Crow-Wing to Fort Garry.

Crow-Wing to Fort Garry. May 20th. - Our night was one of restlessness and broken slumbers, through the inroad of every hateful tormentor. Little mattered such annoyances! At daybreak, we left all troubles behind us, mounted our good steeds, and made a fair, auspicious start for the wilderness, the forest, and the plains. What gladness swelled within my heart - oh! never shall I forget it - as I felt the gallant little Morgan bounding and dancing beneath me, scarcely able to control himself for joy, while we passed through the pleasant woods on that lovely summer morning when all nature seemed so fresh and beautiful and sweet. At last, thought I, at last, the prisoner of civilization is free!

Dr. Rae rode at my side on well-bred handsome Vermont. Sir George, who was in but indifferent health, travelled by himself in a light Canadian cart, which was furnished with curtains and a canopy on poles. The Iroquois Toma drove Paul and Anthony in my wagon; Short, a Scotch half-breed, conducted the Red River cart, a stout two-wheeled vehicle of the toughest quality though entirely made of wood, wheels, body, shafts, and all, being fitted together without a single particle of iron. The other men rode; and the spare horses, of which McKay had brought a considerable number, ran freely alongside and never attempted to stray from their companions.

On leaving Crow-wing we crossed the Mississippi in a large flat barge, of the sort known as a "scow", which took over the horses and vehicles as well as ourselves and our baggage. After this, the road became a mere rough track. For some time, however, it ran through a pine forest, in many parts of noticeable growth, and was tolerably sound and hard, though intersected by a few trifling swamps.

About noon we halted for breakfast - not a moment too soon in anyone's opinion, for we had been about seven hours on horseback, - and did great justice to eggs and bacon, biscuits and butter, accompanied with the universal drink of the Company's service - remarkably excellent tea. This midday halt is but seldom a long one; we were soon again on the road. The swampy places grew more frequent and troublesome, till at length, at "Miry Creek," we were obliged to stop and make a portage, - that is to say, to transfer all the baggage from the carts to the shoulders of the men, who carried it across the swamp, while the lightened vehicles were dragged through as could best be managed. I witnessed this operation for the first time and was astonished at the strength and hardiness of our practiced voyageurs. McKay in particular showed the most wonderful energy. Up to his waist or chest in the clinging mud or the sluggish black water of the creek, now passing heavy packages across, now dragging reluctant animals through the mire, all came alike to him, and his cheerfulness never flagged.

This portage delayed us more than an hour. Soon afterwards we had to make another over Swan Creek, a swollen brook, but as there was no mire we managed this easily using an India-rubber canoe. By that time it was nearly 8 o'clock, so McKay decided to halt, and at once led us to an excellent camping place, where a grove of fine Scots firs stood in scattered groups upon an elevated sandy flat, near which flowed with calm but powerful sweep the broad and swollen stream of the Crow-wing river.*

The weary horses were set free, tents pitched, firewood cut and fires lighted. Our simple supper was soon prepared soon discussed, then came a few minutes devoted to conversation and the pipe or cigar, and then to bed. Our tents were of the sort generally known as "boat tents," about six feet square inside, and six feet high to the ridge. Two upright poles supported another, longitudinally set, over which the canvas passed, so that the whole looked like a small straight-sided cottage, with the entry at one end. About two feet from the ground the slope of the roof ceased, and canvas flaps went straight downwards till they reached the earth, when their ends were turned in and placed under an oil-cloth flooring which kept all compact and dry.

Sir George and Hopkins occupied one of the tents, and Dr. Rae and I shared the other. We wrapped ourselves in our blankets, and my companion was soon asleep. For my own part, this first night under canvas was far from agreeable to one so lately somewhat of an invalid. A keen frost struck upwards and downwards through the blankets, making sleep difficult, and troops of Whip-poor-wills and other nightbirds shrieked with a maddening persistency that made it nearly impossible. After many hours some broken slumber came at last, and, thanks to the pureness of the air, I rose tolerably fresh and ready for action when the summons awakened our silent camp at daybreak.

