Fort George, January 7, 1875.
My Dear Edward,—
After
'Xmas we began to look for Alec every day and finally to fear that he had
fallen into the river which he was ordered to follow on his return. Our time
was spent in taking long walks up and down the river and in cutting ft. trail
around some open water a few miles above; the season is getting on and it
begins to look as if we wouldn't get off before spring. Still we flatter ourselves
that the “country is quite safe." To-day we started an Indian down the
river to look up Alec, giving him orders to bring him dead or alive, so I hope
we will hear something in a few days more. We are O. K., the dog’s ditto. Bovil
has a queer specimen of a cur which he fondly imagines is well bred. His dog's
name is Jack; he doesn't know it himself, but Bovil says so. His obedience is
really wonderful, when Bovil says " come here Jack," he starts at
once to get under the bed, and then his master says, " that's right go and
lie down under the bed, you beast," or else he gets the beast in one hand
and a dog whip In the other, and makes music for the million. We are having
some snowshoes and toboggans (dog sleds) made while we wait; ours are pretty
well used up in the Quesnelle trip.
Fort George, January 13th, 1875.
My Dear Edward,—
On the 8th of this month, the day after we started the Indian to look
for Alec he returned having met the youth down the river a day's travel. Alec
had a hard trip, having brought the dogs, sleds and loads up the river as far as
1st Canon in a canoe. He then started up the river with the train,
but the ice was very bad and he finally had to leave his load, the dogs being
played out for want of grub. You see he had started from Quesnelle with six
days' grub expecting to make quick time on the river. At Blackwater, he got an
Indian to help him and together the three packed a good part of the load up, one
important part was a mail containing letters from home. The 8th was very cold, —47°,
but as I had given you a register already, I won't repeat all the thermometer
readings in my letters. Alec and Johnny returned with fresh dogs the next day
after arriving and brought up the sled, &c, on the l2th; between the 9th
and 12th we had sent off a H. B. Co.'s servant to buy salmon for us, and on the
13th he arrived bringing with him a messenger from Ogden saying that the trains
would be on hand in a few days. So we are now all ready to start on the Smoky River
Exploration, and will leave tomorrow, I think. Before I give you an idea of how
our loads, &c., are made up, I must tell you of a fight we had in the house
this afternoon. We were sitting smoking quietly when the door opened and in
walked an Indian, he made straight for Bovil, and before you could say "
Jack," he hit at him with a hardwood club made for the purpose;
fortunately Bovil caught part of the blow with his arm or it would have been
the last of him, he then jumped up and grabbed the Indian and around the room
they waltzed, each trying to get a good blow; at last I saw the Indian feel for
his knife, so I took a hand by getting my dog whip and putting the handle into
Bovil's hand. The handle is loaded you know, for the purpose of knocking down a
refractory dog. Well, as soon as Bovil felt his weapon, he jumped back, broke
away from the noble red, and gave it to him good. After that, we had no
trouble in dragging him to the door, where he remained some time after
recovering, with the blood running down his face and his knife in his hand, ready
to let daylight into our host. There was great excitement among the Indians,
who gathered outside in crowds. Finally the savage was coaxed off and I was as glad
as anyone to see him go, tho' I had a good six-shooter and wasn't much afraid.
It seems that an Indian boy had told stories, lies, about Bovil and some squaw,
for which Bovil kicked him well, hence the row, in which the father sought to
revenge the kicking of his son.
All's well that ends well, but Bovil had better be careful
with these brutes.
Here I will give you an idea of what we have to consider in making up
our load:
First, grub per man per day, 4 lbs. 4 men ............................... 16 lbs.
“ “ dog “
2 lbs. 8 dogs …………………….. 16 lbs.
32 lbs.
Blankets, instruments, kitchen, &c., &c., for
4 men.................. 150 lbs.
2 dog trains will carry, No. 1..................................................... 250
lbs.
No.
2.................................................
350 lbs.
600
Subtract.................................................................... 150
32/ 450 /-14 days.
130
So we leave to-morrow
morning with only 14 days' grub for all, but at " Hanington's cache"
there is bacon and flour and at Bear River we will get some salmon. So when the
Stewart Lake trains arrive we will be able to go on again with full loads. The C.P.R.
rations amount to 4 lbs. 5 oz. per day, and it is all eaten, the air in these
mountains giving one a great appetite. I will give you the ration list on a separate
sheet.
I have been puzzling over our supplies and from what I can make out we
will have some small rations before we got through, but our instruments must go
or else we might as well stay. The weights I have given for our dead weight
(articles not grub) are under the real weight I am sure.
But Good Night, Yours,
C.F.H.
No comments:
Post a Comment