CHAPTER, XXII.
THE VOYAGE INTERRUPTED.
About ten days' rapid travelling down the Elk River brought our partyinto the Athabasca Lake--sometimes called the "Lake of the Hills." Thisis another of those great bodies of fresh water that lie between theprimitive rocks of the "Barren Grounds," and the more fertile limestonedeposit upon the west. It is nearly two hundred miles long from west toeast, and it is only fifteen miles in breadth, but in some places it isso narrow and full of islands that it looks more like a broad river thana lake. Its shores and many of its islands are thickly wooded,particularly upon the southern and western edges; and the eye of thetraveller is delighted with many a beautiful vista as he passes along.But our voyageurs took little heed of these things.
A gloom had come over their spirits, for one of their party had takenill, and was suffering from a painful and dangerous disease--anintermittent fever. It was Lucien--he that was beloved by all of them.He had been complaining for several days--even while admiring the fairscenery of the romantic Elk--but every day he had been getting worse,until, on their arrival at the lake, he declared himself no longer ableto travel. It became necessary, therefore, to suspend their journey; andchoosing a place for their camp, they made arrangements to remain untilLucien should recover. They built a small log-hut for the invalid, anddid everything to make him as comfortable as possible. The best skinswere spread for his couch; and cooling drinks were brewed for him fromroots, fruits, and berries, in the way he had already taught hiscompanions to prepare them.
Every day Francois went forth with his gun, and returned with a pair ofyoung pigeons, or a wood-partridge, or a brace of the beautiful ruffedgrouse; and out of these he would make delicate soups, which he was thebetter able to do as they had procured salt, pepper, and otheringredients, at the Fort. They had also brought with them a stock oftea--the real China tea--and sugar; and as the quantity of both was butsmall, this luxurious beverage was made exclusively for Lucien, and wasfound by him exceedingly beneficial during his illness.
To the great joy of all the invalid was at length restored to health,and the canoe being once more launched and freighted, they continuedtheir journey.
They coasted along the shores of the lake, and entered the Great SlaveRiver, which runs from the Athabasca into the Great Slave Lake. Theysoon came to the mouth of another large river, called the Peace. Thisruns into the Great Slave a short distance below Lake Athabasca, and,strange to say, the sources of the Peace River lie upon the _western_side of the Rocky Mountains, so that this stream actually runs acrossthe mountain-chain! It passes through the mountains in a succession ofdeep gorges, which are terrible to behold. On both sides dizzy cliffsand snow-capped peaks rise thousands of feet above its rocky bed, andthe scenery is cold and desolate.
Its head-waters interlock with those of several streams that run intothe Pacific; so that, had our voyageurs wished to travel to the shoresof that ocean, they might have done so in their birch-bark canoe nearlythe whole of the way. But this was not their design at present, so theypassed the _debouchure_ of the Peace, and kept on for the Great SlaveLake. They were still upon the same water as the Elk, for the GreatSlave is only another name for that part of the river lying between thetwo lakes--Athabasca and Great Slave. Of course the river had now becomemuch larger by the influx of the Peace, and they were travelling uponthe bosom of a magnificent stream, with varied scenery upon its banks.
They were not so happy, however, as when descending the Elk--not butthat they were all in good health, for Lucien had grown quite strongagain. No, it was not any want of health that rendered them lesscheerful. It was the prospect before them--the prospect of comingwinter, which they now felt certain would arrive before they had got tothe end of their journey. The delay of nearly a month, occasioned byLucien's illness, had deranged all their calculations; and they had nolonger any hope of being able to finish their voyage in what remained ofthe short summer. The ice would soon make its appearance; the lakes andrivers would be frozen up; they could no longer navigate them in theircanoe. To travel afoot would be a most laborious undertaking, as well asperilous in an extreme degree.
In this way it is only possible to carry a very small quantity ofprovisions--for the traveller is compelled to load himself withskin-clothing in order to keep out the cold. The chances of procuringgame by the way in that season are precarious, and not to be dependedupon. Most of the birds and many of the quadrupeds migrate to moresouthern regions; and those that remain are shy and rare. Besides, greatsnow-storms are to be encountered, in which the traveller is in dangerof getting "smoored." The earth is buried under a deep covering of snow,and to pass over this while soft is difficult, and at times quiteimpossible. All these circumstances were known to our youngvoyageurs--to Norman better than any of them--and of course the prospectwas a cheerless one--much more so than those unacquainted with thewinter of these dreary regions would be willing to believe.
It was the month of August, near its end, when they reached the GreatSlave Lake, in the latitude of 62 deg.. The days had now become very short,and their journeys grew short in proportion. They already experiencedweather as cold as an English winter. There were slight frosts atnight--though not yet enough to cover the water with ice--and themid-day hours were hot, sometimes too hot to be comfortable. But thisonly caused them to feel the cold the more sensibly when evening set in;and all their robes and skins were necessary to keep them warm duringthe night.
The Great Slave Lake, like the Athabasca, is very long and very narrow.It extends full 260 miles from east to west, but at its widest part isnot over thirty, and in some places much less. Along its northern shoreslies the edge of the "Barren Grounds," and there nothing meets the eyebut bleak and naked hills of primitive rock. On its southern side thegeology is entirely of a different character. There the limestoneprevails, and scarcely anything that deserves the name of hill is to beseen. There are fine forests too, in which poplars, pines, and birches,are the principal trees. The lake is filled with islands, many of whichare wholly or partially covered with timber of these kinds, and willowsalso are abundant.
There are fish of several species in its waters--which are in manyplaces of great depth--sixty fathoms deep--and in some of the islands,and around the wooded shores, game exists in abundance in the summerseason. Even in winter it is not scarce, but then it is difficult tofollow it on account of the deep snow. Many of the animals, too, at thisseason become torpid, and are of course hidden in caves and hollowtrees, and even in the snow itself, where no one can find them.Notwithstanding all this, our voyageurs knew that it would be the bestplace for them to make their winter camp. They saw that to completetheir journey during that season would be impossible. Even had it been amonth earlier it would have been a difficult undertaking.
In a few days winter would be upon them. They would have to stopsomewhere. There was no place where they could so safely stay as by thelake. One thing they would have there, which might not be found soplenty elsewhere, that was wood for their fire; and this was aninducement to remain by the lake. Having made up their minds, therefore,to encamp on some part of it, they looked from day to day for a placethat would be most suitable, still continuing their journey towards itswestern end. As yet no place appeared to their liking, and as the lakenear its western point trends away towards the south, Norman proposedthat they should follow the shore no longer, but strike across to apromontory on the northern shore of the lake, known as "Slave Point."
This promontory is of the limestone formation, and as Norman had heard,is well wooded, and stocked with game. Even buffaloes are found there.It is, in fact, the farthest point to the north-east that these animalsrange, and this presents us with a curious fact. It is the farthestpoint that the limestone deposit extends in that direction. Beyond that,to the east and north, lie the primitive rocks of the Barren Grounds,into which the buffaloes never stray. Thus we observe the connexion thatexists between the _fauna_ of a country and its geological character.
Of course t
hey all agreed to Norman's proposal. The canoe was,therefore, headed for the open waters; and, after a hard day'spaddling--for there was a head-wind--the voyageurs landed upon a smallwooded island, about half-way over the lake, where they encamped forthe night, intending next day to cross the remaining part.