May 21st. - Though sunny all day it was exceedingly cold, an icy north wind encountering us as we went, and chilling us to 'the very bone. In distance our march was much the same as that of the previous day - about five-and-thirty miles, but it was far less interesting, being almost entirely over an unlimbered plain of poor quality, covered in many parts with the extensive growth of brushwood.

I tried Don for the morning march, but he was so rough in his paces, that my right knee (tender since a balloon accident in 1848) began to be painful, and I resolved never to ride that horse again. After this he took his turn at the cart; he proved too young and unseasoned, however, for much hard work, so I finally disposed of him at Fort Garry.

Dr. Rae and McKay walked forward with their guns before the whole party started, and, keeping well in front, they picked up some prairie fowls, * ducks, and plovers, which boiled with rice at supper, to the great improvement of our former fare.

We camped near Leaf Lake, whose shores were the site of a "city" which consisted of two wooden huts.

The following day {Sunday, May 22d) was very warm and fine, and travelling became altogether more agreeable, for the road now took us through a pretty and varied country abounding in woods and lakes.

In the morning we came across two or three Ojibway's, the first of whom was no favourable specimen, - a miserable object, half naked and quite drunk, a bloated, disgusting savage. These Indians seemed peaceable and harmless enough, but we presently fell in with a very dangerous party of the same tribe.

We were just entering a fine-level prairie, which stretched a good twelve miles to the front when we noticed a band of armed Indians posted on a mound that commanded the road. They expected us, for one of them instantly ran to intercept Hopkins and McKay, who were riding foremost, threw himself in their way, and tried hard to stop them, loudly clamouring for presents.

Sir George called to us to go on. We pressed forward. At that moment the Indian made a spring, and clutched at McKay's rein; but the latter very quickly got rid of him, seizing the fellow's hand in such a gripe that he danced with pain and astonishment, and went staggering to the other side of the track.

Another Indian snatched at the wheel of Sir George's cart, but failed to keep his hold; and as we went steadily onwards, the villains thought better of it, and let us pursue our course, but before we had gone fifty yards they had the insolence to fire a bullet over our heads; then the whole band began to shout and make grossly insulting gestures. Such impertinence was hard to bear, and some of us felt inclined to turn back and try conclusions with them; Sir George, however, begged us not to notice their insults, pointing out that any injury received at our hands would only be revenged upon future travellers. He might have added that we should certainly have got the worst of it, the enemy being more numerous and twice as well armed.

It was fortunate that we were a rather strong-looking party, for these Indians were of an Ojibway band called * "Les Pillageurs," As recently as the foregoing year they had wantonly shot two horses belonging to some Red River half-breeds who happened to be passing along that already much-frequented track.

Later in the day, we crossed Little Red River, and in the course of the afternoon traversed another considerable prairie, covered all over with the long, withered herbage of the bye-gone season. Taking no heed of this store of inflammable stuff, I carelessly threw away a match with which I had been lighting my meerschaum; in an instant, the prairie was in a blaze. The wind speedily bore the flames away from us, and ere long the conflagration raged far and wide. I never heard to what extent it spread, but for hours afterwards, we could see its lurid glow illuminating the darkness of the distant horizon.

Morgan carried me beautifully the whole forty miles of the march and came in as fresh as when he started. He was quiet and gentle, spirited and handsome, perfect in all his paces; a more charming pony than it would be impossible to imagine. A few early mosquitoes showed themselves, the pioneers of the coming legions - ill-omened sight!

May 23d. - We started at 4 am and rode till 9, passing, for three hours through a wood of fine maples, ironwood, and brush, not unlike an English forest in appearance. "While traversing its bounds the Red River cart upset, but it was raised again, without injury either to that stout vehicle or to Don, who was in the shafts at the time. After this, we emerged on the banks of Lake Forty-four (so-called from the date of the discovery of this route), a fine sheet of the clearest water, animated by the whiteness of a flock of swimming and wading pelicans. We had meant to halt for breakfast near the lake but were completely put to rout by clouds of minute flies, actually dense enough to choke up the horses' nostrils, so we rode on for some miles farther, to the next convenient halting place.

