CHAPTER SIX.
AN EXPRESS AND ITS RESULTS.
Some weeks after the breaking up of the ice, as we were standing at thefront gate of Fort Dunregan, we experienced a pleasant surprise at thesight of an Indian canoe sweeping round the point above the fort. Twomen paddled the canoe, one in the bow and one in the stern.
It conveyed a message from headquarters directing that two of the clerksshould be sent to establish an outpost in the regions of the far north,the very region from which Macnab's friend Big Otter had come. One ofthe two canoe-men was a clerk sent to undertake, at Dunregan, the workof those who should be selected for the expedition, and he said thatanother clerk was to follow in the spring-brigade of boats.
"That's marching orders for _you_, Lumley," said Macnab, who was besideus when the canoe arrived.
"You cannot tell that," returned Lumley. "It may be that our chief willselect Max or Spooner. Did you hear any mention of names?" he asked ofthe new clerk, as we all walked up to the house.
"No, our governor does not tell us much of his intentions. Perhaps yourchief may be the man."
"He's too useful where he is," suggested Macnab. "But we shall knowwhen the letters are opened."
Having delivered his despatches, the new arrival returned to us inBatchelors' Hall, where we soon began to make the most of him, and wereengaged in a brisk fire of question and reply, when a message came forMr Lumley to go to the mess-room.
"I've sent for you, Lumley," said our chief, "to say that you have beenappointed to fill an honourable and responsible post. It seems that thegovernor, with his wonted sagacity, has perceived that it would beadvantageous to the service to have an outpost established in the landslying to the westward of Muskrat House, on the borders of LakeWichikagan. As you are aware, the Indian, Big Otter, has come from thatvery place, with a request from his people that such a post should beestablished, and you have been selected by the governor to conduct theexpedition."
As our chief paused, Lumley, with a modest air, expressed his sense ofthe honour that the appointment conferred on him, and his willingness todo his best for the service.
"I know you will, Lumley," returned Mr Strang, "and I must do you thejustice to say that I think the governor has shown his usual wisdom inthe selection. Without wishing to flatter you, I think you are steadyand self-reliant. You are also strong and big, qualities which are ofsome value among rough men and Indians, not because they enable you torule with a strong hand, but because they enable you to rule without thenecessity of showing the strength of your hand. Bullies, if you shouldmeet with any, will recognise your ability to knock them down withoutrequiring proof thereof. To say truth, if you were one of those fellowswho are fond of ruling by the mere strength of their arms, I should notthink you fit for the command of an expedition like this, which willrequire much tact in its leader. At the same time, a large and powerfulframe--especially if united to a peaceable spirit--is exceedingly usefulin a wild country. Without the peaceable spirit it only renders itspossessor a bully and a nuisance. I am further directed to furnish youwith the needful supplies and men. I will see to the former beingprepared, and the latter you may select--of course within certainlimits. Now go and make arrangements for a start. The lakes will soonbe sufficiently free of ice, and you are aware that you will need allyour time to reach your ground and get well established before nextwinter sets in."
"Excuse me, sir," said Lumley, turning back as he was about to depart."Am I permitted to select the clerk who is to go with me as well as themen?"
"Certainly."
"Then I should like to have Mr Maxby."
Our chief smiled as he replied, "I thought so. I have observed yourmutual friendship. Well, you may tell him of the prospect before him."
Need I say that I was overjoyed at this prospect? I have always feltsomething of that disposition which animates, I suppose, the breast ofevery explorer. To visit unknown lands has always been with me almost apassion, and this desire has extended even to trivial localities,insomuch that I was in the habit, while at fort Dunregan, of traversingall the surrounding country--on snow-shoes in winter and in my huntingcanoe in summer--until I became familiar with all the out-of-the-way andthe seldom-visited nooks and corners of that neighbourhood.
To be appointed, therefore, as second in command of an expedition toestablish a new trading-post in a little-known region, was of itself amatter of much self-gratulation; but to have my friend and chum JackLumley as my chief, was a piece of good fortune so great that on hearingof it I executed an extravagant pirouette, knocked Spooner off his chairby accident--though he thought it was done on purpose--and spent five orten minutes thereafter in running round the stove to escape his wrath.
As to my fitness for this appointment, I must turn aside for a fewmoments to pay a tribute of respect to my dear father, as well as totell the youthful reader one or two things that have made a considerableimpression on me.
"Punch," said my father to me one day--he called me Punch because inearly life I had a squeaky voice and a jerky manner--"Punch, my boy, getinto a habit of looking up, if you can, as you trot along through thisworld. If you keep your head down and your eyes on the ground, you'llsee nothing of what's going on around you--consequently you'll knownothing; moreover, you'll get a bad habit of turning your eyes inwardand always thinking only about yourself and your own affairs, whichmeans being selfish. Besides, you'll run a chance of growingabsent-minded, and won't see danger approaching; so that you'll tumbleover things and damage your shins, and tumble into things and damageyour clothes, and tumble off things and damage your carcase, and get runover by wheels, and poked in the back by carriage-poles, and killed bytrains, and spiflicated in various ways--all of which evils are to beavoided by looking up and looking round, and taking note of what yousee, as you go along the track of life--d'ye see?"
