April .9, 1904.} 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
S91 
himself to the white men's canoe, he danced in it, to 
their no small alarm lest he should upset it. 
Mackenzie now began to be a little- uneasy, for his 
provisions Avere growing scant, his hunters discour- 
aged, and his men generally seemed anxious to return. 
Some of them declared that they must turn back, and 
the explorer was obliged to satisfy them by the assurance 
that he would go forward only seven days more, and if 
he did not then reach the sea, would return. They had 
now reached latitude 68°, and the sun was continually 
above the horizon. On the iith they met an abandoned 
camp of Indians, where were seen parts of the fragments 
of three canoes, and places where oil had been spilt. 
Later, an Eskimo hut was found, and about it a great 
deal of property. Now, they began to see fresh tracks 
of the Eskimos on the beach. According to their guide, 
they were approaching a large lake, where the Eskimos 
lived, and in which they killed large fish found there, 
which Mackenzie presumed must be whales. White bears, 
and other large animals not identified from the descrip- 
tion, were told of as well as the Eskimo canoes, which 
could conveniently carry four or five families. 
On the I2th, in the morning, they landed where there 
were four huts. "The adjacent land is high and covered 
with short grass and flowers, though the earth was not 
tliawed about four inches from the surface, beneath 
which was a solid body of ice. This beautiful appear- 
ance, however, was strongly contrasted with the ice and 
snow that was seen in the valleys. The soil, where there 
is any, is a yellow clay mixed with stones. These _ huts 
appear to have been abandoned during the last winter, 
and we had reason to think that some of the natives 
had been lately there, as the beach was covered with the 
tracks of their feet. Many of the. runners and bars of 
their sledges were laid together near the houses in_ a 
manner that seemed to denote the return of the proprie- 
tors. There were also pieces of netting made of sinews, 
and some of bark of the willow. A thread of the former 
was platted, and no ordinary portion of . time must have 
been employed in manufacturing so great a length of 
cord. A square stone kettle with a flat bottom also occu- 
pied our attention, which was capable of containing two 
gallons; and we were puzzled as to the means these 
people must have employed to have chiseled it out of 
a solid rock into its present form." 
When they had satisfied their curiosity they were about 
to re-embark, but were puzzled to know where they 
should go, or what channel they should take. The lake 
was quite open to them to the westward, and the water 
very shallow, so much so that it was impossible to go 
quite close to the shore. They therefore went to an 
island, where they camped, and having set the net, Mac- 
kenzie and his interpreter climbed to the highest part 
of the island, from which they discovered sqJid ice, ex- 
tending from the southwest by compass ■ to'i tlie north 
and to the eastward. To the east were many islands. 
As they passed along, on their walk of exploration, they 
came upon a number of white partridges, now becoming 
brown — the ptarmigan— and beautiful plover, -wiiiich were 
breeding. There were also white owls, and presently they 
came upon an Eskimo grave. ; 
Even the Indians and the Canadians, seeing , that the 
time for turning back had almost come, began to regret 
that they must return without coming to the sea, not 
knowing" that they were already upon it. For the next' 
two.; or three nights they were several times obliged to 
move the baggage lo keep the water from flowing about 
it, and at last Mackenzie concluded that this was the 
tide that was rising and falling. One morning many 
large animals were seen in the water, and Mackenzie rec- 
ognized them as whales, and ordered the canoe to start 
. in pursuit. Fortunately, j ust at this time a fog arose 
and the whales were not overtaken. These were white 
whales, and the Indian guide stated_ were one of the 
principar sources of food for the Eskimo. 
All Mackenzie's efforts to meet these northern people 
failed, and on Thursday, the i6th of July, the canoes 
entered the river and began the return journey. They 
were still subsisting largely on the wildfowl that the 
Indians killed, and the fish that they took in their nets, 
and these were barely enough to support them. Indeeed, 
on some days the wildfowl were so shy that they could 
not be approached, and this obliged them to draw more 
or less on their store of provisions. However, on the 
18th, and before they had gotten away from the country 
of the Eskimos, the hunters killed two reindeer, a very 
..fortunate addition to their supply of food. But this kill- 
•'ipg of the reindeer was not without its unfortunate side, 
•for it so alarmed their guide that he deserted that night. 
However, geese were plenty, and on the following day 
the hunters killed twenty-two, and the next day fifteen, 
and four swans. 