Here mischance continued to follow us; for our breakfast fire, being carelessly lit, began to spread along the grass, and in a few minutes the wind, taking a sudden turn, blew all the smoke and sparks into our faces, obliging us to make a rapid retreat into the part already consumed. The grass being short and crisp on the barren eminence where we had posted ourselves, the line of flame never rose much above a foot from the ground, yet we had hard work to beat it out, and could scarcely force or persuade the horses to cross that insignificant obstacle.

We now began to ascend to a higher level, and coming at length to the top of an ascent, a most glorious landscape opened full upon our view. Far as the eye could reach swept one enormous plain, its vast extent diversified by the winding courses of the Red River and the Cheyenne, and of many a smaller stream, whose meanderings could be traced by the trees that clung along their sides in a distinct though narrow border. The day had become intensely hot, it was difficult to breathe, and one felt almost ready to faint. Thunder was pealing, and lightning flashed in different parts of the sky, but it was far distant from us. Suddenly a phenomenon displayed itself on the south-west horizon - a waterspout of gigantic size and singular appearance. Its thin and lofty stem was surmounted by a far-spreading cloud of inky blackness; at the base of the column torrents dashed upon the earth, rebounding in fountain-like, masses of silvery spray. This grand and uncommon spectacle continued for a quarter of an hour, then it began to dissolve away, and slowly faded into nothingness.

May 24th. - An amusing though unpleasant incident happened in the night. Duncan, who was but a novice in the art of encamping, had thoughtlessly set the flaps of my tent over the oil-cloth floor instead of under it, as he should have done, - a mistake which unluckily passed unobserved, for it was hardly perceptible when the blankets were laid down. Towards midnight I suddenly awoke and found myself in a pool of water. A violent thunderstorm was raging, rain beating furiously on the canvas, and entering beneath the unfastened flaps; whole floods streaming in and flowing round my back and shoulders. The darkness was intense. I managed to light a candle, and gazing on the cheerless scene discovered that my side of the tent was completely inundated; it lay low, and the oilcloth, instead of running the water off, had made itself into a reservoir for my benefit. The other side was better situated, being on higher ground, and there I beheld my companion. Dr. Rae, was sound asleep, as yet undisturbed by the tide, which only encroached upon his feet and ankles. He slept quietly on, till in an hour or two the gradually rising water awoke him.

Little could be done until daylight, but I improved matters by turning my India rubber bath bottom upwards, with a pillow on the top of it, to form an island; on which I seated myself, after drawing a waterproof over my soaking shirt, and passed away the time in writing up my journal.

By 6 o'clock the rain had ceased. I escaped from the chilly tent, and, much to my satisfaction, found McKay in the act of kindling a fire, on a dry open piece of ground a few yards distant. Having extemporized a hut of branches covered with an oil skin, he had passed a tolerable night; the men, too, had been pretty well sheltered beneath the carts and wagon, and Sir George and Hopkins had slept very comfortably in their well-pitched tent.

May 25th. - Owing to rain and mist we had marched but five miles on the previous day, McKay disliking to travel in wet weather, on account of the injury that damp occasions to soft leather harness. To make up, we rode twenty miles, without a halt, that bitterly cold, raw, east-windy morning, only stopping when we reached the flooded stream of the Rice River.

After breakfast, we drove the horses across, while McKay built an ingenious scow by stretching our largest oil skin over the wheels of the cart. These ironless wheels have a great outward set so that when taken off and laid on their naves the level of the tires rests a foot or more above that of the ground. Two of them being placed side by side on the oilcloth, were firmly tied together; four poles were then lashed to each other to form an oblong, and this being fastened upon the wheels, and the oil skin beneath (a a a) drawn up and attached to it, a strong and buoyant scow was the result, the wheels being at once framework and platform, while the poles made a steady gun- paddles to wale for the work on. - 'The luggage and the vehicles were safely and speedily ferried over, McKay, as usual, wading about waist-deep, active and ready beyond imagination.

After this we had a most weary ride over a long plain, recently burned and quite black, and so soft from the heavy rains that the horses went fetlock-deep at every step, sometimes sinking to the very hocks. every brook was a river, every swamp lake, the road a swamp. A cold steam rose from the soaked earth, our spirits were damped, and the jaded horses plodded on The journey seemed endless, for we could not find a good camping place, but at length, we settled down near a stream between Rice and Sand-hill Rivers.

