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Page 42
We arrived at the post of Lac de la Pluie, on the 8th of June; and,
after a short halt, and carrying our _impedimenta_ across the portage
on which the fort is situated, commenced the descent of Lac de la
Pluie river,--a beautiful stream, running with a smooth, though strong
current, and maintaining a medium breadth of about 200 yards. Its
banks, which are clothed with verdure to the water's edge, recede by a
gradual slope until they terminate in a high ridge, running parallel
to the river on both sides. This ridge yields poplar, birch, and
maple, with a few pines, proving the excellence of the soil. The
interior, however, is said to be low and swampy.
We passed the residence of an old retired servant of the Company, on
the 9th, who, if I may judge from the appearance of his farm and the
number of his cattle, must vegetate very much at his ease.
Observing in the evening a large Indian camp, I requested the guide to
put ashore for a little. We were received kindly, but in a manner
quite different to what I had been accustomed. The young men were
drawn up on the shore, and eyed us with a savage _fiert�_ in their
looks, returning our salutation in a way that convinced us that we
were at length among the "wild men of the woods." The weather being
extremely hot, we found them in almost a complete state of nudity,
with only a narrow shred of cloth around their loins. They speak the
Sauteux language; and I had much difficulty in making myself
understood by them. In their physiognomy and personal appearance they
exhibit all the characteristic features of the genuine aboriginal
race; and this party certainly appeared, one and all, to be "without a
cross;" but there had been long a trading post at Lac la Pluie, and I
noticed, in a neighbouring camp, a lass with brown hair and pretty
blue eyes. Where did she get them? After bartering some sturgeon with
the Indians, and presenting them with a little tobacco, we parted good
friends, and encamped so near them as to be annoyed the whole night by
the sound of their drum.
On the following morning we entered the Lake of the Woods, and next
morning White River, a very violent stream, full of falls and
dangerous rapids. The portages are innumerable, and often close
together. After crossing one of these portages, we observed, with
astonishment, a number of people on the next portage, La Cave, about
pistol-shot distance from us. They proved to be Mr. Hughes, formerly
partner of the North-West Company; Mr. Berens, a member of Committee,
and suite: they were painfully situated, in consequence of the loss of
their bowsman, who, by missing a stroke with his pole, fell into the
rapid, and was drowned: the steersman was saved with great difficulty.
We got safe through this dangerous river, on the 15th; but two of the
men had a narrow escape in one of the last portages. Our guide here,
as everywhere else, having a picked crew, pushed on, and left us
considerably in the rear. Approaching a fall, Le Bonnet, where no
traces of a portage could be discovered, the men unloaded the canoes,
and commenced carrying the goods through the woods; but the _boutes_
(bowsmen and steersmen) determined on wading down with the canoes, the
water being shallow, until they should come close to the fall; where,
by lifting them across a narrow point, they could place them in the
smooth water beneath. The attempt was made accordingly, by the leading
canoe; but the rock over which the current flows being smooth, and
covered with a slimy moss, the men slipped, and were in an instant
precipitated over the fall. When we saw the canoe rushing over the
brink, with the poor fellows clinging to it, we all concluded they had
reached the end of their voyage. Running down to the foot of the fall,
which was about eleven feet high, having previously ordered a canoe to
be carried across the point, and some shots to be fired to recall the
guide, who was now nearly out of sight, I was astonished to find the
canoe had not upset, although the men had got into it, and it was half
full of water, and so near the shore that I extended my arm to lay
hold of the bow. The next moment, however, the stern having come
within the influence of a whirlpool, it was hurried out into the
middle of the stream, and dashed with such violence against a rock,
that the crashing of the timbers was distinctly heard from the shore.
This shock, which had nearly proved fatal to the men, threw the canoe
into an eddy, or counter-current, which whirled it to the opposite
shore, where it was about to sink when assistance came.
In the evening, we arrived at the post of Bas de la Rivi�re, in charge
of an Orkney-man, by name Clouston, who had risen from the ranks, and
who, seeing what small fry he had to deal with, treated us somewhat
superciliously. Our stock of provisions being exhausted, we applied to
_Maister_ Clouston for a fresh supply: he granted us what I thought
very inadequate to our wants; but he said it was all that was allowed
by the Governor for the passage of the Lake. Here M. Thibaud found two
men with a small canoe, who had been sent by the Bishop of Red River
to convey him to his destination, waiting his arrival. We parted with
feelings of mutual regret.
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