Part 6 (2/2)

advice, and this being still in favour of advancing to Moose River, it was adopted. Before the departure, on the 27th of May, a band of about fifty men, women and children appeared, anxious to trade; but instead of furs they offered wampum, feathers, and a few small canoes, for none of which merchandise the Company's agents had need. They were of the nation called Pishapocanoes, a tribe allied to the Esquimaux, and like them, a ”poor, beggarly people; by which,” adds one of the party, ”we may perceive the French ran away with the best of the trade.”

Everything being now in readiness, the expedition started, but without Bailey. The Governor, at the last moment, decided to remain behind at Fort Charles and await their return.

[Sidenote: First visit to Moose River.]

The voyage across the Bay was made in safety, and on the very day of landing at the mouth of Moose River, a band of Tabiti Indians were encountered, from whom they obtained about two hundred pelts. The chief of this band denied that the French had bribed them or the other Indians not to trade with the English. They declared that as yet their intercourse had been almost entirely with the Jesuits, one of whom was Father Albanel, who had merely urged them to live on terms of friends.h.i.+p with the nations in league with the French. The chief blamed the English for trading with such pitiful tribes as Cusciddidah's and the Pishapocanoes, advising them instead to settle at Moose River, where, he a.s.serted, the Upland Indians would come and trade with them.

One curious incident occurred in the course of this parley. The Tabiti chief, who had been for some time looking rather sharply at Groseilliers, suddenly broke off the intercourse. When Captain Cole demanded the reason, the chief declared that it was on Groseilliers'

account, whom he had recognized as the Frenchman with whom he had had dealings many years before. Groseilliers, nothing loth, stepped forward, and declared that the chief might possess himself in easiness on that score, as he was now to all intents and purposes an Englishman; and that he would always trade with the Tabitis as such.

”But you drove hard bargains,” returned the chief. ”You took our silkiest, softest and richest furs, and you gave us but beads and ribbons. You told us the skins of the sable, and marten, and beaver were of little account to you, whereas the English give us, and the French traders as well, guns and hatchets in exchange.”

This harangue does not seem to have particularly disconcerted Groseilliers; he was an old Indian trader; he returned a polite answer, renewing his expressions of amity. Nevertheless, it made a profound impression upon the other members of the party, who reported to Bailey on their return that the Indians thought Groseilliers too hard on them, and refused to deal with him. Indeed, they did not scruple to a.s.sert that the comparative failure of their expedition was owing to Groseilliers' presence; that both the Tabitis and the Shechittiwans, hard by, were really possessed of peltries which they chose to conceal.

[Sidenote: Bailey at Moose River.]

On hearing this intelligence, Bailey himself was induced to set out for Moose River. By rare good fortune, he found the Tabitis reinforced by a numerous band of Shechittiwans, who had journeyed thither some fifty leagues and were eager to trade. From this tribe, the Governor procured no fewer than fifteen hundred skins on very good terms.

Charmed with his adventure, he decided to pursue his course, discover the Chechouan River, and thence coast along the west sh.o.r.e of the Bay, to Port Nelson, where there was, as yet, no fort.

On the 18th of July, he arrived at Chechouan River, ”where no Englishman had been before,” but secured little or no beaver. He treated with the chief of the tribe he found there and with his son, who exacted from him a promise that he would come with a s.h.i.+p and trade the next year. In return, they a.s.sured him they would provide a quant.i.ty of beaver and induce the Upland tribes to travel thence.

Hardly had the sloop departed than, on the 27th, it ran upon a ma.s.s of floating ice and narrowly escaped foundering. This catastrophe precipitated the Governor's return to Rupert's River. He arrived to find Groseilliers and his protege Gorst at daggers drawn, and the factors, traders and sailors almost at the point of mutiny, and all this because they objected to serve under a Frenchman.

[Sidenote: Jesuit priest at Fort Charles.]

Bailey now seems to have made up his mind what course to pursue with regard to Groseilliers; but if anything were wanting to complete his decision, he had not long to wait. On the next day but one, that is to say the 30th of August, a messenger came to him to announce the arrival of a canoe. In it was a Jesuit missionary, accompanied by one of Cusciddidah's own sons. The worthy priest was in a sorry condition with regard to his apparel, most of which he had either been robbed of or been compelled to barter for food during his long sojourn in the wilderness. He had left Quebec during the preceding October, but had been detained for many months owing to the impa.s.sability of the route.

He bore with him letters; one of them for Mr. Bailey from the Governor of Quebec. This epistle seems to have given Bailey a great deal of pleasure, and as a communication from one great man to another, he caused it to be publicly read out in the fort. The French Governor desired Bailey to treat the priest civilly ”on account of the amity between the two crowns”; and the bearer of this letter had no reason to complain of a lack of hospitality. He was clothed and entertained with great kindness.