'Having borrowed a gun, I went forward while a portage was making over a small but deep little river, and shot a few ducks, as well as a prairie-fowl. I felt somewhat pleased in also shooting two bitterns, but my friends objected to them for supper, on account of their frog-devouring propensities. Remembering a highly-approved dish in the refreshment room at Toronto, it struck me that if we ate frogs ourselves we need not object to birds that did no worse. The bitterns, however, were vetoed on this occasion. I often ate them afterwards, and agree with our forefathers in thinking them excellent food.

May 26th. - After breakfast on the pretty banks of the Sand-hill River, at a place where sandy elevations were covered with scattered trees, we forded its shallow stream and passed the baggage across in McKay's oil-skin scow. From this point, the track improved, for it quitted the low moist plains, and ran along at a higher level on a dry and wholesome prairie. In the afternoon we observed a small black bear questing about in the distance, whereupon McKay, with his wonderful art of making all horses go, immediately coaxed a gallop out of the wretched lame pony he was riding, and "ran" the bear, as the phrase is. A black pointer, named Blucher, joined zealously in the chase, turning the beast several times and worrying at his hind legs; the coward, however, showed no signs of fight, though twice as big as his enemy, and McKay presently came up and shot him through the heart.

This two-year-old bear was miserably thin and ragged. He seemed to have been in straits for food, for there was nothing in his stomach more nourishing than ants, many of them alive and active; he had positively swallowed the whole nest - moss, earth, insects, and all. We varied our supper with bear-steaks that night. I thought them particularly nasty, - lean, coarse, and rank-smelling; perhaps, however, this was attributable to the animal's want of condition, for fat bear is spoken of as one of the best of things. All night long the wolves made doleful music in the woods on the other side of Red Lake River. This deep wide stream rolled on in heavy flood a few yards below the willows that sheltered our tents, and as I watched its swift and turbid current, I could not but wish that everything were safe across.

May 27th. - The crossing of the Red Lake River occupied us till noon. McKay and Toma began by launching the India rubber canoe and leading one of the horses over; the rest took to the water after a little pushing and driving, and all got safely to the other side. The baggage was then ferried across in an oil-skin scow, which we towed backwards and forwards using two ropes.

Then came a hard march of twenty-six miles without a halt, mostly along a high gravelly bank of singular character, with swamps on either hand. Here, to our surprise, we beheld a tradesman-like man walking towards us all alone. He proved to be an American peddler, who, with true Yankee independence, was returning companionless on foot after the disposal of all his cargo at Fort Garry.

Excepting the knife in his pocket he was without a weapon, and there was but little in the small provision bag he carried on his back. We wondered how he would contrive to pass the Red Lake River, which is the worst difficulty in the whole 428 miles of the journey to Crow-wing. I believe that he waited till another party came up, and crossed with their assistance.

For the first time, the mosquitoes appeared in force. Not expecting them, I had no gloves with me, and, despite constant watchfulness, my hands were excessively bitten, and so empoisoned that they swelled up and grew very painful, such feverishness succeeding as to prevent me from sleeping for the whole of the following night. I never again suffered so much in this way, for the blood gets by degrees accustomed to the venom of the bites, - there is less inflammation afterwards, though quite as much annoyance at the moment.

May 28th. - We breakfasted early this morning, after scowing across Snake-hill River, so I borrowed a gun and went forward in hopes of picking up some game. In this I was disappointed, and had more than enough of deep wading through flooded creeks; but the beauty and freshness of the morning, and the exquisite singing of thousands of little birds in the bushes and poplar groves, amply made up to me for all. My bag, however, was not quite an empty one, for while waiting at Pine River for the arrival of the carts, I stalked and shot some pigeons that had settled among the higher trees up and down the course of the stream.

They were exceedingly pretty birds, rather larger than turtle doves, bluish in colour, and chiefly differing from the common pigeon in the pheasant-like length of their pointed tails. We often heard their peevish scream, but, from their wildness, could not succeed in getting many of them.