They were now obliged to resort to the laborious and 
slow towing line to ascend the river. They met a party 
of Indians, among whom was the brother of the guide 
who had recently deserted, and Mackenzie sat up all 
night to watch them. They were greatly interested when 
they saw him writing, wondering what he was doing. 
As the night drew on, some women came from the forest 
to the camp, and after remaining for a short time, went 
away. "Those who remained immediately kindled a small 
fire and layed themselves down to sleep around it, like 
so many whelps, having neither skins nor garments of 
any kind to cover them, notwithstanding the cold that 
prevailed. My people having placed their kettle of meat 
on the fire, I was obliged to guard it from the natives, 
who made several attempt's to possess themselves of its 
contents; and this was the only instance I had hitherto 
discovered of their being influenced by a pilfering dis- 
position. It might perhaps be a general opinion that 
provisions were a common property." 
From here they continued to tow the canoe up the 
river. Some Indian huts seen were built of drift-wood. 
On the slope of the beach, and on the inside, earth was 
dug away to form a level floor. Within these huts were 
drying scaffolds, covered with split fish, and fires made 
in different parts of the hut warmed and dried the air, 
and hastened the operation of drying. The Indians told 
him of the Eskimos who dressed like themselves, wore 
their hair short, and had two holes perforated, one on 
each side of the mouth, in line with the under lip, on 
which they placed long beads — the labrets, so well known 
as ornaments of the primitive Eskimos. They reported 
the animals of their country to be reindeer, bears, wolver- 
ines, martens, foxes, hares, and white buffaloes, and that 
the latter were only to be. found in the mountains to 
the westward. On the journey up the river the towing 
line was much in use, but often, when the wind was north, 
it was possible to, use the sail. For six days on this 
southward journey the party had not touched any of their 
provision stores, but in this time, Mackenzie says, they 
had consumed two reindeer, four swans, fotty-five geese, 
and a considerable quantity of fish. "I have always ob- 
served that the northmen possessed Very hearty appetites, 
but they were much exceeded by those with me since we 
entered this river. I sliould really have thought it abso- 
lute gluttony in my people, if my own appetite had not 
mcreased in a similar proportion." 
He now began to hear, from the people whom he met, 
of a great river to the west of the one he was traveling 
on, and beyond the mountains, perhaps the Yukon or the 
Eraser. But the country through which this river ran 
was inhabited by strange creatures. "The Indians repre- 
sented them as being of gigantic stature, and adorned 
with wings, which, however, they never employed in 
.flying; that they fed on large birds, which they killed 
with the greatest ease, though common men would be 
certain victims of their voracity if they ventured to ap- 
proach them. They also described the people that in- 
habited the mouth of the river as possessing the extra- 
ordinary power of killing with their eyes, and devouring 
a large beaver at a single meal. They added that canoes 
of very large dimensions visited that place. These tales, 
however, they told not of their own knowledge, but from 
reports of other tribes." 
It was at this camp that Mackenzie was obliged to 
shoot an Indian dog, which it was impossible to keep from 
interfering with his baggage, which, of course, contained 
the provisions. "It was in vain that I had remonstrated 
on this subject, so that I was obliged to commit the act 
which is just mentioned. When these people heard the 
report of the pistol, and saw the dog dead, they were 
seized with a very general alarm, and the women took 
the children on tiieir backs and ran into the woods. I 
ordered the cause of this act of sevierity to be explained, 
with the assurance that no injuries would be offered to 
themselves. The woman, however, to whom the dog 
belonged was very much affected, and declared that the 
loss of five children during the preceding winter had 
not affected her so much as the death of this animal ; 
but her grief was not of very long duration, and a few 
beads, etc., soon assuaged her sorrow." 
On the way up the river, August 2, small springs of 
mineral water were observed, as well as lumps of iron 
ore, and finally, a "coal mine," or bed of lignite, on fire. 
The beach was covered with coal, and the English chief 
gathered some of it to be used as a black dye, to color 
porcupine quills. A little further on, the Indian hunters 
killed a beaver, whose fur was now beginning to grow 
kng. Tracks of moose and reindeer were seen, but all 
of them old. Since the weather was growing cooler the 
reindeer would now leave the plains to come into the 
woods, for the mosquitoes were beginning to disappear. 
