Book: The Young Fur Traders

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As Mr. Wilson gave utterance to this opinion, he passed Harry
Somerville, who was still staring at the fire in deep mental
abstraction, and, as he did so, gave his tilted chair a very slight
push backwards with his finger--an action which caused Harry to toss
up his legs, grasp convulsively with both hands at empty air, and
fall with a loud noise and an angry yell to the ground, while his
persecutor vanished from the scene.

"O you outrageous villain!" cried Harry, shaking his fist at the
door, as he slowly gathered himself up; "I might have expected that."

"Quite so," said the doctor; "you might. It was very neatly done,
undoubtedly. Wilson deserves credit for the way in which it was
executed."

"He deserves to be executed for doing it at all," replied Harry,
rubbing his elbow as he resumed his seat.

"Any bark knocked off?" inquired the accountant, as he took a piece
of glowing charcoal from the stove wherewith to light his pipe. "Try
a whiff, Harry. It's good for such things. Bruises, sores,
contusions, sprains, rheumatic affections of the back and loins,
carbuncles and earache--there's nothing that smoking won't cure; eh,
doctor?"

"Certainly. If applied inwardly, there's nothing so good for
digestion when one doesn't require tonics--Try it, Harry; it will do
you good, I assure you."

"No, thank you," replied Harry; "I'll leave that to you and the
chimney. I don't wish to make a soot-bag of my mouth. But tell me,
doctor, what do you mean to do with that lump of snow there?"

Harry pointed to a mass of snow, of about two feet square, which lay
on the floor beside the door. It had been placed there by the doctor
some time previously.

"Do with it? Have patience, my friend, and you shall see. It is a
little surprise I have in store for Hamilton."

As he spoke, the door opened, and a short, square-built man rushed
into the room, with a pistol in one hand and a bright little bullet
in the other.

"Hollo, skipper!" cried Harry, "what's the row?"

"All right," cried the skipper; "here it is at last, solid as the
fluke of an anchor. Toss me the powder-flask Harry; look sharp, else
it'll melt."

A powder-flask was immediately produced, from which the skipper
hastily charged the pistol, and rammed down the shining bullet.

"Now then," said he, "look out for squalls. Clear the decks there."

And rushing to the door, he flung it open, took a steady aim at
something outside, and fired.

"Is the man mad?" said the accountant, as with a look of amazement he
beheld the skipper spring through the doorway, and immediately return
bearing in his arms a large piece of fir plank.

"Not quite mad yet," he said, in reply, "but I've sent a ball of
quicksilver through an inch plank, and that's not a thing to be done
every day--even _here_, although it _is_ cold enough sometimes to
freeze up one's very ideas."

"Dear me," interrupted Harry Somerville, looking as if a new thought
had struck him, "that must be it! I've no doubt that poor Hamilton's
ideas are _frozen_, which accounts for the total absence of any
indication of his possessing such things."

"I observed," continued the skipper, not noticing the interruption,
"that the glass was down at 45 degrees below zero this morning, and
put out a bullet-mould full of mercury, and you see the result." As
he spoke he held up the perforated plank in triumph.

The skipper was a strange mixture of qualities. To a wild, off-hand,
sailor-like hilarity of disposition in hours of leisure, he united a
grave, stern energy of character while employed in the performance of
his duties. Duty was always paramount with him. A smile could
scarcely be extracted from him while it was in the course of
performance. But the instant his work was done a new spirit seemed to
take possession of the man. Fun, mischief of any kind, no matter how
childish, he entered into with the greatest delight and enthusiasm.
Among other peculiarities, he had become deeply imbued with a thirst
for scientific knowledge, ever since he had acquired, with infinite
labour, the small modicum of science necessary to navigation; and his
doings in pursuit of statistical information relative to the weather,
and the phenomena of nature generally, were very peculiar, and in
some cases outrageous. His transaction with the quicksilver was in
consequence of an eager desire to see that metal frozen (an effect
which takes place when the spirit-of-wine thermometer falls to 39
degrees below zero of Fahrenheit), and a wish to be able to boast of
having actually fired a mercurial bullet through an inch plank.
Having made a careful note of the fact, with all the relative
circumstances attending it, in a very much blotted book, which he
denominated his scientific log, the worthy skipper threw off his
coat, drew a chair to the stove, and prepared to regale himself with
a pipe. As he glanced slowly round the room while thus engaged, his
eye fell on the mass of snow before alluded to. On being informed by
the doctor for what it was intended, he laid down his pipe and rose
hastily from his chair.

