The Young Fur Traders Read online

  Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England

  THE YOUNG FUR TRADERS, BY R.M. BALLANTYNE.

  Preface.

  In writing this book my desire has been to draw an exact copy of thepicture which is indelibly stamped on my own memory. I have carefullyavoided exaggeration in everything of importance. All the chief andmost of the minor incidents are facts. In regard to unimportantmatters, I have taken the liberty of a novelist--not to colour toohighly, or to invent improbabilities, but--to transpose time, place, andcircumstance at pleasure; while, at the same time, I have endeavoured toconvey to the reader's mind a truthful impression of the _generaleffect_--to use a painter's language--of the life and country of theFur-Trader.

  R.M. BALLANTYNE.

  EDINBURGH, 1856.

  CHAPTER ONE.

  PLUNGES THE READER INTO THE MIDDLE OF AN ARCTIC WINTER; CONVEYS HIM INTOTHE HEART OF THE WILDERNESSES OF NORTH AMERICA; AND INTRODUCES HIM TOSOME OF THE PRINCIPAL PERSONAGES OF OUR TALE.

  Snowflakes and sunbeams, heat and cold, winter and summer, alternatedwith their wonted regularity for fifteen years in the wild regions ofthe Far North. During this space of time the hero of our tale sproutedfrom babyhood to boyhood, passed through the usual amount of accidents,ailments, and vicissitudes incidental to those periods of life, andfinally entered upon that ambiguous condition that precedes earlymanhood.

  It was a clear, cold winter's day. The sunbeams of summer were longpast, and snowflakes had fallen thickly on the banks of Red River.Charley sat on a lump of blue ice, his head drooping and his eyes benton the snow at his feet with an expression of deep disconsolation.

  Kate reclined at Charley's side, looking wistfully up in his expressiveface, as if to read the thoughts that were chasing each other throughhis mind, like the ever-varying clouds that floated in the winter skyabove. It was quite evident to the most careless observer that,whatever might be the usual temperaments of the boy and girl, theirpresent state of mind was not joyous, but, on the contrary, very sad.

  "It won't do, sister Kate," said Charley. "I've tried him over and overagain--I've implored, begged, and entreated him to let me go; but hewon't, and I'm determined to run away, so there's an end of it!"

  As Charley gave utterance to this unalterable resolution, he rose fromthe bit of blue ice, and taking Kate by the hand, led her over thefrozen river, climbed up the bank on the opposite side--an operation ofsome difficulty, owing to the snow, which had been drifted so deeplyduring a late storm that the usual track was almost obliterated--andturning into a path that lost itself among the willows, they speedilydisappeared.

  As it is possible our reader may desire to know who Charley and Kateare, and the part of the world in which they dwell, we will interruptthe thread of our narrative to explain.

  In the very centre of the great continent of North America, far removedfrom the abodes of civilised men, and about twenty miles to the south ofLake Winnipeg, exists a colony composed of Indians, Scotsmen, andFrench-Canadians, which is known by the name of Red River Settlement.Red River differs from most colonies in more respects than one--thechief differences being, that whereas other colonies cluster on thesea-coast, this one lies many hundreds of miles in the interior of thecountry, and is surrounded by a wilderness; and while other colonies,acting on the Golden Rule, export their produce in return for goodsimported, this of Red River imports a large quantity and exportsnothing, or next to nothing. Not but that it _might_ export, if it onlyhad an outlet or a market; but being eight hundred miles removed fromthe sea, and five hundred miles from the nearest market, with a seriesof rivers, lakes, rapids, and cataracts separating from the one, and awide sweep of treeless prairie dividing from the other, the settlershave long since come to the conclusion that they were born to consumetheir own produce, and so regulate the extent of their farmingoperations by the strength of their appetites. Of course, there aremany of the necessaries, or at least the luxuries, of life which thecolonists cannot grow--such as tea, coffee, sugar, coats, trousers, andshirts--and which, consequently, they procure from England, by means ofthe Hudson's Bay Fur Company's ships, which sail once a year fromGravesend, laden with supplies for the trade carried on with theIndians. And the bales containing these articles are conveyed in boatsup the rivers, carried past the waterfalls and rapids overland on theshoulders of stalwart voyageurs, and finally landed at Red River, aftera rough trip of many weeks' duration. The colony was founded in 1811,by the Earl of Selkirk, previously to which it had been a trading-postof the Fur Company. At the time of which we write, it contained aboutfive thousand souls, and extended upwards of fifty miles along the Redand Assiniboine Rivers, which streams supplied the settlers with avariety of excellent fish. The banks were clothed with fine trees; andimmediately behind the settlement lay the great prairies, which extendin undulating waves--almost entirely devoid of shrub or tree--to thebase of the Rocky Mountains.

