CHAPTER NINETEEN.
BUSTLE AND BUSINESS--A GREAT FEAST, IN WHICH BRYAN AND LA ROCHE AREPRIME MOVERS--NEW IDEAS IN THE ART OF COOKING.
The scene at Fort Chimo was more bustling and active than ever duringthe week that followed the arrival of the schooner. The captain toldStanley, as they sat sipping a glass of Madeira in the hall of the newfort, that he had been delayed by ice in the straits so long, that themen were afraid of being set fast for the winter, and were almost in astate of mutiny, when they fortunately discovered the mouth of theriver. As had been anticipated by Stanley, the ship entered False Riverby mistake, unseen by Oolibuck, notwithstanding the vigilance of hislookout. Fortunately he observed it as it came out of the river, justat the critical period when the seamen began to threaten to take the lawinto their own hands if the search were continued any longer. Oolibuckno sooner beheld the object of his hopes than he rushed to the top of ahill, where he made a fire and sent up a column of smoke that had theimmediate effect of turning the vessel's head towards him. Soonafterwards a boat was sent ashore, and took the Esquimau on board, whoexplained, in his broken English, that he had been watching for them formany days, and would be happy to pilot the vessel up to the fort.
"You may be sure," continued the captain, "that I was too happy to givethe ship in charge to the fellow, who seemed to understand thoroughlywhat he was about. He is already quite a favourite with the men, whocall him Oily-buss, much to his own amusement; and he has excited theiradmiration and respect by his shooting, having twice on the way up shota goose on the wing."
"Not an unusual exhibition of skill among fur-traders," said Stanley;"but I suppose your men are not much used to the gun. And now, captain,when must you start?"
"The moment the cargo is landed, sir," replied the captain, who wasdistinguished by that thorough self-sufficiency and prompt energy ofcharacter which seem peculiar to sea-captains in general. "We may havetrouble in getting out of the straits, and, after getting to Quebec, Iam bound to carry a cargo of timber to England."
"I will do my best to help you, captain. Your coming has relieved mymind from a load of anxiety, and one good turn deserves another, so I'llmake my fellows work night and day till your ship is discharged."
Stanley was true to his word. Not only did the men work almost withoutintermission, but he and Frank Morton scarce allowed themselves anhour's repose during the time that the work was going on. Night and day"yo heave ho" of the Jack Tars rang over the water; and the party onshore ran to and fro, from the beach to the store, with bales, kegs,barrels, and boxes on their shoulders. There were blankets and guns,and axes and knives, powder and shot, and beads and awls, and nets andtwine. There were kettles of every sort and size; cloth of every hue;capotes of all dimensions, and minute etceteras without end: so that,had it been possible to prevail on the spirits of the ice to carry tothe Esquimaux intelligence of the riches contained in the store atChimo, an overwhelming flood of visitors would speedily have descendedon that establishment. But no such messengers could be found--althoughBryan asserted positively that more than "wan o' them" had been seen byhim since his arrival; so the traders had nothing for it but to summonpatience to their aid and bide their time.
When the work of discharging was completed, and while Stanley and thecaptain were standing on the beach watching the removal of the lastboat-load to the store, the former said to the latter: "Now, captain, Ihave a favour to request, which is that you and your two mates will dinewith me to-morrow. Your men will be the better of a day's rest aftersuch a long spell of hard work. You could not well get away till theevening of to-morrow at any rate, on account of the tide, and it will besafer and more pleasant to start early on the day after."
"I shall be most happy," replied the captain heartily.
"That's right," said Stanley. "Dinner will be ready by four o'clockprecisely; and give my compliments to your crew, and say that my menwill expect them all to dinner at the same hour."
Ten minutes after this, Stanley entered his private apartment in thefort, which, under the tasteful management of his wife, was beginning tolook elegant and comfortable.
"Wife," said he, "I will order La Roche to send you a box of raisins andan unlimited supply of flour, butter, etcetera, wherewith you will be sokind as to make, or cause to be made--on pain of my utmost displeasurein the event of failure--a plum-pudding large enough to fill the largestsized washing-tub, and another of about quarter that size; both to beready boiled by four to-morrow afternoon."
"Sir, your commands shall be obeyed. I suppose you intend to regale thesailors before they leave. Is it not so?"