"Yes, father."
"And this," continued my father, "is the only mode that I know ofgetting near to that most blessed state of human felicity,self-oblivion. You won't be able to manage that altogether, Punch, butyou'll come nearest to it by looking up. Of course there are times whenit is good for a man to look inside and take stock--self-examination,you know--but looking _out_ and _up_ is more difficult, to my mind. Andthere is a kind of looking up, too, for guidance and blessing, which isthe most important of all, but I'm not talking to you on that subjectjust now. I'm trying to warn you against that habit which so manypeople have of staring at the ground, and seeing and knowing nothing asthey go along through life. I've suffered from it myself, Punch, morethan I care to tell, and that's why I speak feelingly, and wish to warnyou in time, my boy.
"Now, there's another thing," continued my father. "You're fond oframbling, Punch, and of reading books of travel and adventure, and Ihave no doubt you think it would be a grand thing to go some day and tryto discover the North Pole, or the South Pole, or to explore the unknowninterior of Australia."
"Yes, father," I replied, in a tone which made him laugh.
"Well, then, Punch, I won't discourage you. Go and discover theseplaces by all means, if you can; but mark me, you'll never discover themif you get into the habit of keeping your eyes on the ground, andthinking about yourself and your own affairs. And I would furtheradvise you to brush up your mathematics, and study navigation, and learnwell how to take an observation for longitude and latitude, for if youdon't know how to find out exactly where you are in unknown regions,you'll never be a discoverer. Also, Punch, get into a habit of takingnotes, and learn to write a good hand, for editors and publishers won'tcare to be bothered with you if you don't, and maybe the time will comewhen you won't be able to make out your own writing. I've known men ofthat stamp, whose penmanship suggested the idea that a drunk fly haddipped its legs in the ink-pud an' straggled across his paper."
These weighty words of my dear father I laid to heart at the time, and,as a consequence I believe, have been selected on more than one occasionto accompany exploring parties in v
arious parts of the world. One veryimportant accomplishment which my father did not think of, but which,nevertheless, I have been so fortunate as to acquire, is, sketching fromNature, and marking the course of rivers and trend of coasts. I havethus been able not only to make accurate maps of the wild regions I havevisited, but have brought home many sketches of interesting scenes ofadventure, which words alone could not have sufficed to pourtray.
But to return from this long digression. I set about my preparationswithout delay, and was soon ready with a small but very select amount ofbaggage. You may be sure also that Lumley was active in hispreparations, and the result was that, on a fine afternoon in the earlyspring, we--that is, Lumley, Macnab, Big Otter, and I--set out on ourexpedition in a strong new boat which was manned by two Indians, twoScotchmen, and a number of Canadian half-breeds--all picked men.
I must not however, drag my readers through the details of our arduousvoyage, not because those details are devoid of interest or romance, farfrom it, but because I have other matters more interesting and romanticto relate. I will, therefore, pass them over in silence, and at onceproceed to the remote region where our lot at that time was to be cast.
One beautiful evening we encamped on the margin of one of thoseinnumerable lakelets which gleam like diamonds on the breast of thegreat wilderness, through which for many weeks we had been voyaging.The vast solitudes into which we had penetrated, although nearlydestitute of human inhabitants, were by no means devoid of life, foraquatic birds of varied form and voice made sweet music in the air, asthey swept over their grand domains on whirring wing, or chatteredhappily in their rich feeding-grounds.
Those pleasant sounds were augmented by the axes of our men as theybusied themselves in cutting firewood, and preparing our encampment.
The spot chosen was a piece of level sward overhung by trees andsurrounded by bushes, except on the side next the little lake where anopening permitted us to see the sheet of water gleaming like fire as thesun sank behind the opposite trees. By that time we had traversedhundreds of miles of wilderness, stemming many rivers and rivulets;crossing or skirting hundreds of lakes which varied from two hundredmiles to two hundred yards in length; dragging our boat and carrying ourbaggage over innumerable portages, and making our beds each night, infair weather and foul, under the trees of the primeval forest, until wehad at last plunged into regions almost unknown--where, probably, thefoot of a white man had never before rested. On the way we had passedMuskrat House. There, with feelings of profound regret, we parted fromour genial Highlander, promising, however, to send him an unusually longaccount of all our doings by the packet, which we purposed sending toheadquarters sometime during the winter.
The particular duty which Lumley and I undertook on the evening inquestion was the lighting of the fire, and putting on of the kettles forsupper. We were aided by our guide, Big Otter, who cut down and cut upthe nearest dead trees, and by Salamander, who carried them to the camp.
"Three days more, and we shall reach the scene of our operations," saidLumley to me, as we watched the slowly-rising flame which had just beenkindled; "is it not so?" he asked of Big Otter, who came up at themoment with a stupendous log on his shoulders and flung it down.
