Part 15 (1/2)
To the great joy of all the invalid was at length restored to health, and the canoe being once hted, they continued their journey
They coasted along the shores of the lake, and entered the Great Slave River, which runs from the Athabasca into the Great Slave Lake They soon cae river, called the Peace This runs into the Great Slave a short distance below Lake Athabasca, and, strange to say, the sources of the Peace River lie upon the _western_ side of the Rocky Mountains, so that this streah the es, which are terrible to behold On both sides dizzy cliffs and snow-capped peaks rise thousands of feet above its rocky bed, and the scenery is cold and desolate
Its head-waters interlock with those of several streaeurs wished to travel to the shores of that ocean, they ht have done so in their birch-bark canoe nearly the whole of the way But this was not their design at present, so they passed the _debouchure_ of the Peace, and kept on for the Great Slave Lake They were still upon the same water as the Elk, for the Great Slave is only another na between the two lakes--Athabasca and Great Slave Of course the river had now becoer by the influx of the Peace, and they were travelling upon the bosonificent stream, with varied scenery upon its banks
They were not so happy, however, as when descending the Elk--not but that they were all in good health, for Lucien had grown quite strong again No, it was not any want of health that rendered them less cheerful It was the prospect before the winter, which they now felt certain would arrive before they had got to the end of their journey The delay of nearly a ed all their calculations; and they had no longer any hope of being able to finish their voyage in what remained of the short summer The ice would soon make its appearance; the lakes and rivers would be frozen up; they could no longer navigate them in their canoe To travel afoot would be a , as well as perilous in an extreree
In this way it is only possible to carry a very small quantity of provisions--for the traveller is co in order to keep out the cold The chances of procuring game by the way in that season are precarious, and not to be depended upon Most of the birds and ions; and those that rereat snow-storer of getting ”s of snow, and to pass over this while soft is difficult, and at times quite i voyageurs--to Norman better than any of them--and of course the prospect was a cheerless one--much more so than those unacquainted with the winter of these dreary regions would be willing to believe
It was the ust, near its end, when they reached the Great Slave Lake, in the latitude of 62 The days had now becorew short in proportion They already experienced weather as cold as an English winter There were slight frosts at night--though not yet enough to cover the water with ice--and the mid-day hours were hot, sometimes too hot to be comfortable But this only caused the set in; and all their robes and skins were necessary to keep theht
The Great Slave Lake, like the Athabasca, is very long and very narrow
It extends full 260 miles from east to west, but at its widest part is not over thirty, and in soe of the ”Barren Grounds,” and there nothing meets the eye but bleak and naked hills of priy is entirely of a different character There the li that deserves the name of hill is to be seen There are fine forests too, in which poplars, pines, and birches, are the principal trees The lake is filled with islands, many of which are wholly or partially covered with timber of these kinds, and s also are abundant
There are fish of several species in its waters--which are in reat depth--sixty fathoms deep--and in soame exists in abundance in the summer season Even in winter it is not scarce, but then it is difficult to follow it on account of the deep snow Many of the animals, too, at this season become torpid, and are of course hidden in caves and hollow trees, and even in the snow itself, where no one can find theeurs knew that it would be the best place for them to make their winter ca that season would be impossible Even had it been a
In a few days winter would be upon them They would have to stop somewhere There was no place where they could so safely stay as by the lake One thing they would have there, which ht not be found so plenty elsewhere, that ood for their fire; and this was an induce made up their minds, therefore, to encamp on some part of it, they looked from day to day for a place that would betheir journey towards its western end As yet no place appeared to their liking, and as the lake near its western point trends away towards the south, Norer, but strike across to a promontory on the northern shore of the lake, known as ”Slave Point”
This promontory is of the limestone formation, and as Norame Even buffaloes are found there
It is, in fact, the farthest point to the north-east that these anie, and this presents us with a curious fact It is the farthest point that the limestone deposit extends in that direction Beyond that, to the east and north, lie the primitive rocks of the Barren Grounds, into which the buffaloes never stray Thus we observe the connexion that exists between the _fauna_ of a country and its geological character
Of course they all agreed to Norman's proposal The canoe was, therefore, headed for the open waters; and, after a hard day's paddling--for there was a head-wind--the voyageurs landed upon a small wooded island, about half-way over the lake, where they enca part
CHAPTER XXIII
FIshi+NG UNDER THE ICE
On awaking next reat surprise, they saw that the _lake was frozen over_! They had alht was one of the coldest they had yet experienced--so cold that one and all of them had slept but badly As yet the ice was thin, but sothe canoe, but too thin to bear their weight, and they no that they were _prisoners upon the island_!