"You have guessed rightly for once; and take care that you don't let Edadrown herself in the compost before it is tied up. I must hasten toprepare the men."
Two minutes later and Stanley stood in the midst of his men, who, havingfinished their day's work, were now busy with supper in their new house,into which they had but recently moved.
"Lads," said Stanley, "you have stuck to your work so hard of late thatI think it a pity to allow you to fall into lazy habits again. I expectyou all to be up by break of day to-morrow."
"Och! musha!" sighed Bryan, as he laid down his knife and fork with alook of consternation.
"I have invited the ship's crew," continued Stanley, "to dine with youbefore they leave us. As the larder is low just now, you'll all have totake to the hills for a fresh supply. Make your arrangements as youplease, but see that there is no lack of venison and fish. I'llguarantee the pudding and grog."
So saying, he turned and left the house, followed by a tremendous cheer.
"Oh! parbleu! vat shall I do?" said La Roche, with a look of affecteddespair. "I am most dead for vant of sleep already. C'est impossibleto cook pour everybody demain. I vill be sure to fall 'sleep over defire, prehaps fall into him."
"Och, Losh, Losh, when will ye larn to think nothin' o' yoursilf? Ye'llonly have to cook for the bourgeois; but think o' me! All the min, an'the ship's crew to boot!"
The blacksmith concluded by knocking La Roche's pipe out of his mouth,in the excess of his glee at the prospective feast; after which hebegged his pardon solemnly in bad French, and ducked his head to avoidthe tin can that was hurled at it by the indignant Frenchman.
At the first streak of dawn the following morning, and long before thesun looked down into the ravines of Ungava, Massan and Dick Prince wereseen to issue with noiseless steps from the fort, with their guns ontheir shoulders, and betake themselves to the mountains. Half an hourlater Bryan staggered out of the house, with a bag on his shoulder,scarcely half awake, rubbing his eyes and muttering to himself in a lowtone, as he plunged rather than walked into the ravine which led to thefirst terrace on the mountain.
When the sun rose over the mountain-tops and looked down upon the calmsurface of the river, there was not a man remaining in the fort, withthe exception of Stanley and Frank, and their active servant La Roche.
A deep calm rested on the whole scene. The sailors of the vessel,having risen to dispatch breakfast, retired to their hammocks again andwent to sleep; Stanley, Frank, and their household, were busy withindoors; Chimo snored in the sunshine at the front of the fort; and theschooner floated on a sheet of water so placid, that every spar anddelicate rope was clearly reflected. Nothing was heard save the softripple on the shore, the distant murmur of mountain streams, and, onceor twice through the day, the faint reverberation of a fowling-piece.
But as the day advanced, evidences of the approaching feast began to beapparent. Early in the forenoon Massan and Prince returned with heavyloads of venison on their shoulders, and an hour later Bryan staggeredinto the fort bending under the weight of a well-filled bag of fish. Hehad been at his favourite fishing quarters in the dark valley, and wasdripping wet from head to foot, having fallen, as usual, into the water.Bryan had a happy facility in falling into the water that was quiteunaccountable--and rather enviable in warm weather. As the cookingoperations were conducted on an extens
ive scale, a fire was kindled inthe open air in the rear of the men's house; round which fire, in thecourse of the forenoon, Bryan and La Roche performed feats of agility soextravagant, and apparently so superhuman, that they seemed to involvean element of wickedness from their very intensity. Of course no largedinner ever passed through the ordeal of being cooked without someaccidents or misfortunes, more or less. Even in civilised life, wherethe most intricate appliances are brought to bear on the operation by_artistes_ thoroughly acquainted with their profession, infallibility isnot found. It would be unjust, therefore, to expect that twobackwoodsmen should be perfectly successful, especially when it isremembered that their branch of the noble science was what might betechnically termed plain cookery, the present being their first attemptin the higher branches.
Their first difficulty arose from the larger of the two plum-puddings,which La Roche had compounded under the directions of Mrs Stanley andthe superintendence of Edith.
"I say, Losh," cried Bryan to his companion, whose head was at themoment hid from view in a cloud of steam that ascended from a large potover which he bent, apparently muttering incantations.
"Vell, fat you want?"