"Waugh?" said the Indian, interrogatively.
"Ask him," said Lumley to Salamander, who was interpreter to theexpedition, "if we are far now from the lodges of his people."
"Three times," replied the red-man, pointing to the sun, "will the greatlight go down, and then the smoke of Big Otter's wigwam shall be seenrising above the trees."
"Good; I shall be glad when I see it," returned Lumley, arranging arustic tripod over the fire, "for I long to begin the building of ourhouse, and getting a supply of fish and meat for winter use. Now then,Salamander, fetch the big kettle."
"Yis, sar," replied our little servant, with gleeful activity (he wasonly sixteen and an enthusiast) as he ran down to the lake for water.
"Cut the pemmican up small, Max. I've a notion it mixes better, thoughsome fellows laugh at the idea and say that hungry men are notparticular."
"That is true," said I, attacking the pemmican with a small hatchet;"yet have I seen these same scoffers at careful cookery doing ample andappreciative justice to the mess when cooked."
"Just so. I have observed the same thing--but, I say, what is Big Otterlooking so earnestly at over there?"
"Perhaps he sees a bear," said I; "or a moose-deer."
"No, he never pays so much attention to the lower animals, except whenhe wants to shoot them. He shakes his head, too. Let's go see. Come,Salamander, and interpret."
"Big Otter sees something," said Lumley through Salamander as weapproached.
"Yes, Big Otter sees signs," was the reply.
"And what may the signs be?"
"Signs of wind and rain and thunder."
"Well, I suppose you know best but no such signs are visible to me. Askhim, Salamander, if we may expect the storm soon."
To this the Indian replied that he could not tell, but advised thatpreparation should be made for the worst.
It may be well here to remark that although Lumley and I, as well assome of our men, had acquired a smattering of the Indian tongue, ourchief deemed it expedient to give us a regular interpreter whoseknowledge of both languages was sufficiently extensive. Such aninterpreter had been found in the youth whom we had styled Salamander,and whose real name I have now forgotten. This lad's knowledge ofIndian was perfect. He also understood French well, and spoke it badly,while his comprehension of English was quite equal to any emergency,though his power of speaking it was exceedingly limited. What he spokecould scarcely be styled a broken tongue; it was rather what we may callthoroughly smashed-up English! Such as it was, however, it served ourpurpose well enough, and as the lad was a willing, cheery, somewhathumorous fellow, he was justly deemed an acquisition to our party.While on this subject I may add that Blondin, who brought the winterpacket to Dunregan, was one of our number--also, that both our Scotsmenwere Highlanders, one being named Donald Bane, the other James Dougall.Why the first called the second Shames Tougall, and the second styledthe first Tonal' Pane is a circumstance which I cannot explain.
Among the French-Canadian half-breeds our blacksmith, Marcelle Dumontand our carpenter, Henri Coppet, were the most noteworthy; the firstbeing a short but herculean man with a jovial temperament, the latter athin, lanky, lugubrious fellow, with a grave disposition. Both werefirst-rate workmen, but indeed the same may be said of nearly all ourmen, who had been chosen very much because of their readiness andability to turn their hands to anything.
Soon the kettles boiled. In one we infused tea. In another we preparedthat thick soup so familiar to the Nor'-wester, composed of pemmican andflour, which is known by the name of _robbiboo_. From a frying-pan thesame substances, much thicker, sent up a savoury steam under the name of_richeau_.
There was not much conversation among us at the commencement of themeal, as we sat round the camp-fire, but when appetite was appeasedmuttered remarks were interchanged, and when tobacco-pipes came out, ourtongues, set free from food, began to wag apace.
"Dere is noting like a good _souper_," remarked Marcelle Dumont, theblacksmith, extending his burly form on the grass the more thoroughly toenjoy his pipe.
"Shames Tougall," said Donald Bane, in an undertone, and with thedeliberate slowness of his race, "what does he mean by soopy?"
"Tonal'," replied Dougall with equal deliberation, "ye'd petter ask hisnainsel'."
"It be de French for _supper_," said Salamander, who overheard thequestion.
"Humph!" ejaculated Dougall and Bane in unison; but they vouchsafed nofurther indication of the state of their minds.
"You're a true prophet, Big Otter," said Lumley, as a low rumbling ofdistant thunder broke the silence of the night, which would have beenprofound but for our voices, the crackling of the fire, and the tinkleof a neighbouring rill.
Soon afterwards we observed a faint flash
of lightning, which wasfollowed by another and deeper rumble of heaven's artillery. Looking upthrough the branches we perceived that the sky had become overcast withheavy clouds.
Suddenly there came a blinding flash of lightning, as if the sun innoonday strength had burst through the black sky. It was followedinstantly by thick, almost palpable darkness, and by a crash sotremendous that I sprang up with a sort of idea that the end of theworld had come. The crash was prolonged in a series of rolling, bumpingthunders, as though giants were playing bowls with worlds on the floorof heaven. Gradually the echoing peals subsided into sullen mutteringsand finally died away.