Though the river had fallen much the current was still 
very strong, and the work difficult. The weather was 
cold, and now their violent exercise scarcely kept them 
warm. The women constantly remained in the canoes, 
making moose-skin moccasins for the men, who as con- 
stantly wore them out, a pair lasting not more than one 
day. 
On the 7th they saw two reindeer on the beach before 
them, but the Indians, quarreling to see which should be 
the first to get near them, alarmed the deer, which ran 
away. However, a female reindeer was killed, whose 
legs showed wounds, and it was supposed that she had 
been pursued by Hvolves, which devoured her young one. 
One of the young I;ndians took her udder, which was full 
of milk, and squeezing it over some boiled corn, ate the 
mixture with great relish. 
On the loth, accompanied by one of his young Indians, 
Mackenzie strove without success to reach the mountains 
which were seen on the southwest of the river. 
For the last few days the hunters had been unsuccess- 
ful, killing only a beaver, a few hares, and a few water- 
fowl, but on the 13th they reached the island where they 
had hidden their pemmican on the way down, and raising 
the cache, found themselves once more in plenty. A 
little later they saw another camp of Indians, who, very 
much frightened, drew their canoes up on the beach and 
fled to the woods, leaving much of their property behind 
them. This was pounced upon by Mackenzie's Indians, 
who took his interpreter severely to task for his conduct. 
This brought on a more or less violent dispute, in the 
course of which the English chief declared that he would 
accompany Mackenzie no further, but would leave him 
and remain here. The Indian and all his relations wept 
bitterly,_ but after a few hours Mackenzie persuaded him 
to continue the journey, and propitiated him by a gift 
of rum. 
On the 17th and i8th of August the hunters were more 
successful, and the last day the English chief killed 
a buffalo, while a few water-fowl were brought in daily. 
1 hey now found signs of a Cree encampment, and pres- 
ently reached the entrance of Slave Lake. Coasting 
around this, often in heavy weather, they came upon Mr. 
Le Roux, from the fort there, and found that he had 
been somewhat successful in trading for skins, having 
five packs, principally of marten. Large game seemed 
a:bundant here, and the tracks of buffalo, moose, and rein- 
deer were seen. On August 30 they reached Mr. Le 
Roux's house. 
Here Mackenzie's Indians left him, on the ground that 
he traveled too fast for them, and that they feared they 
should be drowned if they followed so reckless a sailor. 
Mr. Le Roux's establishment was left on the 31st of 
August, and twelve days later, after many difficulties 
from storm and cold, they reached Fort Chipewyan, hav- 
ing concluded a voyage which had occupied one hundred 
and two days. 
Geo. Bird Grinnell. 
A ship in harbor weighs half the weight of its cargo, 
and its own weight is double half what it weighs if 
half its_ weight is counted as half its weight of cargo. 
The united weight of ship and cargo is more than 10,000 
and less than 11,000 tons.. What does the ship weigh 
when it leaves harbor? Answer— The anchor. 
Idle HotJfs* 
^ The blue smoke curls up in a thin wreath frOna the 
hot coals and glowing logs of the fire, toward the big 
pme trees that tower into the clear blue dome over- 
head, while the murmuring voice of the stream mingles 
m pleasalrr; cadence with the appetizing sizzle of the lit- 
tle trout browning to a crisp in the long-handled frying 
pan. A wide, capacious, open camp filled with Soft, 
spicy balsam boughs, offers a couch of fragrant com- 
fort not to be surpassed by arty other. The bright 
sunshine, streaming down through the yellow-tinted 
leavfes falls ott the rough board table and benches set 
for the partakers of a meal in the woods. What A 
free, whole-souled, unaffected and natural life is this! 
We forget the world, and receive joyfully the balms arid 
invigorating influences of the woods, living in the 
beauty and happiness of the present, thus becoming 
strengthened for the future. 
Not far from our summer home was such a spot, 
with an amber brook, huge pines, an inviting open 
camp, and the wild, untouched forest surrounding; it 
is needless to say that visits to this place left memories 
of everlasting pleasure behind them, nor were the days 
anything more than one long hour of unstained happi- 
ness. 