"Faix, and it's just _fat_ that I don't want," said Bryan, pointing, ashe spoke, to the large pudding, which, being much too large for thekettle, was standing on the rim thereof like the white ball of foam thatcaps a tankard of double X. "It's more nor twice too fat already. Thekittle won't hould it, no how."
"Oh, stuff him down, dat is de way," suggested La Roche.
"Stuff it down, avic, an' what's to come o' the wather?" said Bryan.
"Ah! true, dat is perplexible, vraiment."
At this moment the large pot boiled over and a cloud of scalding steamengulfed the sympathetic Frenchman, causing him to yell with mingledpain and rage as he bounded backwards.
"Musha! but ye'll come to an early death, Losh, if ye don't be morecareful o' yer dried-up body."
"Taisez vous, donc," muttered his companion, half angrily.
"Taisin' ye? avic, sorra wan o' me's taisin' ye. But since ye can'thelp me out o' me throubles, I'll try to help mysilf."
In pursuance of this noble resolve, Bryan went to the store and fetchedfrom thence another large tin kettle. He then undid the covering of theunwieldy pudding, which he cut into two equal parts, and having squeezedthem into two balls, tied them up in the cloth, which he divided for thepurpose, and put them into the separate kettles, with the air of a manwho had overcome a great difficulty by dint of unfathomable wisdom. Itwas found, however, that the smaller pudding, intended for Stanley'stable, was also too large for its kettle; but the energetic blacksmith,whose genius was now thoroughly aroused, overcame this difficulty bycutting off several pounds of it, and transferring the pudding thusreduced to the kettle, saying in an undertone as he did so, "There'smore nor enough for the six o' ye yit, av yer only raisonable in yerappetites."
But the superfluity of the pudding thus caused became now a new sourceof trouble to Bryan.
"What's to be done wid it, Losh? I don't like to give it to the dogs,an' it's too small intirely to make a dumplin' of."
"You better heat him raw," suggested La Roche.
"Faix, an' I've half a mind to; but it would spile my dinner. Hallo!look out for the vainison, Losh."
"Ah, oui; oh! misere!" cried La Roche, springing over the fire, andgiving a turn to the splendid haunch of venison which depended from awooden tripod in front of the blaze, and, having been neglected for afew minutes, was beginning to singe.
"What have ye in the pot there?" inquired Bryan.
"Von goose, two duck, trois plovre, et von leetle bird--I not know dename of--put him in pour experiment."
"Very good, Losh; out wid the goose and we'll cram the bit o' dumplin'into him for stuffin'."
"Ah! superb, excellent," cried La Roche, laughing, as he lifted out thegoose, into which Bryan thrust the mass of superfluous pudding; afterwhich the hole was tied up and the bird re-consigned to the pot.
Everything connected with this dinner was strikingly suggestive of thecircumstances under which it was given. The superabundance of venisonand wild-fowl; the cooking done in the open air; the absence of women,and the performance of work usually allotted to them by bronzed andstalwart voyageurs; the wild scenery in the midst of which it tookplace; and the mixture of Irish, English, French, Indian, Esquimau, andcompound tones, that fell upon the ear as the busy work went on,--alltended to fill the mind with a feeling of wild romance, and to suggestpowerfully the idea of being, if we may so express it, _far, far away_!As the proceedings advanced towards completion, this feeling was ratherincreased than removed.
Tables and chairs were a luxury that still remained to be introduced atFort Chimo, when the men found leisure from more urgent duties toconstruct them. Therefore the dining-table in Stanley's hall wascomposed of three large packing-cases turned bottom up. There was nocloth wherewith to cover its rough boards; but this was a matter oflittle importance to the company which assembled round it, punctually atthe hour of four. In place of chairs there were good substantialnail-kegs, rather low, it is true, and uncommonly hard, but not to bedespised under the circumstances. Owing to the unusual demand fordishes, the pewter plates and spoons and tin drinking-cups--for they hadlittle crockery--were of every form and size that the store contained;and the floor on which it all stood was the beaten ground, for theintended plank flooring was still growing in the mountain glens.