"You've not a moment to lose," said he. "As I came in at the gate
just now, I saw Hamilton coming down the river on the ice, and he
must be almost arrived now."

"Up with it then," cried the doctor, seizing the snow, and lifting it
to the top of the door." Hand me those bits of stick, Harry; quick,
man, stir your stumps.--Now then, skipper, fix them in so, while I
hold this up."

The skipper lent willing and effective aid, so that in a few minutes
the snow was placed in such a position that upon the opening of the
door it must inevitably fall on the head of the first person who
should enter the room.

"So," said the skipper, "that's rigged up in what I call ship-shape
fashion."

"True," remarked the doctor, eyeing the arrangement with a look of
approval; "it will do, I think, admirably."

"Don't you think, skipper," said Harry Somerville gravely, as he
resumed his seat in front of the fire, "that it would be worth while
to make a careful and minute entry in your private log of the manner
in which it was put up, to be afterwards followed by an account of
its effect? You might write an essay on it now, and call it the
extraordinary effects of a fall of snow in latitude so and so, eh?
What think you of it?"

The skipper vouchsafed no reply, but made a significant gesture with
his fist, which caused Harry to put himself in a posture of defence.

At this moment footsteps were heard on the wooden platform in front
of the building.

Instantly all became silence and expectation in the hall as the
result of the practical joke was about to be realised. Just then
another step was heard on the platform, and it became evident that
two persons were approaching the door.

"Hope it'll be the right man," said the skipper, with a look
savouring slightly of anxiety.

As he spoke the door opened, and a foot crossed the threshold; the
next instant the miniature avalanche descended on the head and
shoulders of a man, who reeled forward from the weight of the blow,
and, covered from head to foot with snow, fell to the ground amid
shouts of laughter.

With a convulsive stamp and shake, the prostrate figure sprang up and
confronted the party. Had the cast-iron stove suddenly burst into
atoms, and blown the roof off the house, it could scarcely have
created greater consternation than that which filled the merry
jesters when they beheld the visage of Mr. Rogan, the superintendent
of the fort, red with passion and fringed with snow.

"So," said he, stamping violently with his foot, partly from anger,
and partly with a view of shaking off the unexpected covering, which
stuck all over his dress in little patches, producing a somewhat
piebald effect,--"so you are pleased to jest, gentlemen. Pray, who
placed that piece of snow over the door?" Mr. Rogan glared fiercely
round upon the culprits, who stood speechless before him.

For a moment he stood silent, as if uncertain how to act; then
turning short on his heel, he strode quickly out of the room, nearly
overturning Mr. Hamilton, who at the same instant entered it,
carrying his gun and snowshoes under his arm.

"Dear me, what has happened?" he exclaimed, in a peculiarly gentle
tone of voice, at the same time regarding the snow and the horror-
stricken circle with a look of intense surprise.

"You _see_ what has happened," replied Harry Somerville, who was the
first to recover his composure; "I presume you intended to ask, 'What
has _caused_ it to happen?' Perhaps the skipper will explain; it's
beyond me, quite."

Thus appealed to, that worthy cleared his throat, and said,--

"Why, you see, Mr. Hamilton, a great phenomenon of meteorology has
happened. We were all standing, you must know, at the open door,
taking a squint at the weather, when our attention was attracted by a
curious object that appeared in the sky, and seemed to be coming down
at the rate of ten knots an hour, right end-on for the house. I had
just time to cry, 'Clear out, lads,' when it came slap in through the
doorway, and smashed to shivers there, where you see the fragments.
In fact, it's a wonderful aërolite, and Mr. Rogan has just gone out
with a lot of the bits in his pocket, to make a careful examination
of them, and draw up a report for the Geological Society in London. I
shouldn't wonder if he were to send off an express to-night; and
maybe you will have to convey the news to headquarters, so you'd
better go and see him about it soon."

_Soft_ although Mr. Hamilton was supposed to be, he was not quite
prepared to give credit to this explanation; but being of a peaceful
disposition, and altogether unaccustomed to retort, he merely smiled
his disbelief, as he proceeded to lay aside his fowling-piece, and
divest himself of the voluminous out-of-door trappings with which he
was clad. Mr. Hamilton was a tall, slender youth, of about nineteen.
He had come out by the ship in autumn, and was spending his first
winter at York Fort. Up to the period of his entering the Hudson's
Bay Company's service, he had never been more than twenty miles from
home, and having mingled little with the world, was somewhat
unsophisticated, besides being by nature gentle and unassuming.