It was not without sos of alarm that they made this discovery; but their fears were allayed by reflecting, that they could remain upon the island until the ice either thaay or becoh to bear them, and then they could cross upon it to the northern shore With this consolation, therefore, they set aboutas circuan to return again, when several days had passed over, and the ice neither grew any thinner nor any thicker, but seemed to re it was al the day the sun melted it, until it was little better than a scueurs increased Their provisions were nearly out
There was no game on the islet--not so much as a bird--for they had beaten every bush, and found nothing Once or twice they thought of launching their canoe and breaking a way for it through the ice But they knew that this proceeding would be one of er The islet was full ten miles from the shore, and they would therefore have to break the ice for ten et at the work, would be a difficult task It could not be acco the equilibriuether Even to lean forward in the boould be a perilous experi a as abandoned
But their provisions were at length entirely exhausted, and as to be done? The ice was still too weak to carry theh, but farther out lay the danger There they kneas thinner, for it had not frozen over until a later period It would have been madness to have risked it yet On the other hand, they were starving, or likely to starve fro eatable on the island What was to be done? In the water were fish--they doubted not that--but hoere they to catch the the hook through a hole in the ice; but at that late season the fish would not take a bait, and although they kept several continually set, and ”looked” theularly and assiduously, not a ”tail” was taken
They were about to adopt the desperate expedient, now h the ice, when, all at once, it occurred to Norman, that, if they could not coax the fish to take a bait, they ainst their will This idea would have been plausible enough, had there been a net; but there was no net on that islet, nor perhaps within an hundred ht have been an obstacle to those who are ever ready to despair; but such an obstacle never occurred to our courageous boys They had two _parchment_ skins of the caribou which they had lately killed, and out of these Norman proposed to make a net
He would soon do it, he said, if the others would set to work and cut the deer-skins into thongs fine enough for the purpose Two of them, therefore, Basil and Lucien, took out their knives, and went briskly to work; while Francois assisted Nors, and afterwards held them, while the latter wove and knotted them into meshes In a few hours both the skins were cut into fine strips, and worked up; and a net was produced nearly six yards in length by at least two in width It was rude enough, to be sure, but perhaps it would do its work as well as if it had been twined out of silk At all events, it was soon to have a trial--for the moment it was finished the sinkers were attached to it, and it was carried down to the edge of the water
The three ”Southerners” had never seen a net set under ice--for in their country ice is an unco, and indeed never freezes of sufficient thickness to carry the weight of awas to be done They could not conceive how the net was to be stretched under the ice, in such a manner as to catch the fish Norman, however, knew all about it He had seen the Indians, and had setfor him, and he set about it at once
He first crept out upon the ice to the distance of about twenty or thirty yards from the shore He proceeded cautiously, as the ice creaked under hi arrived at the place where he intended to set the net, he knelt down, and with his knife cut several holes in the ice, at the distance of about six feet from each other, and all in one line He had already provided hith, to one end of which he had attached a cord The other end of this cord was tied to the net, at one of its corners He now thrust the sapling through the first hole he had uided it so as to pass directly under the second
At this hole he took a fresh hold of the stick, and passed it along to the next, and so on to the last, where he pulled it out again, and of course along with it the string The net was not drawn into the first hole, and by h, was pulled out to its full length The sinkers, of course, fell down in the water, and drew it into a vertical position At both its upper corners the net wasmore could be done until the fish came into it of their own accord, when it could be drawn out upon the ice by means of the cord attached; and, of course, by the saain