* Towards afternoon we came to a miserable country, swamp following swamp, and at length, we got entangled in one of such depth, that poor Don, who was dragging the cart through it, fairly sat down on his haunches, and I thought we should never be able to move him.

'The frogs, as usual, never ceased their chirping and croaking uproar; cranes were very numerous, uttering continually their doleful, throat-gargling cry, a sound only surpassed in wretchedness by the shrieks of the ungreased cart-wheels, which moaned and screamed like a discontented panther.

Sunday, May 29th. - 'The horses strayed and delayed us more than half an hour, but we made our start at 5 a.m., and were as far as the first of the Deux Rivières by our usual dinner time. Previously to this, we had been traversing a rich but bare and level prairie of many miles' extent. - ' It is strange to find oneself on a flat disc of grass, nothing but grass meeting the plain horizon line all around. One feels as if crawling about in view of high Heaven on a Mimewuck - Cree circular table penciled out from the world and stuck on a spike.'

'A lovely sunny day, and not too hot. . . . We crossed the river without accident, thanks to McKay's skill and activity, and camped on the banks of the second of the Deux Rivières.'

May 30th. - There was a break in our journey through the wilderness when early that afternoon we arrived at Pembina, near the boundary of the British territories, a small and straggling place, not worthy to be called a village,' and established ourselves at the Company's fort, then under the charge of Mr. McIntosh. By Sir George's directions, all sorts of good things were specially provided for our dinner. A calf was killed for the occasion, and Gold-Eye fish were procured, - in short, we were treated to a most excellent meal, doubly welcome to us after the rough fare of the preceding week; which had been little but salt pork, with the addition of such pigeons, curlews, ducks, and plovers, as we had managed to pick up by the way.

Our quiet was too soon interrupted by the uproar of a large band of Saulteaux, * who came and fired salutes close by in honour of the Governor's arrival This meant the usual thing - presents; but Sir George gave them little encouragement, probably not choosing to countenance irregular demands from natives in trade relations with the Company, especially as he was travelling for the first time by this rather recently developed Minnesota route.

I was disappointed in these Indians. They too much resembled commonplace Europeans, southerners in aspect, northerners in the forms and materials of their clothing - 'by no means fine-looking men, but picturesque with their green or scarlet blankets, and their long, streaming, coal-black hair.'

May 31st. - Our road was mostly over vast rich plains, and the only incident of the day was the passage of the Vieux Marais, a swampy creek, which from its depth offered a serious obstacle, although only a few yards wide. It was necessary to take the trouble of unharnessing and pushing or hauling the carts across, after a previous portage of the baggage. The men carried us all over. McKay took Sir George, but I was quite as well placed on Toma's powerful back, though even he had enough to do in wading this deep and treacherous morass.

We were furnished with a strange lot of horses today, which had been taken from the Company's Pembina establishment to relieve our jaded animals. Hopkins rode a showy, skew-bald, Roman-nosed pony, a buffalo - runner of some repute, but whose chief accomplishment seemed to consist in stumbling, which he climaxed by a sudden fall on his head.

My steed was much more remarkable, being a true specimen of the "woolly" horse, his soft dun hair covering him in close curls like the fleece of a Leicester sheep. He had been brought from the Columbia River country, where a breed of that kind is said to exist.

June, 1St. - We had heavy rain and thunder at night, but kept all dry in our tents, with one trifling exception. It cleared up for a few minutes between 4 and 5 a.m., so we set out on our march; rain, however, came on again, and lasted nearly four hours.

We breakfasted at the house of a settler named D- who lived with his family in great apparent comfort in that small log cottage and farmed on a moderate scale, owning sixty head of cattle, and cultivating a few acres of land.

After taking leave of Mr. D--- we crossed the Red River in a ferry boat, and riding forward at a good pace, in two hours or so we found ourselves opposite Fort Garry. Placing ourselves in the ferry boat for the second time that day, we speedily arrived at the other side; then, having remounted our steeds - mine was Morgan once more - we dashed at full gallop up to the Fort, amidst the firing of cannon and the cheers of a welcoming crowd.