But if the equipage was homely and rude, the fare was choice andabundant; and an odour that might have gladdened the heart of an epicuregreeted the nostrils of the captain and his two mates when they enteredthe hall, dressed in blue surtouts with bright brass buttons, white ducktrousers, and richly flowered vests [waistcoats]. There was a splendidsalmon, of twenty pounds weight, at one end of the board; and beside it,on the same dish, a lake-trout of equal size and beauty. At the otherend smoked a haunch of venison, covered with at least an inch of fat;and beside it a bowl of excellent cranberry jam, the handiwork of thehostess. A boiled goose and pease-pudding completed the catalogue.Afterwards, these gave place to the pudding which had caused Bryan somuch perplexity, and several dishes of raisins and figs. Last, but notleast, there was a bottle of brandy and two of port wine; which, alongwith the raisins and figs, formed part of the limited supply of luxuriesfurnished by the Hudson's Bay Company to Stanley, in common with all thegentlemen in the service, in order to enable them, now and then, ongreat occasions, to recall, through the medium of a feast, theremembrance of civilised life.
The display in the men's house was precisely similar to that in thehall. But the table was larger and the viands more abundant. Theraisins and figs, too, were wanting; and instead of wine or brandy,there was a small supply of rum. It was necessarily small, being thegift of Stanley out of his own diminutive store, which could not, evenif desired, be replenished until the return of the ship next autumn.
On the arrival of the guests a strange contrast was presented. Thesailors, in white ducks, blue jackets with brass buttons, stripedshirts, pumps, and straw hats, landed at the appointed hour, and inhearty good-humour swaggered towards the men's house, where they werepolitely received by the quiet, manly-looking voyageurs, who, in honourof the occasion, had put on their best capotes, their brightest belts,their gayest garters, and most highly-ornamented moccasins. The FrenchCanadians and half-breeds bowed, shook hands, and addressed the tars as_messieurs_. The sailors laughed, slapped their entertainers on theshoulders, and called them messmates. The Indians stood, grave andsilent, but with looks of good-humour, in the background; while theEsquimaux raised their fat cheeks, totally shut up their eyes, andgrinned perpetually, not to say horribly, from ear to ear. But thebabel that followed is beyond the powers of description, therefore wewon't attempt it.
Here, however, the characteristic peculiarity of our scene ceases. Theactual demolition of food is pretty much the same among all nations thatare not absolutely savage; and, however
much contrast might have beenobserved in the strange mixture of human beings assembled under thehospitable roof of Fort Chimo, there was none whatever in the manner inwhich they demolished their viands. As the evening advanced, a messagewas sent to Monsieur Stanley for the loan of his violin.
"Ay," said he, as the instrument was delivered to Bryan, who happened tobe the messenger and also the performer--"ay, I thought it would come tothat ere long. Don't be too hard on the strings, lad. 'Twill be arough ball where there are no women."
"Thrue, yer honour," replied the blacksmith, as he received theinstrument, "there's a great want of faymales in thim parts; but thesailors have consinted to ripresint the purty craytures on the presentoccasion, which is but right, for, ye see, the most o' thim's shorternor us, an' their wide breeches are more like the pitticoats than ourleggin's."
Many were the stories that were told and retold, believed, disbelieved,and doubted, on that memorable night; and loud were the songs and longand strong the dancing that followed. But it was all achieved under theinfluence of pure animal spirits, for the rum supplied afforded but athimbleful to each. The consequence was that there were no headachesthe following morning, and the men were up by break of day as fresh andlight as larks. A feeling of sadness, however, gradually crept over theband as the dawn advanced and the schooner prepared for her departure.
By six o'clock the flood-tide turned, and a few minutes later all thesailors were aboard, hoisting the sails and anchor, while the men stoodsilently on the beach where they had just parted from their guests.
"Good-bye once more, Mr Stanley; good-bye, Mr Morton," said thecaptain, as he stepped into his boat. "I wish you a pleasant winter anda good trade."
"Thank you, thank you, captain," replied Stanley; "and don't forget usout here, in this lonely place, when you drink the health of absentfriends at Christmas time."
In a few minutes the anchor was up, and the schooner, bending round witha fair wind and tide, made for the narrows.
"Give them a cheer, lads," said Frank.
Obedient to the command, the men doffed their caps and raised theirvoices; but there was little vigour in the cheer. It was replied tofrom the schooner's deck. Just as the flying-jib passed the point a gunwas fired, which once more awakened the loud echoes of the place. Whenthe smoke cleared away, the schooner was gone.
Thus was severed the last link that bound the civilised world to theinhabitants of Fort Chimo.