spur ! We must stay to see the 
finish. 
It was a Condition and not a theory that confronted us. 
A political crisis was at hand, and if our favorites for 
Justice of the Peace, Constable, Coroner, and other im- 
portant public functions failed of election, republican in- 
stitutions would be imperiled. Clearly, we could not go 
until after the election; but, in the meantime, we could 
put in a lot of licks getting ready. 
A comfortable sloop was chartered and brought around 
to a convenient wharf, and on Election Day drayloads of 
guns, ammunition, dogs, tents, bedding, cooking utensils, 
eatables, drinkables, and all sorts of unthinkables were 
carried om board. The results of the election — National, 
State and local — were decisive, and by midnight it was all 
over but the shouting. 
Long before daylight, with copies of the first news- 
papers off the press, we tumbled into our bunks, ex- 
hausted by the labor and excitement of the day. There 
were a few words of command, a tramping about the 
deck, a rattling of blocks, and the little vessel was slip- 
ping away through the darkness, while we, down below, 
were sleeping the sleep of the just, the tired, and the 
victorious. _ _ - 
When we awoke for breakfast, the sun was high in the 
sky, and we were half way to the shooting grounds. A 
very jolly party it was, too, all except one colored gentle- 
man, who declared dismally that his party "couldn't carry 
no States." As, we discussed the breakfast we fought the 
political battle over again, and agreed among ourselves 
that it was now a mere matter of form to go down to 
Washington and get a "nice fat office or some other 
comfortable thing," and we determined then and there to 
turn out into the cold, unfeeling world every one of those 
obtrusive Republicans who had butted in, and for four 
years usurped our places at the public crib. For, while 
we were all in accord with our leader that "public office 
is a public trust," we were unanimously of the opinion 
that it was also a "private snap." 
A pleasant sail ended in good season, and we took our 
places in the blinds for the evening flight. Straggling into 
camp at nightfall we found dinner ready, but — "Where's 
the Boss?" 
"Hasn't got in from the lake yet. Pitch in, he'll be 
along presently." 
Our . Warwick soon appeared, sneaking in from the 
back of : the camp, evidently anxious not to attract 
attention. 
"What's he got?" :,.. , = ::,,.„■■ 
"Nothing but a pair of spoonbills." ' . ; 1 i"^! ' : 
"Whew! He's low gun." .1 H " 
"Won't do a thing to him." , _ ^ 
The Boss sat down in silence. 
"Say, did you hear that bombardment down by the Otit= 
let this evening?" . 
"Sure, Never heard such a bangin' since Farragut 
ran the forts." 
"Whose stand was. that?" , 1 
