New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1860-05-14

News from the Arctic Regions.
SCENERY. WEATHER, PERSONAL ADVENTURE

II a II
/ SCENERY, WEATHER, PERSONAL ADVENTURES.
i From the cheago,Prcss.l
Il Through the kindness of Mr.. ]. M. Woodwork,
4 Curator of the Museum of the Chicago Academy
of Science, we are permitted to publish the fol.
lowing interesting letter from our young towns
4 Eiaa Robert kennicott, now on a tour Of scientific
i research in the Arctic regions:
Fokr sIspsos, NAcgsSz,r RIVER DISTRICT
Hndson Bay cOmpany's Territories November 10 1885,
at Portage 10 Loche we met Mi. Ross, Chief
Trader from Mackenzie river District, with nine
boats. Portage la Loche is twelve miles across,
i and divides the waters of Lake Winnepeg from
| those of the Arctic Ocean, started from this
place on the hrst Of August, and we arrived here
anoes the tstn, saving fioated on the large rivers
\ at night, and sailed good part of the way. The
voyage up takes three times as Icing From Port
i age la Loche we rowed two days and half down
the Clear Water river 70 Elk river, through very
4 beautiful scenery. The Clear Water is d narrow
/ aad crooked stream, with many rapids and sand.
| beyond them.
i Athabasca river, below The mouth Of the Clear
water, IS one 70 one and half miles wide, but
shallow and with numerous low islands and sand
bars The water is quite turbid and it runs through
an alluyia soil above, as it does all the way below
tne pom. W. entered Ct. For some fifty Or one
hundred miles below the mouth Of the Clear Water
the shores rise into high hills, but farther down
the country within sight is ell low, and its appear.
ance brings strongly to mind that of the Lower
4 Mississippi. The piles of drft-wood. the balsam
i popars which line the shores, and look yery like
cottonwood and the turbidity Of the water render.
ing the semolance very strong. Many Of the trees
brought ns down Sy the spring freshets are very
Mountains to the southwest. At its debouchere
| Elk river flows through an immense marsh which.
like Lake Athabasca IN that part, contains numer.
Gus low islands without rocks and piled with drift
wood, anording strange and dismal prospect.
/ The northeast shore OF the lake which Is here
Tonly Is or 20 miles wide, is, however hioh and
rocky-the rocks granite. Fort Chepewayan is built
/ I'M rnr ~ hat n,k.x ~. nm.
/ we passed down narrow and rapid stream go or
10 miles long called Rocky river into Peace or
| Slave river The latter resembles the lower mart
4 of Elk river, but is deener and wider h also ia
turbid.
1 From Fort Resolution to Slave Lake we coasted
around the southwest side Of the lake to the head
| of Mackenzie river, down which we rowed sailed
and ffoated. in two days to Fort Simpson. Tie
| Mackenzie is n magnificent stream deem. rather
rapid, and averaging over II miles in width: the
shores are high Sc to 60 feet but the country back
is not hlliy within sight Of the river. In spring,
when the ice is breaking up, the water rises some
40 feet above its present level The water Is clear
above, but is rendered turbd at this point By the
ENTRANCE OF the Lizard, large river rising in the
Rocky Mountains s; and entering the Mackenzie at
Fort Simpson. There are no impossible rapids in
| the Mackenzie, and steamer could doubtless 90
from the ocean to Slave Lake. The first snow fell
ct Fort simpson early in October, and ice began
to drift in the river little after the middle of the
month. About the LIST of November the tempera.
ture fell to zero, and before the 18th was once 26
deg. below. The coolest ever known here was
81 deg. below, but weather so deg. below is not
uncommon. Snow falls towards spring to the
depth of three or four feet. The river breaks n
late in May or LIST Of June. Slave Lake is some
times not open till July, though generally June
sets before P. NJ.
dress pretty much in the costume of the coun-
try-wear Indian shoes, of course, with one or
more pairs of Dafie socks inside. Since the cold
weather, wore q pair of mooseskin breecbes
with fringe Ia and mar Hoo 4 ',
grizzly bears claws! am not appreciably fatter
but far stronger and healthier than when / left
home Last week started off with one savage,
who didn't know word of English to make line
of marten traps. We were gone five DAYS, with
the temperature below zero most Of the time. and
down to about 20 degrees below on the last day
and night. Our provisions consisted only Of dry
meat and tea. was dressed no warmer than I
used to be at home for a cold days ride in early
winter, and had only two blankets, one of them
half size.
We used to get together a big pile of wood and
make rousing light, alongside Of which was piled
q lot of Spruce brush for sleeping on, protected
from the wind by sticking branches to windward
and here would sit and eat pound or SO Of dried
quart Of tea; after that would smoke half Of
plug of !. nigger-head tobacco and then LAYING
one blanket under us, with the other and small
one Of The sayage's over US, we'd lay down to
sleep, with our feet to the fire, till their getting
cold would awaken us to renew the supply of
wood.
did not feel very cold while covered by the
blankets at least. though when standing with my
back to the fire, SO close as to seorch my leggings
my breath froze on my beard and hairs. Now / |
feel quite well pleased at my getting on so COM
fortably. Twelve months since, at home, / think |
would actually have persisted from such exposure /
To-day, with the temperature 26 degrees below
zero, 4 walked with bare hands and light coat, /
feeling the cold less severely than have done at
home during equal exposure to temperature |
above zero. So you see don't intend to freeze to
death.
spent three weeks during September and DC. |
tober in making trip to Eft. Lizard river, which |
emptes into the Mackenzie here. Saw one moose, |
but couldn't get shot. Killed plenty of spruce I
cartridges and ducks, besides some rare birds and
mice, and shot Canada Lynx-put ball clean |
through him. We were for some days passing /
along 9 spur Of the Rocky Mountains, on which /
were plenty of mountain sheep, though saw
none. Got beavers tail and moose nose of the |
Indians, as well as plenty of fresh moose meat. |
Had jolly time. Went up in boat and foated
down with two Indians, in q small eanoe-running |
the rapids in fine style, aud sleeping at night in
most rascally camps, on frozen ground and rocks |
with seanty supply Of fire-wood.
But all these little discomforts, when taken as
matter Of course, don't trouble one much after |
little. is most egregious to suppose peo-
Pile at the North are Industrious. was never in |
so lazy a community in my life. II anybody asks |
another to help bit Or to perform some necessary
and after that is done the other will find it neces
sary to have smoke too, and SO on.
y We live much better than would be expected, /
having good supply of tea, sugar, milk and but |
ter with bread in limited allowance and plenty of
good potatoes at present we get only dry moose |
meat and fish, but hope for fresh meat soon. lean
eat clear fat at astounding rate especially when
camping out, and think shall readily drink pint
Of melted moose taIlow on Christmas asI promised
I would. l make note Of this physiological fact,
that the muscles Of my jaws are developing in an
extraordinary manner from eating old Indian,
(dry moose meat) 1t is so tough as to demand |
violent eSprese from the laws. 1
The Esquimanx last fall gave Mr.. Ross some
swords and a ships copper that undoubtedly came
from the wreck Of Franklin's ship. | hope TO Sc
cure some of these relics. Nothing definite is yet
learned respecting Franldin's fate, though circum-
stantial evidence proves pretty strongly that his
ship crushed in the ice or at any rate deserted
When the company's post is established on the
Anderson, in the Barren Grounds, for trade with
the Esqnimaux, the whole matter will doubtless be
learned from them.
My collections, though not large, will, I am sure,
prove highly interesting to naturalists generally.
have obtained in all some five hundred yertebrates
and several thousand invertebrates, all of which,
from such locality, must be more or less yalu-