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32 T H R O U G H T H E M A C K E N Z I E B A S IN
The seat of the fire was now an immense grassy circle, with
a low wall of blackened peat all around it.
I n the morning an endless succession of small creeks was
passed, screened by deep valleys which fell i n from hills
and muskegs to the south, and at noon, jaded with slow
travel, we reached Athabasca Landing. A long h i l l leads
down to the flat, and from its brow we had a striking view
of the village below and of the noble river, which much
resembles the Saskatchewan, minus its prairies. We were
now f a i r ly within the bewildering forest of the north, which
spreads, with some intervals of plain, to the 69th parallel
of north latitude; an endless jungle of shaggy spruce, black
and white poplar, birch, tamarack and Banksian pine. At
the Landing we pitched our tents i n front of the Hudson's
Bay Company's post, where had stood, the previous year, a
big canvas town of " Klondikers." Here they made preparation
for their melancholy journey, setting out on the
great stream in every species of craft, from rafts and
coracles to steam barges. Here was begun an episode of
that world- wide craze, which has run through all time, and
almost every country, in which were enacted deeds of dar-ing
and suffering which add a new chapter to the history of
human fearlessness and folly.
The Landing was a considerable hamlet for such a wilderness,
being the shipping point to Mackenzie R i v e r , and,
via the Lesser Slave Lake, to the Upper Peace. It consisted
of the Hudson's Bay Company's establishment, with large
storehouses, a sawmill, the residence and church of a
Church of England bishop, and a Roman Catholic station,
with a variety of shelters i n the shape of boarding- houses,
shacks and tepees all around. From the number of scows
and barges in all stages of construction, and the high timber
canting- tackles, it had quite a shipyard- like look, the
population being mainly mechanics, who constructed scows,
small barges, called sturgeons," and the old " Y o r k , " or
inland boat, carrying from four to five tons. Here, hauled
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| Title | Page 38 |
| OCR | 32 T H R O U G H T H E M A C K E N Z I E B A S IN The seat of the fire was now an immense grassy circle, with a low wall of blackened peat all around it. I n the morning an endless succession of small creeks was passed, screened by deep valleys which fell i n from hills and muskegs to the south, and at noon, jaded with slow travel, we reached Athabasca Landing. A long h i l l leads down to the flat, and from its brow we had a striking view of the village below and of the noble river, which much resembles the Saskatchewan, minus its prairies. We were now f a i r ly within the bewildering forest of the north, which spreads, with some intervals of plain, to the 69th parallel of north latitude; an endless jungle of shaggy spruce, black and white poplar, birch, tamarack and Banksian pine. At the Landing we pitched our tents i n front of the Hudson's Bay Company's post, where had stood, the previous year, a big canvas town of " Klondikers." Here they made preparation for their melancholy journey, setting out on the great stream in every species of craft, from rafts and coracles to steam barges. Here was begun an episode of that world- wide craze, which has run through all time, and almost every country, in which were enacted deeds of dar-ing and suffering which add a new chapter to the history of human fearlessness and folly. The Landing was a considerable hamlet for such a wilderness, being the shipping point to Mackenzie R i v e r , and, via the Lesser Slave Lake, to the Upper Peace. It consisted of the Hudson's Bay Company's establishment, with large storehouses, a sawmill, the residence and church of a Church of England bishop, and a Roman Catholic station, with a variety of shelters i n the shape of boarding- houses, shacks and tepees all around. From the number of scows and barges in all stages of construction, and the high timber canting- tackles, it had quite a shipyard- like look, the population being mainly mechanics, who constructed scows, small barges, called sturgeons," and the old " Y o r k , " or inland boat, carrying from four to five tons. Here, hauled |
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