Soon after this the man who acted as cook, waiter, and butler to the
mess, entered, and said that Mr. Rogan desired to see the accountant
immediately.

"Who am I to say did it?" enquired that gentleman, as he rose to obey
the summons.

"Wouldn't it be a disinterested piece of kindness if you were to say
it was yourself?" suggested the doctor.

"Perhaps it would, but I won't," replied the accountant, as he made
his exit.

In about half-an-hour Mr. Rogan and the accountant re-entered the
apartment. The former had quite regained his composure. He was
naturally amiable; which happy disposition was indicated by a
habitually cheerful look and smile.

"Now, gentlemen," said he, "I find that this practical joke was not
intended for me, and therefore look upon it as an unlucky accident;
but I cannot too strongly express my dislike to practical jokes of
all kinds. I have seen great evil, and some bloodshed, result from
practical jokes; and I think that, being a sufferer in consequence of
your fondness for them, I have a right to beg that you will abstain
from such doings in future--at least from such jokes as involve risk
to those who do not choose to enter into them."

Having given vent to this speech, Mr. Rogan left his volatile friends
to digest it at their leisure.

"Serves us right," said the skipper, pacing up and down the room in a
repentant frame of mind, with his thumbs hooked into the arm-holes of
his vest.

The doctor said nothing, but breathed hard and smoked vigorously.

While we admit most thoroughly with Mr. Rogan that practical jokes
are exceedingly bad, and productive frequently of far more evil than
fun, we feel it our duty, as a faithful delineator of manners,
customs, and character in these regions, to urge in palliation of the
offence committed by the young gentlemen at York Fort, that they had
really about as few amusements and sources of excitement as fall to
the lot of any class of men. They were entirely dependent on their
own unaided exertions, during eight or nine months of the year, for
amusement or recreation of any kind. Their books were few in number,
and soon read through. The desolate wilderness around afforded no
incidents to form subjects of conversation further than the events of
a day's shooting, which, being nearly similar every day, soon lost
all interest. No newspapers came to tell of the doings of the busy
world from which they were shut out, and nothing occurred to vary the
dull routine of their life; so that it is not matter for wonder that
they were driven to seek for relaxation and excitement occasionally
in most outrageous and unnatural ways, and to indulge now and then in
the perpetration of a practical joke.

For some time after the rebuke administered by Mr. Rogan, silence
reigned in _Bachelor's Hall_, as the clerks' house was termed. But at
length symptoms of _ennui_ began to be displayed. The doctor yawned
and lay down on his bed to enjoy an American newspaper about twelve
months old. Harry Somerville sat down to reread a volume of
Franklin's travels in the polar regions, which he had perused twice
already. Mr. Hamilton busied himself in cleaning his fowling-piece;
while the skipper conversed with Mr. Wilson, who was engaged in his
room in adjusting an ivory head to a walking-stick. Mr. Wilson was a
jack-of-all-trades, who could make shift, one way or other, to do
_anything_. The accountant paced the uncarpeted floor in deep
contemplation.

At length he paused, and looked at Harry Somerville for some time.

"What say you to a walk through the woods to North River, Harry?"

"Ready," cried Harry, tossing down the book with a look of contempt--
"ready for anything."

"Will _you_ come, Hamilton?" added the accountant. Hamilton looked up
in surprise.

"You don't mean, surely, to take so long a walk in the dark, do you?
It is snowing, too, very heavily, and I think you said that North
River was five miles off, did you not?"

"Of course I mean to walk in the dark," replied the accountant,
"unless you can extemporize an artificial light for the occasion, or
prevail on the moon to come out for my special benefit. As to snowing
and a short tramp of five miles, why, the sooner you get to think of
such things as _trifles_ the better, if you hope to be fit for
anything in this country."

"I _don't_ think much of them," replied Hamilton, softly and with a
slight smile; "I only meant that such a walk was not very
_attractive_ so late in the evening."

"Attractive!" shouted Harry Somerville from his bedroom, where he was
equipping himself for the walk; "what can be more attractive than a
sharp run of ten miles through the woods on a cool night to visit
your traps, with the prospect of a silver fox or a wolf at the end of
it, and an extra sound sleep as the result? Come, man, don't be soft;
get ready, and go along with us."

"Besides," added the accountant, "I don't mean to come back to-night.
To-morrow, you know, is a holiday, so we can camp out in the snow
after visiting the traps, have our supper, and start early in the
morning to search for ptarmigan."

