We Passed The
Mouth Of A Broad Channel Leading To The North-East Termed La Grande
Riviere De Jean, One
Of the two large branches by which the river pours
its waters into the Great Slave Lake; the flooded delta
At the mouth of
the river is intersected by several smaller channels through one of
which, called the Channel of the Scaffold, we pursued our voyage on the
following morning and by eight A.M. reached the establishment of the
North-West Company on Moose-Deer Island. We found letters from Mr.
Wentzel, dated Fort Providence, a station on the north side of the lake,
which communicated to us that there was an Indian guide waiting for us at
that post; but that the chief and the hunters who were to accompany the
party had gone to a short distance to hunt, having become impatient at
our delay.
Soon after landing I visited the Hudson's Bay post on the same island and
engaged Pierre St. Germain, an interpreter for the Copper Indians. We
regretted to find the posts of both the Companies extremely bare of
provision but, as the gentlemen in charge had despatched men on the
preceding evening to a band of Indians in search of meat and they
promised to furnish us with whatever should be brought, it was deemed
advisable to wait for their return as the smallest supply was now of
importance to us. Advantage was taken of the delay to repair effectually
the canoe which had been broken in the Dog Rapid. On the next evening the
men arrived with the meat and enabled Mr. McLeod of the North-West
Company to furnish us with four hundred pounds of dried provisions. Mr.
McVicar of the Hudson's Bay Company also supplied one hundred and fifty
pounds. This quantity we considered would be sufficient until we could
join the hunters. We also obtained three fishing-nets, a gun, and a pair
of pistols, which were all the stores these posts could furnish, although
the gentlemen in charge were much disposed to assist us.
Moose-Deer Island is about a mile in diameter and rises towards the
centre about three hundred feet above the lake. Its soil is in general
sandy, in some parts swampy. The varieties of the northern berries grow
abundantly on it. The North-West Company's fort is in latitude 61 degrees
11 minutes 8 seconds North, longitude 113 degrees 51 minutes 37 seconds
West, being two hundred and sixty statute miles distant from Fort
Chipewyan by the river course. The variation of the compass is 25 degrees
40 minutes 47 seconds East. The houses of the two Companies are small and
have a bleak northern aspect. There are vast accumulations of driftwood
on the shores of the lake, brought down by the river, which afford plenty
of fuel. The inhabitants live principally on the fish, which the lake at
certain seasons furnishes in great abundance; of these the white-fish,
trout, and poisson inconnu are considered the best. They also procure
moose, buffalo, and reindeer meat occasionally from their hunters; but
these animals are generally found at the distance of several days' walk
from the forts. The Indians who trade here are Chipewyans. Beavers,
martens, foxes, and muskrats are caught in numbers in the vicinity of
this great body of water. The mosquitoes here were still a serious
annoyance to us but less numerous than before. They were in some degree
replaced by a small sandfly, whose bite is succeeded by a copious flow of
blood and considerable swelling but is attended with incomparably less
irritation than the puncture of the mosquito.
On the 27th of July we embarked at four A.M. and proceeded along the
south shore of the lake through a narrow channel, formed by some islands,
beyond the confluence of the principal branch of the Slave River; and as
far as Stony Island, where we breakfasted. This island is merely a rock
of gneiss that rises forty or fifty feet above the lake and is
precipitous on the north side. As the day was fine and the lake smooth we
ventured upon paddling across to the Reindeer Islands, which were distant
about thirteen miles in a northern direction, instead of pursuing the
usual track by keeping farther along the south shore which inclines to
the eastward from this point. These islands are numerous and consist of
granite, rising from one hundred to two hundred feet above the water.
They are for the most part naked; but towards the centres of the larger
ones there is a little soil and a few groves of pines. At seven in the
evening we landed upon one of them and encamped. On the following morning
we ran before a strong breeze and a heavy swell for some hours, but at
length were obliged to seek shelter on a large island adjoining to Isle a
la Cache of Mackenzie, where the following observations were obtained:
latitude 61 degrees 50 minutes 18 seconds North, longitude 113 degrees 21
minutes 40 seconds West, and variation 31 degrees 2 minutes 06 seconds
East.
The wind and swell having subsided in the afternoon we reembarked and
steered towards the western point of the Big Island of Mackenzie and,
when four miles distant from it, had forty-two fathoms soundings. Passing
between this island and a promontory of the main shore, termed Big Cape,
we entered into a deep bay which receives the waters from several rivers
that come from the northward; and we immediately perceived a decrease in
the temperature of the waters from 59 to 48 degrees. We coasted along the
eastern side of the bay, its western shore being always visible, but the
canoes were exposed to the hazard of being broken by the numerous sunken
rocks which were scattered in our track. We encamped for the night on a
rocky island and by eight A.M. on the following morning arrived at Fort
Providence which is situated twenty-one miles from the entrance of the
bay.
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