Unhappily, on the very evening of his arrival, the Governor was made aware that the Jesuit had brought other letters, and that these had been delivered into the hands of Groseilliers. Always suspicious, he now became convinced of treachery. He saw in this harmless visit of a pious missionary a deep-laid plot to capture the fort and allow it to be pillaged by the hostile Indians. He ordered Groseilliers to appear before him. But Groseilliers was not to be found, and Gorst returned to say that both the Frenchmen were out walking together. Bailey, taking several men with him, now went himself in search of the pair; he confronted Groseilliers, and hurled a host of accusations at his head. To these accusations, all ill-founded and ill-advised, Groseilliers very promptly responded by knocking the Governor down. He then returned calmly to the fort, demanded his wages and possessions, and calling three of the Indians to his side, including the young brave who had accompanied the priest, set off valiantly into the wilderness. In due time he reached Quebec, where he rendered a faithful account to the authorities of what had transpired. He also forwarded to England, by way of New England, a minute account of his experiences, which was duly read out at one of the meetings of the Company.

The Jesuit, who had offered to proceed with Groseilliers, had been detained. He seems to have made himself very useful to the English in their dealings with the Indians, although he was thoroughly distrusted, as was to be expected, by the Governor.

[Sidenote: Arrival of the ”Prince Rupert.”]

On the 24th of September, a sloop was descried in the river, which, with joy, they soon made out to be the _Prince Rupert_, just arrived from England. She was commanded by Captain Gillam, and with her came the new Governor, William Lyddal, to supersede Bailey. Captain Gillam reported that the sister-s.h.i.+p, the _Shaftesbury_, commanded by Captain Shepherd, was likewise at the mouth of the river. The new Governor's commission and instructions being read, all hands were immediately put to work, with the intention of unloading and reloading the s.h.i.+ps for the return voyage immediately. Bailey seems to have expressed the greatest anxiety to proceed to London without delay; but at length he was induced to listen to reason. It was pointed out to him that the season would be far spent before the work of equipment could be properly concluded. After several councils, it was resolved that they should winter at Rupert's River; and no effort was made to unload the vessels until the following spring. In the meantime, the crews were not idle. Under Lyddal's direction they found employment in cutting timber and building houses, more particularly a bake-house and a brew-house, which latter added greatly to the comfort of the fort.

CHAPTER VIII.

1673-1682.

Progress of the Company -- Confusion as to the Names and Number of the Tribes -- Radisson goes to Paris -- His Efforts to Obtain Support there, and from Prince Rupert, in England, Fail -- Arrival of M. de la Chesnaye -- With his help Radisson Secures Support -- And Sails for Quebec -- Thence Proceeds with Two s.h.i.+ps to Attack the English Ports in Hudson's Bay -- His Encounters with Gillam's Expedition from London, and his Son's, from New England.

Rapidly advancing in prosperity and reputation, and possessed of a basis of credit which gave it a welcome sense of solidity, the Company now renewed its efforts to extend its trade and settlements. The weekly meetings in Mr. John Horth's house, which were so full of mystery to the public, continued to bear fruit; and at length a regular system was determined for the organization and government of its distant dependencies.

[Sidenote: Ignorance of the geography of Hudson's Bay.]

All s.h.i.+ps bound for Hudson's Bay were now ordered to visit Charlton Island, which lies about forty miles from the mouth of Rupert's River, in the extreme south of the Bay; and the island was also made a rendezvous whither all factors were to bring all their merchandise for the purpose of loading the Company's s.h.i.+ps. The geography of the district had hitherto, in spite of the researches of a long series of explorers, beginning with Frobisher, and ending with Fox, remained obscure. But the Company's servants had not been idle, and the Adventurers were soon in possession of carefully drawn charts, and maps of the straits, the Bay itself, and the lands surrounding it.

They kept themselves also well-advised by lists, drawings, and detailed descriptions, of the tribes inhabiting the territories granted to them under the charter; and the discussions which went on over this subject were not lacking in humour. It is worth observing that for a great many years during the early history of the Company, its Governors, captains, chief factors, chief traders, and the rank and file of its employees could never by any chance agree, either as to the number or the characteristics of the aborigines. In concocting their reports many were animated purely by love of romance: others relied too implicitly on the tales told by the Indians themselves; others may be credited with being the victims of their own imaginations. Nor could the lists enumerating the tribes boast more consistency. Extracts from those of two governors may be given here for purposes of comparison:--

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