"Well, I will go," said Hamilton, after this account of the pleasures
that were to be expected; "I am exceedingly anxious to learn to shoot
birds on the wing."

"Bless me! have you not learned that yet!" asked the doctor, in
affected surprise, as he sauntered out of his bedroom to relight his
pipe.

The various bedrooms in the clerks' house were ranged round the hall,
having doors that opened directly into it, so that conversation
carried on in a loud voice was heard in all the rooms at once, and
was not infrequently sustained in elevated tones from different
apartments, when the occupants were lounging, as they often did of an
evening, in their beds.

"No," said Hamilton, in reply to the doctor's question, "I have not
learned yet, although there were a great many grouse in the part of
Scotland where I was brought up. But my aunt, with whom I lived, was
so fearful of my shooting either myself or someone else, and had such
an aversion to firearms, that I determined to make her mind easy, by
promising that I would never use them so long as I remained under her
roof."

"Quite right; very dutiful and proper," said the doctor, with a
grave, patronising air.

"Perhaps you'll fall in with more _fox_ tracks of the same sort as
the one you gave chase to this morning," shouted the skipper, from
Wilson's room.

"Oh! there's hundreds of them out there," said the accountant; "so
let's off at once."

The trio now proceeded to equip themselves for the walk. Their
costumes were peculiar, and merit description. As they were similar
in the chief points, it will suffice to describe that of our friend
Harry.

On his head he wore a fur-cap made of otter-skin, with a flap on each
side to cover the ears, the frost being so intense in these climates
that without some such protection they would inevitably freeze and
fall off.

As the nose is constantly in use for the purposes of respiration, it
is always left uncovered to fight with the cold as it best can; but
it is a hard battle, and there is no doubt that, if it were possible,
a nasal covering would be extremely pleasant. Indeed, several
desperate efforts _have_ been made to construct some sort of nose-
bag, but hitherto without success, owing to the uncomfortable fact
that the breath issuing from that organ immediately freezes, and
converts the covering into a bag of snow or ice, which is not
agreeable. Round his neck Harry wound a thick shawl of such
portentious dimensions that it entirely enveloped the neck and lower
part of the face; thus the entire head was, as it were, eclipsed--the
eyes, the nose, and the cheek-bones alone being visible. He then
threw on a coat made of deer-skin, so prepared that it bore a slight
resemblance to excessively coarse chamois leather. It was somewhat in
the form of a long, wide surtout, overlapping very much in front, and
confined closely to the figure by means of a scarlet worsted belt
instead of buttons, and was ornamented round the foot by a number of
cuts, which produced a fringe of little tails. Being lined with thick
flannel, this portion of attire was rather heavy, but extremely
necessary. A pair of blue cloth leggings, having a loose flap on the
outside, were next drawn on over the trousers, as an additional
protection to the knees. The feet, besides being portions of the body
that are peculiarly susceptible of cold, had further to contend
against the chafing of the lines which attach them to the snow-shoes,
so that special care in their preparation for duty was necessary.
First were put on a pair of blanketing or duffel socks, which were
merely oblong in form, without sewing or making-up of any kind. These
were wrapped round the feet, which were next thrust into a pair of
made-up socks, of the same material, having ankle-pieces; above these
were put _another_ pair, _without_ flaps for the ankles. Over all was
drawn a pair of moccasins made of stout deer-skin, similar to that of
the coat. Of course, the elegance of Harry's feet was entirely
destroyed, and had he been met in this guise by any of his friends in
the "old country," they would infallibly have come to the conclusion
that he was afflicted with gout. Over his shoulders he slung a
powder-horn and shot-pouch, the latter tastefully embroidered with
dyed quill-work, A pair of deer-skin mittens, having a little bag for
the thumb, and a large bag for the fingers, completed his costume.

While the three were making ready, with a running accompaniment of
grunts and groans at refractory pieces of apparel, the night without
became darker, and the snow fell thicker, so that when they issued
suddenly out of their warm abode, and emerged into the sharp frosty
air, which blew the snow-drift into their eyes, they felt a momentary
desire to give up the project and return to their comfortable
quarters.

"What a dismal-looking night it is!" said the accountant, as he led
the way along the wooden platform towards the gate of the fort.

"Very!" replied Hamilton, with an involuntary shudder.