It was reached by a two-mile drive through the 
woods on a good wagon road; then a short walk 
brought _ one to where the pines soughed above, the 
brook rippled around a point of springy leaf-mould 
that formed an ideal location for the camp and fire- 
place. This level bit of land was overgrown with fresh, 
delicate ferns, while a number of graceful yellow birches 
twined their roots in the rich soil or grew from a 
mossy rock in the stream. From the end of this small 
point two rough hewn logs stretched across a deep, 
clear pool, and once over the rustic bridge, one might 
walk down the brook on a wood trail that ended where 
a foaming cascade fell over a smooth, rounded rock, 
and boiled into another pool below. On every side 
was the wild virgin forest, and many times deer came 
within a short distance of the camp, while two mighty 
pine trees standing nearby were a crowning delight. 
A soft northwest wind was blowing, and across the 
clear, ' deep-tinted blue of the sky sailed those white, 
gray-lined, Adirondack clouds; but here in the woods 
only the rustling murmur of the leaves above told that 
a breeze was stirring, for the smoke from the fire which 
Rob had just kindled hung in sunbeamed streaks be- 
tween the trees. 
"To-day we must go over to the stream" had been 
a proposition so readily accepted that here we were, two 
hours later in the morning, with pack basket filled with 
everything needful for an outdoor repast, and Rob, 
whose cooking powers, quaint wit and wood lore could 
not be done without. After fat, faithful Flora, a mare 
of unlimited merits, had brought us safely to our des- 
tination, driving from the road down to the camp on 
the rough, uncertain trail with ease and sure-footed 
care of an old-timer, I perceived Fred fumbling under 
the buckboard seat in evident search of something. 
"What are you looking for?" I questioned, my curi- 
osity aroused. "Worms," he answered. "I wasn't 
coming over here without some bait, you can just be- 
lieve. Ought to catch a few trout down stream, Rob?" 
"Yes, you ought ter get some," returned Rob, as he 
arranged the "wood artist's" painting stool and outfit 
near the thick, mossy bank, where later on a sheet of 
Canvas there appeared the yellow stream, rock and 
clasping birch of the reality. The "little lady," too, 
had brought her sketching materials, pen, ink and block 
in immediate use with a book of Shelley's fragrant 
poems resting beside her. I made up my mind without 
further ado. "I am going, too; but you can fish and 
I'll look on for a half hour or so before I come back 
to help fry the 'murphies' and make the toast," I said, 
addressing Rob. "Then if you get any fish we can 
have some for dinner," speaking to the angler who was 
adjusting hook and line and buckshot sinker to a birch 
rod he had cut. 
"All right; come along," he returned; and off we 
started, stopping by the pool before crossing over, to 
throw a few big night-walkers to the half dozen trout that 
lurked in its cool, amber depths. We never fished 
for these or any others between this point and the 
falls, several hundred yards further on. The pool was 
not very deep, and the sun, striking on it now, showed 
clearly every yellow stone and old rotted log covering 
the bottom. Suddenly a small form shot out from 
under one of these dark, sheltering retreats, as a bright 
fontinalis darted in eager haste at the worm, twisting 
slowly downward. Seizing it greedily, he swam off, 
pursued by two or three other hungry, lively fish, that 
endeavored to snatch the dangling bait from his mouth. 
After passing over the bridge, we continued walking 
down the trail until we reached the rushing falls that 
marked the commencement of the fishing grounds. In 
many places where a strip of soft "muck" or sand bor- 
dered the brook, were the sharp, deeply sunk tracks of 
deer, and I have no doubt that the ungainly, thrilling 
imprints of some old Bruin's paws had marked it, too, 
A high knoll arose on the opposited side of the stream, 
a thick growth of balsam, spruce, pine and a few 
birches covering the steep incline, free from under- 
brush. "There goes a trout under the bank," said 
Fred, when, after scrambling over fallen trees, balancing 
on slippery moss-grown logs, plunging ankle-deep into 
several copious spring holes, we had reached a likely 
looking pool. Splash, slump! and I slid off a treacher- 
ous log into the wet, spongy muck, nearly losing my 
l>alance as I endeavored to get nearer to Fred's loca- 
tion, for we had become somewhat separated on this 
rough ground, each one picking his own way. 
"Don't try and come across," he called to me, after I 
made a hasty retreat to a firmer position. "I nearly 
got mired myself, and each shoe feels as if there was 
a bucket of water in it." 
Neither of us could resist a good laugh at our mis- 
haps, for the day was warm, and such amusing inci- 
dents only added to the fun, not making us at all 
uncomfortable. 
"Here's a good place," came a hidden voice from 
Fred's direction; and finding a well-beaten deer run- 
way, I followed it down to the brook until I stoo4 