  Although far removed from the civilised world, and containing within itsprecincts much that is savage and very little that is refined, Red Riveris quite a populous paradise as compared with the desolate, solitaryestablishments of the Hudson's Bay Fur Company. These lonely dwellingsof the trader are scattered far and wide over the whole continent--north, south, east, and west. Their population generally amounts toeight or ten men--seldom to thirty. They are planted in the thick of anuninhabited desert--their next neighbours being from two to five hundredmiles off; their occasional visitors, bands of wandering Indians; andthe sole object of their existence being to trade the furry hides offoxes, martens, beavers, badgers, bears, buffaloes, and wolves. It willnot, then, be deemed a matter of wonder that the gentlemen who havecharge of these establishments, and who, perchance, may have spent tenor twenty years in them, should look upon the colony of Red River as aspecies of Elysium--a sort of haven of rest, in which they may lay theirweary heads, and spend the remainder of their days in peaceful felicity,free from the cares of a residence among wild beasts and wild men. Manyof the retiring traders prefer casting their lot in Canada; but not afew of them _smoke_ out the remainder of their existence in thiscolony--especially those who, having left home as boys fifty or sixtyyears before, cannot reasonably expect to find the friends of theirchildhood where they left them, and cannot hope to remodel tastes andhabits long nurtured in the backwoods so as to relish the manners andcustoms of civilised society.

  Such an one was old Frank Kennedy, who, sixty years before the date ofour story, ran away from school in Scotland; got a severe thrashing fromhis father for so doing; and having no mother in whose sympathisingbosom he could weep out his sorrow, ran away from home, went to sea, ranaway from his ship while she lay at anchor in the harbour of New York,and after leading a wandering, unsettled life for several years, duringwhich he had been alternately a clerk, a day-labourer, a store-keeper,and a village schoolmaster, he wound up by entering the service of theHudson's Bay Company, in which he obtained an insight into savage life,a comfortable fortune, besides a half-breed wife and a large family.

  Being a man of great energy and courage, and moreover possessed of alarge, powerful frame, he was sent to one of the most distant posts onthe Mackenzie River, as being admirably suited for the display of hispowers both mental and physical. Here the smallpox broke out among thenatives, and besides carrying off hundreds of these poor creatures,robbed Mr Kennedy of all his children save two, Charles and Kate, whomwe have already introduced to the reader.

  About the same time the council which is annually held at Red River inspring for the purpose of arranging the affairs of the country for theensuing year thought proper to appoint Mr Kennedy to a still moreoutlandish part of the country--as near, in fact, to the North Pole asit was possible for mortal man to live--and sent him an order
to proceedto his destination without loss of time. On receiving thiscommunication Mr Kennedy upset his chair, stamped his foot, ground histeeth, and vowed, in the hearing of his wife and children, that soonerthan obey the mandate he would see the governors and council of Rupert'sLand hanged, quartered, and boiled down into tallow! Ebullitions ofthis kind were peculiar to Frank Kennedy, and meant _nothing_. Theywere simply the safety-valves to his superabundant ire, and, likesafety-valves in general, made much noise but did no damage. It waswell, however, on such occasions to keep out of the old fur-trader'sway; for he had an irresistible propensity to hit out at whatever stoodbefore him, especially if the object stood on a level with his own eyesand wore whiskers. On second thoughts, however, he sat down before hiswriting-table, took a sheet of blue ruled foolscap paper, seized a quillwhich he had mended six months previously, at a time when he happened tobe in high good-humour, and wrote as follows:--

  To the Governor and Council of Rupert's Land, Red River Settlement.

  Fort Paskisegun, _June 15, 18 hundred and something_.

  GENTLEMEN,--I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of your favour of26th April last, appointing me to the charge of Peel's River, anddirecting me to strike out new channels of trade in that quarter. Inreply, I have to state that I shall have the honour to fulfil yourinstructions by taking my departure in a light canoe as soon aspossible. At the same time I beg humbly to submit that the state of myhealth is such as to render it expedient for me to retire from theservice, and I herewith beg to hand in my resignation. I shall hope tobe relieved early next spring.--I have the honour to be, gentlemen, yourmost obedient humble servant, F. KENNEDY.

  "There!" exclaimed the old gentleman, in a tone that would lead one tosuppose he had signed the death-warrant, and so had irrevocably fixedthe certain destruction, of the entire council--"there!" said he, risingfrom his chair, and sticking the quill into the ink-bottle with a _dab_that split it up to the feather, and so rendered it _hors de combat_ forall time coming.

  To this letter the council gave a short reply, accepting hisresignation, and appointing a successor. On the following spring oldMr Kennedy embarked his wife and children in a bark canoe, and inprocess of time landed them safely in Red River Settlement. Here hepurchased a house with six acres of land, in which he planted a varietyof useful vegetables, and built a summer-house after the fashion of aconservatory, where he was wont to solace himself for hours togetherwith a pipe, or rather with dozens of pipes, of Canada twist tobacco.