"Keep up your heart," said Harry, in a cheerful voice; "you've no
notion how your mind will change on that point when you have walked a
mile or so and got into a comfortable heat. I must confess, however,
that a little moonshine would be an improvement," he added, on
stumbling, for the third time, off the platform into the deep snow.

"It is full moon just now," said the accountant, "and I think the
clouds look as if they would break soon. At any rate, I've been at
North River so often that I believe I could walk out there
blindfold."

As he spoke they passed the gate, and diverging to the right,
proceeded, as well as the imperfect light permitted, along the
footpath that led to the forest.




CHAPTER XVIII.

The walk continued--Frozen toes--An encampment in the snow.


After quitting York Fort, the three friends followed the track
leading to the spot where the winter's firewood was cut. Snow was
still falling thickly, and it was with some difficulty that the
accountant kept in the right direction. The night was excessively
dark, while the dense fir forest, through which the narrow road ran,
rendered the gloom if possible more intense.

When they had proceeded about a mile, their leader suddenly came to a
stand.

"We must quit the track now," said he; "so get on your snow-shoes as
fast as you can."

Hitherto they had carried their snow-shoes under their arms, as the
beaten track along which they travelled rendered them unnecessary;
but now, having to leave the path and pursue the remainder of their
journey through deep snow, they availed themselves of those useful
machines, by means of which the inhabitants of this part of North
America are enabled to journey over many miles of trackless
wilderness, with nearly as much ease as a sportsman can traverse the
moors in autumn, and that over snow so deep that one hour's walk
through it _without_ such aids would completely exhaust the stoutest
trapper, and advance him only a mile or so on his journey. In other
words, to walk without snow-shoes would be utterly impossible, while
to walk with them is easy and agreeable. They are not used after the
manner of skates, with a _sliding_, but a _stepping_ action, and
their sole use is to support the wearer on the top of snow, into
which without them he would sink up to the waist. When we say that
they support the wearer on the _top_ of the snow, of course we do not
mean that they literally do not break the surface at all. But the
depth to which they sink is comparatively trifling, and varies
according to the state of the snow and the season of the year. In the
woods they sink frequently about six inches, sometimes more,
sometimes less, while on frozen rivers, where the snow is packed
solid by the action of the wind, they sink only two or three inches,
and sometimes so little as to render it preferable to walk without
them altogether. Snow-shoes are made of a light, strong framework of
wood, varying from three to six feet long by eighteen and twenty
inches broad, tapering to a point before and behind, and turning up
in front. Different tribes of Indians modify the form a little, but
in all essential points they are the same. The framework is filled up
with a netting of deer-skin threads, which unites lightness with
great strength, and permits any snow that may chance to fall upon the
netting to pass through it like a sieve.

On the present occasion the snow, having recently fallen, was soft,
and the walking, consequently, what is called heavy.

"Come on," shouted the accountant, as he came to a stand for the
third time within half-an-hour, to await the coming up of poor
Hamilton, who, being rather awkward in snow-shoe walking even in
daylight, found it nearly impossible in the dark.

"Wait a little, please," replied a faint voice in the distance; "I've
got among a quantity of willows, and find it very difficult to get
on. I've been down twice al--"

The sudden cessation of the voice, and a loud crash as of breaking
branches, proved too clearly that our friend had accomplished his
third fall.

"There he goes again," exclaimed Harry Somerville, who came up at the
moment. "I've helped him up once already. We'll never get to North
River at this rate. What _is_ to be done?"

"Let's see what has become of him this time, however," said the
accountant, as he began to retrace his steps. "If I mistake not, he
made rather a heavy plunge that time, judging from the sound."

At that moment the clouds overhead broke, and a moonbeam shot down
into the forest, throwing a pale light over the cold scene. A few
steps brought Harry and the accountant to the spot whence the sound
had proceeded, and a loud startling laugh rang through the night air,
as the latter suddenly beheld poor Hamilton struggling, with his
arms, head, and shoulders stuck into the snow, his snow-shoes twisted
and sticking with the heels up and awry, in a sort of rampant
confusion, and his gun buried to the locks beside him. Regaining
one's perpendicular after a fall in deep snow, when the feet are
encumbered by a pair of long snow-shoes, is by no means an easy thing
to accomplish, in consequence of the impossibility of getting hold of
anything solid on which to rest the hands. The depth is so great that
the outstretched arms cannot find bottom, and every successive
struggle only sinks the unhappy victim deeper down. Should no
assistance be near, he will soon beat the snow to a solidity that
will enable him to rise, but not in a very enviable or comfortable
condition.

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