  After this he put his two children to school. The settlement was atthis time fortunate in having a most excellent academy, which wasconducted by a very estimable man. Charles and Kate Kennedy, beingobedient and clever, made rapid progress under his judicious management,and the only fault that he had to find with the young people was thatKate was a little too quiet and fond of books, while Charley was alittle too riotous and fond of fun.

  When Charles arrived at the age of fifteen and Kate attained to fourteenyears, old Mr Kennedy went into his conservatory, locked the door, satdown on an easy-chair, filled a long clay pipe with his beloved tobacco,smoked vigorously for ten minutes, and fell fast asleep. In thiscondition he remained until the pipe fell from his lips and broke infragments on the floor. He then rose, filled another pipe, and sat downto meditate on the subject that had brought him to his smokingapartment. "There's my wife," said he, looking at the bowl of his pipe,as if he were addressing himself to it, "she's getting too old to belooking after everything herself (_puff_), and Kate's getting too old tobe humbugging any longer with books; besides, she ought to be at homelearning to keep house, and help her mother, and cut the baccy (_puff_),and that young scamp Charley should be entering the service (_puff_).He's clever enough now to trade beaver and bears from the red-skins;besides, he's (_puff_) a young rascal, and I'll be bound does nothingbut lead the other boys into (_puff_) mischief, although, to be sure,the master _does_ say he's the cleverest fellow in the school; but hemust be reined up a bit now. I'll clap on a double curb and martingale.I'll get him a situation in the counting-room at the fort (_puff_),where he'll have his nose held tight to the grindstone. Yes, I'll fixboth their flints to-morrow;" and old Mr Kennedy gave vent to anotherpuff so thick and long that it seemed as if all the previous puffs hadconcealed themselves up to this moment within his capacious chest, andrushed out at last in one thick and long-continued stream.

  By "fixing their flints" Mr Kennedy meant to express the fact that heintended to place his children in an entirely new sphere of action; andwith a view to this he ordered out his horse and cariole [A sort ofsleigh.] on the following morning, went up to the school, which wasabout ten miles distant from his abode, and brought his children homewith him the same evening. Kate was now formally installed ashousekeeper and tobacco-cutter; while Charley was told that his futuredestiny was to wield the quill in the service of the Hudson's BayCompany, and that he might take a week to think over it. Quiet,warm-hearted, affectionate Kate was overjoyed at the thought of being ahelp and comfort to her old father and mother; but reckless, joyous,good-humoured, hare-brained Charley was cast into the depths of despairat the idea of spending the livelong day, and day after day, for yearsit might be, on the top of a long-legged stool. In fact, poor Charleysaid that he "would rather become a buffalo than do it." Now this wasvery wrong of Charley, for, of course, he didn't _mean_ it. Indeed, itis too much a habit among little boys, ay, and among grown-up peopletoo, to say what they don't mean, as no doubt you are aware, dearreader, if you possess half the self-knowledge we give you credit for;and we cannot too strongly remonstrate with ourself and others againstthe practice--leading, as it does, to all sorts of absurd exaggerations,such as gravely asserting that we are "broiling hot" when we are simply"rather warm," or more than "half dead" with fatigue when we are merely"very tired." However, Charley _said_ that he would rather be "abuffalo than do it," and so we feel bound in honour to record the fact.

  Charley and Kate were warmly attached to each other. Moreover, they hadbeen, ever since they could walk, in the habit of mingling their littlejoys and sorrows in each other's bosoms; and although, as years flewpast, they gradually ceased to sob in each other's arms at every littlemishap, they did not cease to interchange their inmost thoughts, and tomingle their tears when occasion called them forth. They knew thepower, the inexpressible sweetness, of sympathy. They understoodexperimentally the comfort and joy that flow from obedience to thatblessed commandment to "rejoice with those that do rejoice, and weepwith those that weep." It was natural, therefore, that on Mr Kennedyannouncing his decrees, Charley and Kate should hasten to some retiredspot where they could commune in solitude; the effect of which communingwas to reduce them to a somewhat calmer and rather happy state of mind.Charley's sorrow was blunted by sympathy with Kate's joy, and Kate's joywas subdued by sympathy with Charley's sorrow; so that, after the firsteffervescing burst, they settled down into a calm and comfortable stateof flatness, with very red eyes and exceedingly pensive minds. We must,however, do Charley the justice to say that the red eyes applied only toKate; for although a tear or two could without much coaxing be inducedto hop over his sun-burned cheek, he had got beyond that period of lifewhen boys are addicted to (we must give the word, though not pretty,because it is eminently expressive) _blubbering_.

  A week later found Charley and his sister seated on the lump of blue icewhere they were first introduced to the reader, and where Charleyannounced his unalterable resolve to run away, following it up with thestatement that _that_ was "the end of it." He was quite mistaken,however, for that was by no means the end of it. In fact it was onlythe beginning of it, as we shall see hereafter.